Mejadra – Middle East

Lentils and riced are cooked together with a combination of spices that includes a heavy dose of cumin. The fragrant mixture is then topped off with crispy, fried onions, which provide the perfect crunchy contrast to the soft rice and lentil blend. A steaming hot bowl of this will save any chilly winter night and perfect of cozy cabins.

• 1 1/4 cups/250g green or brown lentils
• 4 medium onions (1 1/2 lb/700g before peeling)
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• About 1 cup/250ml sunflower oil
• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 1 1/2 tablespoons coriander seeds
• 1 cup/200g basmati rice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 1/2 cups/350ml water
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Place the lentils in a small saucepan, cover with plenty of water, bring to a boil, and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until the lentils have softened but still have a little bite. Drain and set aside.
2. Peel the onions and slice thinly. Place on a large flat plate, sprinkle with the flour and 1 teaspoon salt, and mix well with your hands. Heat the sunflower oil in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan placed over high heat. Make sure the oil is hot by throwing in a small piece of onion; it should sizzle vigorously. Reduce the heat to medium-high and carefully add one-third of the sliced onion. Fry for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally with a slotted spoon, until the onion takes on a nice golden brown color and turns crispy (adjust the temperature so the onion doesn’t fry too quickly and burn). Use the spoon to transfer the onion to a colander lined with paper towels and sprinkle with a little more salt. Do the same with the other two batches of onion; add a little extra oil if needed.
3. Wipe the saucepan in which you fried the onion clean and put in the cumin and coriander seeds. Place over medium heat and toast the seeds for a minute or two. Add the rice, olive oil, turmeric, allspice, cinnamon, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and plenty of black pepper. Stir to coat the rice with the oil and then add the cooked lentils and the water. Bring to a boil, cover with a lid, and simmer over very low heat for 15 minutes.
4. Remove from the heat, lift off the lid, and quickly cover the pan with a clean tea towel. Seal tightly with the lid and set aside for 10 minutes.
5. Finally, add half the fried onion to the rice and lentils and stir gently with a fork. Pile the mixture in a shallow serving bowl and top with the rest of the onion.

Perfect cozy cabin dish!