Mujadarrah - Lentils and Rice with Onions

I love to experiment with ethnic foods, and fortunately for me, my husband is always willing to be my taste tester. He grew up in Hawaii, so he was exposed to a variety of cultures and foods. He loves to try exotic things.

Charles and I both liked the modifications I made to the original recipe and would eat it again. I'm planning to double my modified recipe to take to our church's International Dinner on Friday night. The kids thought it was okay without the sour cream.

Here's what you'll need:

1/2 cup brown rice
1/2 cup lentils (I used green)
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup water
1/2 teas cumin
1/4 teas ground coriander
1/2 teas salt
1 onion, diced
Cinnamon
Sour cream or plain yogurt

In a saucepan, combine the rice, lentils, broth, water, cumin, coriander and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the rice and lentils are cooked and the liquid is absorbed. This should take about 30-40 minutes. Stir occasionally.

I used my rice cooker's brown rice setting and it turned out perfectly.



While the rice and lentils are cooking, heat some olive oil in a skillet. Cook the onions over medium heat until carmelized. Sprinkle some cinnamon over while they're cooking.


When the onions are nice and browned, remove from heat. Gently stir into the cooked rice mixture. Taste and add more salt if necessary.


Put sour cream or plain yogurt over individual servings. This really adds some interest to the dish, in my opinion. Mujadarrah can also be scooped up with flatbread or pita bread.


Middle Eastern food has the reputation of being spicy, so people sometimes avoid it. To me, mujadarrah is the perfect dish to ease you into this type of cuisine.

For more whole grain recipes, visit Life as Mom's Ultimate Recipe Swap.