Mujaddara with crispy onions and cucumber yoghurt

• 1 hour 5 minutes
• Prep 15 minutes
• Cook 50 minutes
• Serves 4

Our own recipe. The photograph is AI-generated.

• Vegetarian
• Gluten free

Ingredients

• 200g dried green or brown lentils
• 4 onions (about 600g), halved and thinly sliced
• 6 tablespoons (90ml) olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt, then more to taste
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• Half a teaspoon ground allspice
• Half a teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 200g basmati rice, rinsed
• Half a teaspoon black pepper
• 250g Greek-style yoghurt
• Half a cucumber, finely chopped
• 1 small garlic clove, crushed
• A small handful of fresh mint (about 10g), chopped
• Half a lemon
• To serve: a small bunch of flat-leaf parsley (about 20g), roughly chopped

Let's cook

1. Rinse the lentils and put them in a pan with 1 litre of water. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 15 minutes until they are just tender but still hold their shape. Drain them.
2. While the lentils cook, heat the oil in a large, wide frying pan on a medium heat. Add the onions and a pinch of the salt. Cook for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until they are soft and a deep, even brown. Lower the heat if they catch.
3. Lift out half the onions with a slotted spoon and put them in a large pan with a lid. Leave the rest, and most of the oil, in the frying pan for later.
4. Add the cumin, allspice and cinnamon to the onions in the large pan and stir on a medium heat for 30 seconds. Add the rice and lentils and stir to coat them. Pour in 400ml boiling water with the rest of the salt and the pepper.
5. Bring to the boil, put the lid on, turn the heat to its lowest and cook for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave it covered for 10 minutes so the rice finishes in the steam.
6. While it rests, make the yoghurt. Mix the yoghurt, cucumber, garlic, half the mint and a squeeze of the lemon with a pinch of salt.
7. Turn the heat up under the onions left in the frying pan. Fry for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring, until they are dark and crisp, then drain them on kitchen paper.
8. Fluff the lentils and rice with a fork and taste for salt. Pile onto plates, top with the crispy onions, parsley and the rest of the mint, and serve the yoghurt on the side.

Tips

• The onions are the star, so let them brown slowly. Pale onions give a pale, flat dish.
• Green or brown lentils keep their shape. Red lentils turn to mush, so do not swap them in.
• Cool any leftover rice within an hour, keep it in the fridge and eat it within a day. Reheat it until it is steaming hot.

Swaps

• Vegan: skip the yoghurt and serve with 3 tablespoons tahini mixed with lemon juice, garlic and water (tahini contains sesame).
• Quicker: use a 400g tin of green lentils, drained, and skip the first step.

Tags

• lentils
• rice
• middle eastern
• crispy onions

In Autumn comfort, Plant powered.

Contains: Milk .

Of the 14 allergens, only milk is in this recipe, in the yoghurt. The lentils, rice and spices contain none of the 14.

Check every packet for allergens.