Lebanon
Lentils and Rice (Mjeddrah)
An editor-reviewed guide to making Lentils and Rice (Mjeddrah), with measured ingredients and clear, practical steps.
Mjeddrah is the pantry food of a Lebanese household, cheap enough to cook on an ordinary weeknight and built on lentils and brown rice going soft together in one pot. Onion and cumin do the seasoning, and the aim is a unified texture rather than any distinguishable grain. Undercooking is the usual failure, since the pot wants stirring until the lentils break down and thicken what little liquid remains.
Ingredients
- brown lentils, soaked an hour or more0.5 cup
- onion, sliced0.5 cup
- A little chopped carrot, celery, etc. (optional)A small amount
- olive oil2 tablespoons
- long grain brown rice, rinsed0.5 cup
- water3 cups
- whole or ground cumin0.5 teaspoon
- Minced garlic (optional)As needed
- Dried chile pepper (optional)As needed
- cinnamon stick (optional)0.5
- A few cardamom pods (optional)As needed
- Salt to tasteTo taste
- Pepper to tasteTo taste
Directions
- 1
Pick over the lentils to remove any stones.
- 2
Sauté the onion and any other vegetables in the olive oil for a minute or two.
- 3
If desired, sauté the rice for a short time, but do not let it burn.
- 4
Add the rice, water, cumin, garlic, chili pepper, cinnamon, and cardamom to the pot of onions. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 40 minutes to 1 hour. You will have to check it occasionally and add water—the final product should have some liquid but should not be very soupy. It is finished when the rice and lentils are both no longer crunchy.
- 5
Season with salt and pepper.
Source: Wikibooks Cookbook (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0; English normalized and Chinese translation added by WorldBite.