Mjaddra

Serves:

Ingredients

• 1 cup brown lentils
• 1/2 cup basmati rice
• 2 tbs ghee
• 3 medium onion (diced)
• 2 1/2 cup water
• 1 pinch ground cumin
• 1 tsp celtic sea salt
• 1 portion parsley (chopped)

Method

Soak lentils and rice overnight and rinse well before cooking.

Heat ghee in a skillet and fry the onions on medium heat until golden-brown, approximately 15-20 minutes. Pop a splash of water into the pan if the onions start to stick to the bottom. Make sure the onions don’t burn. Reserve half of the cooked onions for a garnish.

Place the lentils and rice together in a saucepan, along with half of the caramelised onions and the water. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently with no cover. Add cumin and mix. Stir occasionally until the mixture starts to thicken (10-15 mins).

Add the salt at the end of cooking and stir. Serve on a platter and garnish with caramelised onion and a sprinkle of parsley.

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Serving Suggestions

Note

• Mjaddra is a traditional Iraqi dish.
• Make sure to soak your lentils and rice the night before in an acidic medium (you could try whey, whole milk kefir, whole milk yogurt, lemon juice, raw apple cider vinegar or coconut milk kefir) and rinse off well before cooking. This makes them both more digestible and quicker to cook.
• For a non-vegetarian option, use chicken stock instead of the plain water.
• Use coconut oil if you don't have ghee.
• Mjaddra can be eaten hot or at room temperature with a side salad and some natural yoghurt mixed with mint, lemon juice and some ground coriander. You could even add some Lebanese bread if you like.
• Try serving with a thinly sliced raw cabbage salad with some salt, lemon and olive oil drizzled on it.
• This recipe was created by Brenda Janschek for Kidspot.