Mjadra - Lentils and Rice

Submitted by LifeIsGood

"This is a typical Middle Eastern recipe given to me by my niece. Her in-laws, who are from the Middle East, gave this recipe to her and it has become a staple in their home. I think it's fantastic, too. It could work as a vegetarian main dish, a side dish or lunch. It is traditionally served with a salad made of the following: chopped lettuce, chopped tomato, chopped green pepper, lemon juice and salt. I like to mix the mjadra right in with the salad. Yum!"

 

• Ready In: 40mins
• Ingredients: 6
• Serves: 4-6

ingredients

• 8 cups water
• 1 cup rinsed lentils
• 1 cup uncooked rice (I use brown rice)
• 1 medium onion, julienned
• 1⁄4 cup olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste

directions

1. Combine water and lentils and boil for 10 minutes.
2. Add rice to the boiling water, keeping the lentils in the pot, and boil for 15 minutes - until the rice starts to bubble at the top. Stir occasionally.
3. Meanwhile, saute strips of onion in olive oil and add to rice and lentils.
4. Stir in salt and pepper, to taste. You definitely will need the salt and pepper. You may need to experiment with the amount.
5. Simmer this mixture for about another 5 minutes.
6. Eat as is or serve with a salad (as described in the intro.).

Reviews

[Baby Kato]

Wow, the rice was wonderful. The lentils were tender and delicious. We enjoyed the dish prepared this way. Quick and easy to make, it was a wonderful side. Thank you for sharing a lentil and rice recipe that I will make again. It was so good. Made for Down Home Cooking Tag Game.

 

[A Good Thing]

I was so very happy with the way these lentils turned out. Talk about simple and delicious comfort food!! They were very easy to make and the directions were spot on... couldn't have been easier! We didn't have it over salad as suggested but that's only because we were missing the green peppers and tomatoes. I will try it over salad next time and there will be a next time! Made for ZWT6 for fellow Zestie - Kathy.

 

[PaulaG]

This is a wonderful way to fix lentils and rice. I used short grain brown rice and brown lentils. The water was reduced to 6 cups with the rice being added first. After the rice cooked for 15 minutes the rinsed lentils were then added and cooked an additional 30 minutes. The recipe was dressed up a bit with some fresh garlic. It was a little bland and the first night we topped it off with sriracha hot chili sauce which was okay. Leftovers were warmed and feta cheese crumbled over the top. The feta cheese added just the right flavor for us. Made for Aussie Swap.

 

[magpie diner]

Always enjoy lentils and rice so I was pretty sure this would be up my alley. It makes a nice easy side dish, although if I was eating it on it's own I'd add some garlic or spices. I really wasn't sure about using that much water to cook 2 cups of grain, so even though I used brown rice, I reduced the water down to 6 cups. It's still more soupy than a pilaf, but I'm sure it's meant to be that way and I was happy with how it turned out. I'll enjoy the leftovers with salad as recommended. Thanks for sharing LIG!

 

[Annacia]

Wow, this makes a lot! I cut it to one serving and after dinner I have at least as much left as I had for dinner. It's also very tasty once you get the salt and pepper in (and a bit of garlic). Made as directed with but using brown rice. It was served along side a Moroccan carrot salad and baked fish for a delicious and healthy meal. *Edit* the following day: I used just over 1/2 of the leftover for a lunch salad today adding some Ras El Hanout. It made a very good hot side last night and a lovely salad (I warmed it just enough to take the refridgerator chill off) today :D