Mujadarra (Middle Eastern Lentils and Rice)
Mujadarra is a famous middle eastern dish of lentils and rice with caramelized onions, and I loved this from the very first time I tasted it! This is definitely not a low-carb recipe, but it’s something I’d enjoy once in a while as a treat.
PIN Mujadarra to try it later!
Mujadarra (pronounced moo-jha-druh) is a humble middle eastern dish of lentils and rice with caramelized onions. This is a recipe where the flavor is so much more than you’d expect from the simple ingredients used.
Years ago I started ordering Mujadarra at a now-closed Salt Lake restaurant which served it with Middle Eastern Tomato Salad around the the plate, the perfect way to eat it if you have tomatoes and fresh herbs on hand.
Then that restaurant closed, and I never found another place in Utah where I liked it as much. So recently I decided to get serious about making Mujadarra myself, and I adapted this classic lentils and rice recipe from Paula Wolfert’s The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean (affiliate link).
After waiting years to re-create a version of this dish I was happy with, I experimented until I loved how this turned out, and I’m sure it’s something I’m going to be making over and over again, even if it is a bit of a splurge on carbs.
What ingredients do you need?
(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- long-grain white rice (see notes)
- brown lentils
- yellow onions
- olive oil (use high-quality olive oil with good flavor for this dish)
- ground cumin
- salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
How do you spell Mujadarra?
The SLC restaurant where I learned to love this dish spelled it Mujadarra, so I had it imprinted into my brain with that spelling. And after looking online I decided that’s an acceptable spelling for this, but it’s also spelled Mujadara, Mujaddara, Mujadarah, and Mujadarrah in many recipes and articles around the web!
What kind of white rice did I use for Mujadarra?
It’s definitely not authentic for this dish, but I used Ben’s Original Converted Rice (affiliate link) because the converted rice is lower on the glycemic index than the traditional middle eastern rice.
How did I get the lentils and rice cooked at the same time?
Even after several tries, I couldn’t manage to cook the lentils and rice together without one or the other getting overcooked. What worked for me was to cook the rice separately and mix it into the cooked lentils and caramelized onions.
How to Make Mujadarra:
(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- Rinse lentils, then add water and cook at a low simmer 20-30 minutes, until lentils are soft. Cover the cooked lentils and let sit so they absorb most of the water.
- Cook 3/4 cup long grain rice, either following the directions on the package or using a rice cooker like I did. I used Uncle Ben’s Converted Rice, which is a low-glycemic type of white rice, but Basmati rice would also be good. (Keep the rice warm until you need it.)
- Peel onions, then cut into quarter-slices to make 3 cups sliced onions. (I increased the amount of onion; next time I might increase the onion even more.)
- Heat olive oil in large heavy pan, then add onions and start to brown the onions over medium-low heat, stirring every few minutes. I cooked the onions for a total of 25 minutes browning time. (Don’t rush the browning step; you want the onions to slowly get golden brown.)
- Remove about half the onions to a paper towel, and let them drain and crisp while you finish the dish. These crispy onions bits are served on top of the cooked lentils and rice.
- Add cumin to the rest of the cooked onions and saute 1-2 minutes.
- Transfer the cooked lentils to the pan with the onions, leaving behind any liquid that hasn’t been absorbed. Season lentils with salt and freshly ground black pepper and cook 2-3 minutes.
- Then gently mix the cooked rice into the lentils and onions, heating for a minute or two if needed.
- Serve hot or warm, with some of the crisp onions topping each serving.
Make it a Vegetarian Meal:
Mujadarra is great as a meatless meal served with Middle Eastern Tomato Salad on the side, which is the way I always order it in a restaurant. It would also make a great side dish with Falafel. Or you if don’t care if it’s a vegetarian meal you could serve it as a side dish with Middle Eastern Turkey Burgers or Kabob Koobideh.
Mujadarra (Middle Eastern Lentils and Rice)
Mujadarra is a famous middle eastern dish of lentils and rice with caramelized onions, and I love this served with Middle Eastern Tomato Salad!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup long-grain white rice (see notes)
- 1 cup brown lentils, rinsed
- 3 cups yellow onions, cut into quarter slices (or more)
- 1/3 cup olive oil (use high-quality olive oil with good flavor for this dish)
- 1/4 tsp. ground cumin
- salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook rice in water following package directions, or cook in a rice cooker.
- When rice is done, cover and keep warm until you add it to the lentils.
