Mejadra
Mejadra, or mujaddara, is a hearty dish that consists of cooked lentils together with rice and garnished with sautéed onions. In this version, I used white basmati rice, red lentils, and scallion. I have also fried the scallion after dusting the slices in all-purpose flour.
The result was a real delicacy, and we have run for seconds! Frying the onion rings takes a bit more to prepare, but by doing this you will give the dish a fragrant and crispy texture that blends in wonderfully with the lentils and rice.
You can also use green or brown lentils. If you want a sweeter flavor, you can add a teaspoon maple syrup: I didn’t, as fried scallion is sweet on its own.
Try it out: you might discover your next favorite comfort food!
Ingredients
- 1 cup lentils
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 2-3 scallions
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- Pinch of onion salt
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vegetable powder
- Pinch of black pepper
- Pinch of parsley, to decorate
- A teaspoon of soy cream, to decorate
Preparation
Cook the lentils in boiling water and 1/2 teaspoon vegetable powder. Take off the heat and set aside to cool.
Peel and slice the scallion. In a shallow bowl, mix the flour and onion salt. Toss the onion slices in and, with your hands, separate the rings and dist them with the flour and salt mix. Heat the olive oil in a skillet and, when it’s hot, turn the heat to medium and toss in the scallion rings. Fry gently until golden-brown and transfer to a bowl lined with paper towel.
Clean the skillet you used to fry the onions and use it again to cook the rice. On a low heat, toast the cumin seeds and the ground spices for 1 minute. Add the rice, with a few drops of olive oil, mix well until all the spices are absorbed by the rice grains.
Cover with water and turn the heat to medium. Cook until the water evaporates, then take off the heat. Stir in the lentils and part of the fried scallion (keep some rings aside to decorate).
Let the mejadra settle for one minute before serving. Decorate with the remaining fried scallion rings, sprinkle with a little parsley and lay a bit of soy cream on the side.
Enjoy!
