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Levantine · Palestinian · Lebanese

Mujaddara

Vegetarian

مجدرة · mujaddara

Lentils and rice cooked together with cumin and crowned with a heap of onions fried slowly in olive oil until deeply browned. A humble, satisfying Levantine staple.

Mujaddara is a Levantine main course, ready in about 1 hour 10 minutes and made with onion and green or brown lentils. It serves 4 and is rated easy to cook.

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Prep
10 min
Cook
50 min
Rest
10 min
Total
1 h 10 min
Serves
4
Level
Easy
Calories
522

Ingredients

4 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Heat the olive oil (opens in a new tab) in a wide frying pan and cook the onions (opens in a new tab) with a pinch of the salt, stirring often, until deep golden brown and partly crisp.

    Patience is the recipe — pale onions make a dull dish.

    Onions frying golden in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Meanwhile, simmer the lentils in the water for 15 minutes until just tender but holding their shape.

  3. Step 3

    Add the rice, cumin (opens in a new tab), salt, pepper (opens in a new tab) and half the fried onions (opens in a new tab) with some of their oil to the lentils. Cover and cook on low until the rice is tender and the water absorbed, then rest off the heat.

    • 18 min
    • low heat

    Food safety: Cool leftover rice quickly and refrigerate within 1 hour.

  4. Step 4

    Fluff with a fork, pile onto a platter and top with the remaining onions (opens in a new tab). Serve with yogurt (opens in a new tab).

    • 10 min
    A finished dish being plated
    How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Levant · Origin uncertainEaten across the Levant and beyond; similar lentil-and-grain dishes exist throughout the region.Also popular in Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Jordan, Israel
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Main courses · Rice dishes
Cooking method
Simmered, Pan-fried
Taste
earthy, savoury, sweet & savoury
Diet
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No gluten ingredients · No nut ingredients
All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No gluten ingredients · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Mediterranean-style
Without the optional extras: Vegan, Plant-based, Ovo-vegetarian, Dairy-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Budget-friendly · Make-ahead · Meal-prep friendly
Cook more with
Onion · Green or brown lentils · Long-grain white rice · Cumin
Techniques
Pan-frying · Simmering

Allergens

  • Contains, can be adapted: Milkfrom yogurt

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

522 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 394 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 12%
  • Carbohydrate 55%
  • Fat 33%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy522 kcal132 kcal
Protein16.4 g4.2 g
Carbohydrate72.5 g18.4 g
Net carbohydrate64.6 g16.4 g
Sugars5.7 g1.5 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre7.9 g2 g
Fat19.3 g4.9 g
Saturated fat2.7 g0.7 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol0 mg0 mg
Sodium889 mg225 mg
Salt equivalent2.2 g0.6 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
561 mg
Calcium
80 mg
Iron
5.8 mg
Magnesium
51 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
2 µg
Vitamin C
10 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
406 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: yogurt.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Leave the onion-fried oil in the dish — it carries the flavour.

Common mistakes

  • Over-cooking the lentils before the rice goes in — they turn to mush by the time the rice is done.

Serve with

  • With yogurt, a cucumber salad or fattoush.

Storage

  • Keeps 3 days in the fridge.

Reheating

  • Reheat until piping hot with a splash of water.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Sauces, chutneys & dips for this dish

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2, 3, 4

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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