- Rinse lentils, then place in heavy pot with a tight fitting lid, add 1 quart water, and let lentils simmer over very low heat uncovered until they are soft (about 20-30 minutes, but cooking time will depend on how fresh the lentils are so keep checking until they are soft but still have a slight bite to them.)
- When lentils are cooked, cover and let water them absorb any leftover water.
- While lentils cook, cut onions into short slices.
- Heat olive oil in heavy frying pan, then add onions, reduce heat to medium-low and start to brown onions, stirring every few minutes.
- Continue to cook onions, stirring often, until they are deeply browned and caramelized, about 20-25 minutes. Don't rush this step; the onions can be bitter if they're cooked at too high of heat.
- When onions are browned, remove half the onions to drain on a paper towel to crisp.
- Sprinkle 1/4 tsp cumin into the rest of the onions in the pan and saute 1-2 minutes.
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked lentils to the pan with the onions, leaving behind any water that's not absorbed.
- Season the cooked lentils and onions with salt and freshly ground black pepper and cook 1-2 minutes to blend flavors.
- Gently mix cooked rice into the lentils and caramelized onions, heating for a minute or two if the rice is not hot.
- Put Mujadarra on a serving dish, top with crispy caramelized onions, and serve hot or warm.
Notes
I used Uncle Ben's Converted Rice (affiliate link) which is a low-glycemic type of white rice.
Recipe adapted from Paula Wolfert's The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean (affiliate link).
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 330Total Fat: 18gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 152mgCarbohydrates: 36gFiber: 7gSugar: 9gProtein: 8g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
If this Mujadarra is made with a low-glycemic type of white rice such as Uncle Ben’s Converted Rice, this dish would be approved for phase 2 or 3 of the original South Beach Diet. It’s too high in carbs for a low-carb diet.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Side Dishes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type index pages to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This attempt to duplicate the Mujadarra I loved at the original Cafe Med in SLC was first posted in 2010. The recipe was last updated with more information in 2023.
59 Comments on “Mujadarra (Middle Eastern Lentils and Rice)”
Hi Kalyn — I need some clarification. In step 6, it says reduce heat to med-low to cook the onions, but in step 7 it says onions are better when cooked at high heat. Help?
I thought at first it was a typo, but now I see it says onions will be BITTER if they’re cooked at low heat (not better.) Sorry for the confusion.
Kalyn, how interesting – I've got a very similar recipe on my blog, yet entirely different (mine's a soup): http://nami-nami.blogspot.com/2012/10/makhlouta-comforting-rice-and-lentil.html
Thanks for your quick reply to my question about freezing this dish — I didn't get a chance to try because my family devoured it! So delicious! I caramelized the onions in a dutch oven in the oven for hours (a Cooks Illustrated method). It took longer but it was hands off, which is what I needed with two little ones in the house. In any case — thanks for the recipe — a keeper for sure.
So glad you liked it. This has been one of my favorite dishes for a long time.
Just made this for the first time. I originally found you via Pinterest.
It's SO easy to make and SO yummy!
I haven't tried freezing this, but I am quite sure it would freeze okay. I have kept it in the fridge a few days and then reheated, and that works well too. I prefer it reheated in a frying pan (like fried rice) rather than using the microwave.
Do you think this dish would freeze well? Or else could I make it ahead and reheat? Thanks so much.
Danny I like the rice cooker for perfect white or brown rice, but feel free to do it any way you prefer!
Brown rice and (dry) lentils cook the same time; you can easily cook them together in a single pot.
If you wanted to cook using lentils and white rice in a single pot, you need to start the lentils off and add rice somewhere in the 10-30 minute mark — which is a huge range, and no, it isn't easy to get right, unless you have a lot of experience with it.
Much easier to just use brown rice. And better for you, too. My vote is for eating it with parsley – yum.
Jessica, thanks for sharing that. Lucky you to have a mom who makes good stuff like this for you! I do remember that the restaurant where I learned to love this served it with a ring of chopped cucumber-tomato salad around the plate, but I hadn't heard about serving that on top or with the yogurt sauce either. Both of those sound really good to me!
Hi Kalyn! I love your blog 🙂
Just wanted to let you know that middle eastern rice and lentils are often eaten with a tomato-cucumber salad on top as well as a yogurt sauce (with cucumbers in it and maybe some garlic – kind of like a tzatziki) It acts as a kind of dressing and is just great with the rice and tomato salad. I thought it might be something you like since I see yogurt on this blog often, so I wanted to share! My mom is middle eastern and makes it this way.
