My mujaddara recipe turns lentils, rice, and deeply caramelized onions into far more than the sum of those cheap parts. Also spelled mujadara (moo-JAD-a-ra), it’s the Middle Eastern lentils and rice dish I fell for in Jordan. Half the onions get stirred through, half I save crispy for the top, and it comes together in about an hour.
Why the onions make or break it
I first ate this in Jordan, after driving five hours from Petra and stopping at a tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurant where it seemed like everyone was eating the same thing. I watched someone in the back make it, and what struck me was how long they let the onions go.
I would have called them done at ten minutes. They kept them on the heat until they were dark and crisp at the edges, and that’s the moment lentils and rice turn into mujaddara.
So that’s the one thing to get right. Caramelize the onions far past the point where you think they’re ready, because that deep color is where the flavor comes from. The spices stay warm and quiet, cumin and coriander with a whisper of cinnamon, and the lentils need to hold their shape, so use brown or green and simmer them just to tender before the rice joins them.
I save a handful of the crispiest onions for the top and serve it with a bowl of plain yogurt to spoon over. If you like this, try my koshari, the Egyptian cousin with pasta and crispy onions, or my kitchari and misir wot.
What goes into mujaddara
Full ingredient list and detailed instructions in the recipe card.
- Yellow onions are the hero, and you want more than feels reasonable, since they cook down to a fraction of their volume. Slice them thin so they brown evenly. To get ahead, I caramelize a big batch in the slow cooker overnight, then crisp a handful in a hot skillet just before serving. I also make this creamy onion pasta with the extras.
- Brown or green lentils hold their shape through the cook, which keeps mujaddara from turning to porridge. Red lentils disintegrate, so leave them out.
- Long-grain white rice keeps the grains separate. Rinse it until the water runs clear, or the starch makes it clump.
- The spice mix is warm and restrained, cumin and coriander leading with a little cinnamon and allspice behind them. It should smell warm, not like a curry.
- Plain yogurt on the side is traditional and not optional in my house, since the cool tang plays against the sweet onions.
Shruthi’s Top Tips
Tips for the best mujaddara
Where most mujaddara goes wrong.
- Take the onions further than you think they need to go. Pale onions make a pale, flat mujaddara, and the 25 to 30 minutes is where the flavor lives. Trust the dark color.
- Simmer the lentils only to just tender before they meet the rice. If they’re already soft, they’ll collapse into the rice and you lose the texture.
- Leave the lid on. Once the rice goes in, don’t lift the lid through the cook or the 10-minute rest, or you let out the steam the rice needs to finish.
How to make mujaddara
- Heat the olive oil in a large heavy skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the sliced onions and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring every few minutes, until they’re deeply browned and crisping at the edges, 25 to 30 minutes. This step makes the dish, so don’t rush it. Pale onions give you a pale, flat mujaddara.
- Scoop out about a third of the onions and spread them on a paper-towel-lined plate, where they’ll crisp up for the top.
- While the onions cook, put the rinsed lentils in a saucepan, cover with water by an inch, and simmer until just tender but still holding their shape, about 15 minutes, then drain. Stop here while they still have a little bite, because lentils that are already soft will collapse into the rice.
- Stir the cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and allspice into the onions left in the pan and cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the drained lentils, the rinsed rice, the salt, and the water, and stir once.
- Bring it to a boil, then cover, drop the heat to low, and cook undisturbed until the rice is tender and the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Don’t lift the lid, since the rice needs the trapped steam. Pull it off the heat and let it sit, still covered, for 10 minutes.
- Fluff with a fork, taste for salt, and pile the reserved crispy onions on top. Serve warm with yogurt on the side.
How to serve mujaddara
Serve it warm with a bowl of plain yogurt to spoon over, which is how I learned to eat it. A simple chopped salad of tomato, parsley, and lemon on the side (or better yet, my Ethiopian tomato salad) turns it into a full meal, and warm flatbread is always right.
To make more of a meal of it, I add a fried or jammy egg on top, a spoon of thick garlicky yogurt, or a handful of chickpeas warmed through in the pan. My Mediterranean chickpea salad on the side does the same job when I want something with more heft.
It is an easy dish for a split table, since it is naturally vegan on its own. The yogurt sits on the side, so leave it off or use a plant-based one and nothing else changes. Meat-eaters can add grilled chicken or spiced lamb on top, and for the kids I keep it plain with extra crispy onions.
Variations
Swap the water for vegetable broth for a deeper base, or add a pinch of red pepper flakes to the spices if you want some heat. Some cooks finish it with a squeeze of lemon, which cuts the richness of the onions nicely. If you cook lentils often, my dal tadka is another one I keep in the weeknight rotation.
Storage and reheating
Leftovers keep in the fridge for up to 4 days in a sealed container. Reheat gently with a splash of water so the rice loosens back up, on the stovetop or in the microwave. The crispy onions soften in storage, so fry a small fresh batch for the top when you serve it again.
Mujaddara
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 3 large yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced
- 1¼ teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1 cup brown lentils, or green lentils, rinsed
- 1 cup long-grain white rice, rinsed until the water runs clear
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- 3 cups water
- 1 cup plain yogurt, optional, for serving
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large heavy skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the sliced onions and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring every few minutes, until deeply browned and crisping at the edges, 25 to 30 minutes.
- Scoop out about a third of the onions and spread them on a paper-towel-lined plate to crisp up for the top.
- While the onions cook, simmer the rinsed lentils in water to cover by an inch until just tender but still holding their shape, about 15 minutes, then drain.
- Stir the cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and allspice into the onions left in the pan and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the drained lentils, rice, salt, and water, and stir once.
- Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook undisturbed until the rice is tender and the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Off the heat, let it sit covered for 10 minutes.
- Fluff with a fork, taste for salt, and top with the reserved crispy onions. Serve warm with yogurt.
Notes
- Brown or green lentils hold their shape here; red lentils turn to mush, so don’t swap them in.
- Rinse the rice until the water runs clear so the grains stay separate instead of clumping.
- Substitute the water with vegetable broth for a deeper savory base.
- Leftovers keep in the fridge for up to 4 days and reheat well with a splash of water.
- To make the onions ahead, caramelize them in a slow cooker overnight on low, 8 to 10 hours, then crisp a handful in a hot skillet just before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
