Mujaddara is a Middle Eastern lentil rice dish. It’s healthy, vegan and delicious!
In the Middle East people tend to include meat and poultry in their everyday diet, so meat and poultry tend to be the main ingredient of almost every meal. This healthy vegan meal substitutes animal protein with plant protein coming from brown lentils. It may look like it’s a bit complicated but trust me, this dish is very easy to make and is ready in no time!
There are 3 kinds of lentils: Brown lentils, red lentils, and green lentils. For this recipe, we are using brown lentils and now I’m going to tell you why are they good for you. Lentils have many health benefits, they are high in protein, low in cholesterol, low in calories and full of nutrients, they improve digestion, a healthy heart, help with weight loss, prevent cancer, a solution for anemia, and are good for pregnant women. Do you need more reasons to start including lentils in your diet? 🙂
This dish is one of my family favourites, it is filling, delicious, and is suitable for summer days as well as those cold winter days! It is usually eaten with plain natural yogurt, a simple salad, and pickles! Oh and it’s topped with caramelised onions YUM!
And the best part? I took this recipe from my Mum!! Try it and enjoy the wonderful taste!
Mujaddara
A lovely Middle Eastern dish made with green lentils, rice and topped with caramelised onions
Print Pin RatePrep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 303kcal
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried brown lentils or green lentils
- 1 cup white rice
- 2 onions chopped
- 3 tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 2-3 cups water
- 1 tsp cumin
Instructions
- Rinse lentils with cold water.
- In a medium sized pot add the lentils and the water and bring to boil.
- Cover the pot, turn the heat down to simmer until lentils are tender but not mushy. (stir occasionally) add salt and cumin.
- Wash rice and add it to lentils. Add water to cover the rice and cook on low heat until the water is gone.
- In a saucepan saute onions in olive oil until completely softened and caramelised.
- Add half of the caramelised onions into cooked lentils and rice. Use the other half to top your dish before serving.
- Serve with natural yogurt and salad.
Nutrition
Calories: 303kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 397mg | Potassium: 400mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 15IU | Vitamin C: 4.1mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 3mg
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Tania
I’m so glad I found your site! I will be trying this recipe for an iftar dish soon! Would you say I could add chicken to it? I have lots of chicken breast and am wondering what to do with it!
Diana
Hi Tania, Welcome to Little Sunny Kitchen! Mujaddara is a vegetarian dish. However, some people like to roast chicken and serve it next to the Mujaddara. Make sure to serve it with some yogurt and caramelised onions. Enjoy!
Martina Evans
What a great simple dish, I would love to try this recipe for dinner sometime.
Georgia
Lovely simple recipe, I will have to try this out soon!
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry
This really is one of my fav ever food. Have pinned it so that I can try your version.
Kavey
Lovely, simple dish that makes a change from plain old rice! Looks really nice!
Laura
This is right up my street! Haven’t had a go at using brown lentils in ages – definitely worth having another go. Great photos!
Choclette
Ooh, how delicious. I love megadarra – as it’s called in Egypt. I often make this when entertaining serving it with shakshouka and yoghurt of course. Thanks for including a link to my lentil soup.
Gemma
This sounds lovely, really simple and filling.
Jacqueline Meldrum
That sounds really good and simple too Diana. I’me going to give it a go. I think Cooper would like it alongside vegan sausages as would my hubby. I like it your way though. Thanks for linking to me.