Thanks for all of your wonderful recipes! I make your roasted lemon cabbage wedges all the time – they're divine.
Jessica
Glad you liked this; I would hate to think of someone giving up on lentils.
Thank you so much for posting this recipe it is absolutely delicious!
I have tried lentils a couple times and dislike the taste, this was my third and last try before giving up on lentils.
I did tweak it a bit though, I prepared the onions first, then sauteed the brown rice with the carmelized onions to toast it a little, then I sauteed the cooked lentils with some garlic, mixed everything together, seasoned with cumin and cinnamon, tasted it, then threw in a handful of raisens.
Next time I will try adding cardamon as suggested in another comment.
Emily I love hearing your authentic touches; thanks for sharing. Especially like the idea of adding more seasonings to the rice and brown rice would probably be my favorite too.
I love mjadara! It's my go-to dish when I've got nothing else in the house. And then I remember how yummy it is and eat it for days.
Other tips for making it even more Middle Eastern:
Add 3-4 cardamom pods (or 1 Tbsp. ground cardamom); 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon; up to 3 tsp ground cumin to the rice when cooking. DELICIOUS.
Definitely need plain thick yogurt for serving. That yogurt makes the spices really pop in your mouth. When I was visiting my parents in the States, I made them this dish, and they were completely skeptical of the yogurt, but ended up loving it.
I've also used brown rice for this dish, and it works great. My Arab husband liked the brown rice even better.
Danny, thanks for those tips. I love hearing how different families prepare this traditional dish!
Nice blog and good recipe! Though I have to agree with cf, the Lebanese version I was taught by my mom never browned the onions, they are cooked long and slow (up to an hour or so) till translucent, with only a hint of color. It's all good though! The trick is getting the rice and lentils cooked together so they are just done. My way is: get the onions going; start cooking the lentils; when 2/3 done, add half the onions, uncooked basmati, extra water to suit, salt and pepper; cook till done, and then add the other half of the onions which have had a little longer in the pan. Lots of olive oil! Brown basmati also works really well, and cooks at the same rate as the lentils, so is a simple cooking operation.
Glad you liked it. I have loved this dish for years and years!
Just made this tonight to accompany baked pork tenderloin and baby carrots with nutmeg and ginger — best meal I've had in a long time, thanks for the recipe!
Donna, what a fun memory; hope you enjoy the recipe.
i've been wanting this recipe for some time now. my aunt used to make this dish for my uncle when i was a child.she would also cook the lentils,rice and onions together.caramelized onions sounds great on top of the dish also. she would also make a salad and have fried or sauted cubed steak . italian salad dressing to me made this dish wonderful. a bite of steak,lentils&rice with the salad.one of my favorite childhood memory of my aunts great cooking.thanks aunt helen & kalyn.
I tried this last night. Perfect!!!!
I used brown rice, and it was just fine.
It's going in my permanent collection for phase 2 South Beach.
Thank you, Kalyn.
Thanks for sharing about that Iranian version with walnuts and raisins. Also good to know that cooking the rice and lentils separately isn't that unusual, it definitely worked better for me.
In one of the regions of Iran…they add walnuts and raisins which are briefly cooked hot butter….in addition to the caramelized onions.
(They cook the lentils separately before adding to the rice)
The resulting one pot rice dish is served with side dishes of plain yogurt and a basket of fresh herbs.
Ooh delicious! Whenever I cook lentils it is usually an indian dish but I love the flavors in this rice dish. Love the caramelized onions.
I have lots of lentils and Basmati rice on hand and this sounds great. I might like trying it with some curry powder. Thanks for posting this!
I have lots of lentils and lots of Basmati rice on hand. I'll have to give this one a try. I wonder if a good curry would be good with this? I might try that. Thank you for posting this!
Katie, I think any combination that includes lentils will have to be good!
ck, thanks for sharing how your mom did it.
this sounds pretty good and looks great, but is pretty different from the recipe i grew up with. i don't know if it's just the lebanese way, or the way my mom always did it, but we don't caramelize the onions. we allow them to get translucent, then cook the lentils and rice right along with them, until the lentils have begun to break down. its an even simpler method than what you've described and it's also pretty awesome. the rice does kind of explode on itself, but i think that's a nice part of the dish, and when the lentils begin to break down, they become even sweeter. thanks for posting!
This sounds wonderful! I've been experimenting cooking rice, quinoa and red lentils together…. But I have to try this. The red lentils cook in the same time as rice, but I agree, other lentils take longer and I don't see how it would work together. Great photo – I want to dip my fork in!
