مجدرة — عدس وأرز ببصل مكرمل
Brown lentils and rice cooked in dark caramelized-onion oil, blanketed with a deep brown tangle of fried onions, finished with cumin and a lemon-yogurt drizzle. Eight ingredients, peasant origins, weeknight greatness.
Caramelize 2 large onions slowly in olive oil until deeply dark — 25 minutes. Reserve half. Sauté lentils 3 minutes in the leftover oil with cumin, add water, simmer 15 minutes. Add washed long-grain rice and more water, simmer 18 minutes covered. Off heat, rest 10 minutes. Pile with the reserved fried onions, serve with cucumber-mint yogurt or lemon wedges.
- The onions must go almost burnt-dark — not just brown. That dark caramel IS the flavour of mujadara.
- Brown lentils (small green-brown) hold their shape. Red lentils dissolve into mush — wrong dish.
- The rest-with-the-lid-on at the end is what gives mujadara its dry, separate, fluffy texture.
Equipment
- Wide heavy pot or sauté pan with lid
- Slotted spoon
- Sharp knife
المكونات
Onions
- 120 ml extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 large yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced (root to tip)
- 5 g fine salt
Lentils & rice
- 200 g small brown or green lentils, rinsed
- 1 L water, divided
- 5 g ground cumin
- 200 g long-grain rice, rinsed until water runs clear
- 5 g fine salt, for the rice
- 3 g freshly cracked black pepper
- 0.2 g ground cinnamon, optional, traditional
To serve
- 200 g (¾ cup) plain whole-milk yogurt (or thick coconut yogurt for vegan)
- Juice of ½ lemon
- Small handful fresh mint or parsley
- ½ cucumber, diced (optional)
الطريقة
- خطوة01
Heat olive oil over medium heat in a wide pot. Add the onions and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they collapse, then deepen through golden to dark brown — almost burnt at the edges. This takes 22–28 minutes. Lower the heat if they threaten to scorch in patches.
- خطوة02
Lift out roughly HALF the fried onions with a slotted spoon onto kitchen paper to crisp. Leave the rest with all the oil in the pot.
- خطوة03
Add the rinsed lentils and ground cumin to the onions and oil left in the pot. Toast 2 minutes — they should smell nutty.
- خطوة04
Pour in 700 ml of the water. Bring to a simmer. Cook 12–15 minutes until the lentils are almost tender but still hold their shape and have a slight bite.
- خطوة05
Stir in the rinsed rice, salt, pepper, and cinnamon. Add the remaining 300 ml water. Stir once. Bring back to a simmer.
- خطوة06
Lower the heat to the lowest setting. Cover with a tight lid. Cook 18 minutes without opening.
- خطوة07
Off the heat. Leave the lid on for 10 more minutes. Do not peek. This is when the rice firms and separates.
- خطوة08
Stir lemon juice and a pinch of salt into the yogurt. (If using cucumber, fold in now.) Fluff the mujadara with a fork — it should be loose and individual-grained, never mushy. Pile onto a serving platter. Top with the reserved crispy onions and a scatter of mint or parsley. Serve with the yogurt sauce.
Make ahead
Caramelize the onions up to 2 days ahead, refrigerated. Cook the lentils-and-rice fresh the day of (it's only 50 minutes total). Or cook the whole thing 1 day ahead and reheat gently — the flavour matures overnight, but the texture is best fresh.
Storage
4 days refrigerated. Reheats well in a pan with a splash of water and a bit of oil — refresh with newly-fried onions on top for the texture contrast.
Variations
Mujadara with bulgur (Mujadarat el-Burghul)
Replace rice with coarse #4 bulgur. Reduce cooking water to 250 ml; bulgur takes less. A Levantine winter variant with more chew.
Spiced mujadara
Add 1 tsp ground coriander, ½ tsp ground allspice, and a pinch of cayenne with the cumin. A spiced, Aleppo-leaning version.
With burnt-onion-and-tomato (mujadara hamra)
Add 1 tbsp tomato paste with the lentils and use 1 chopped fresh tomato in place of the cinnamon. Different colour, savoury and round.
Serve with
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition values are estimates based on the metric measurements. Adjust as needed.
الأسئلة الشائعة
How dark should the onions go?
Dark mahogany, almost burnt at the edges. If you stop at golden, the mujadara tastes flat. The smell when they reach the right colour is unmistakable — sweet, deeply caramelized, just on the edge of acrid.
Can I skip the rest?
Skip it and the bottom of the pot is mushy with hot, half-steamed rice. Resting with the lid on lets the steam redistribute and the rice firm up. It costs you 10 patient minutes and pays you in texture.
Why brown lentils, not red?
Brown (or small French green Puy) lentils hold their shape through long cooking. Red lentils collapse to puree — useful for soup, wrong for a grain dish where you want distinct lentils alongside distinct rice.
Is mujadara vegan?
Yes, in the base. The yogurt on the side is optional or can be coconut yogurt. The fried onions are sometimes the only acceptable garnish at home.
Is this a complete meal?
Yes — lentils plus rice form a complete protein. With the yogurt or a small salad alongside, it's a fully balanced plate. Mujadara has been peasant fuel in the Levant for at least 1000 years for exactly this reason.
Cooked this? Rate it.
Real ratings from real cooks. We only show a score once enough of you have weighed in — no fabricated stars.