I used traditional brown lentils, because that's all I've ever had in this dish, but you can definitely use any type of lentils you'd like. I like Uncle Ben's Converted Rice because it's lower on the glycemic index, but Basmati rice is probably what would normally be used in this I'm guessing. Let us know if you experiment and find a good combination.
I'm curious to know if you tried other kinds of lentils than the brown ones. French lentils (Puy lentils) take longer to cook and would probably cook at about the same rate as rice. I know you are a big fan of Uncle Ben's, but that cooks faster than traditional rice. I'm just curious to know what kinds of lentils you used during your testing process. Thanks for continuing to publish such a terrific food blog!
I'm tempted to try this with quinoa! looks amazing.
I'm seconding CindyK's recommendation for mujadarra made with bulgur instead of rice. There was a really mouthwatering description by Marian Burros in the NYT (3/15/00) of a pita (made by Kalustyan) stuffed with bulgur mujadarra (spelled in the article as mujaddara), lots of carmelized onions, tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, hot sauce, and tahina. I made the sandwich the same day I read the description. Awesome!
that looks so good! I love the burnished and bronzed onions on top!
This is such a simple dish, but sounds so flavorful and comforting. I love the effort that you took to find the perfect method for making these.
It sounds like I will need to try the Mazza version of this! I do remember Robert's Deli but the restaurant where I used to love this was the original Cafe Med on 400 South in SLC (no relationship to the current Cafe Med.) They later moved to 500 S and about 400 W, but it wasn't a great location and they went out of business. I was so sad to see them go, as well as Robert's Deli too.
I agree, more onions can only be better for this dish!
This is one of my favorite dishes at Mazza. Gorgeous. Caramelized onions are a weakness 🙂
This is my idea of heaven Kalyn. I am definitely making this one. Thank you for the recipe. I think I will go crazy with the onions 🙂
This looks wonderful! Kalyn, are you referring to the now closed Robert's Deli in your article? I was heartbroken years (and years!) ago when I learned it closed since I loved how they made this dish. It was incredible! If this resembles theirs, then I'm thrilled to have a recipe that compares. Thanks!
I love the idea of caramelizing onions in a crockpot. I think I'm going to have to try that!
I make this with bulgur instead of rice and TONS of carmelized onions. In fact, I carmelize the onions – a whole bag at a time – in a crockpot and we eat them on everything! Just discovered that carmelized onions in turkey burgers are great! You have me craving Middle Eastern food right now!
Now this dish might be a way to get Mr. GFE to eat lentils! He loves rice and caramelized onions. I've never heard of this dish, but really want to make it. It really does look like terrific comfort food. Thanks, Kalyn!
Shirley
I'm happy to be introducing some people to this dish for the first time. It's definitely one of those combinations where it ends up being so much more than you'd imagined it will be.
This looks great, love the onions on top! I think lentils are one of those ingredients we tend to forget about and just don't use enough. I've never heard of this dish, so thanks for sharing it!
Umm, I don't think I can wait for dinner. How about this for breakfast. Lentils!
Super good Kalyn.
I have made a version of this by Geoff Smith, where the method is a little different, but the flavors are much the same. The carmelize onions give the dish such a sweet and rich flavor.
I've heard a lot about this dish and know that I would absolutely love it! Thanks so much for posting this…it is exactly my kind of meal.
OhMyGosh does this look deeeeelish! Those dark caramelized onions on top have me drooling!
Donna
Right on, my girlfriend!
i have heard so much about this dish but somehow never managed to cook or eat it outside. So glad that you posted this recipe! I think my half finished packet of zatar would love to be a part of this dish too 🙂
How fun to hear that so many other people have a history with this dish. It's definitely a comforting and inexpensive thing to make when the weather is a bit cool.
This looks excellent! I have everything here to make it, I should put this on the menu for this week. Thanks!!
I look at your picture and I think I want to eat it right now.
Wow, is this EVER my bag! I may have to change my dinner plans. :O)
Lovely photo, Kalyn! I learned to make Mujaddarah in Saudi Arabia, where I got hooked on Middle Eastern food. I crave this dish when I'm under the weather, it's so good.
I first learned this dish from a Lebanese woman who owns a small grocery store in North Providence. She taught me to cook the lentils and rice together, after caramelizing the onions in the pan. But I love the idea of cooking the ingredients separately and combining them to retain the texture of each of the ingredients. This is truly comfort food!
I might have to make this today. Looks like a comforting dish for the cool weather we are having.