Mujadarrah

[Family note: Easy, nutritious, and filling side dish, snack, or vegetarian entree.  The secret to making this dish great is letting the onions caramelize for a LONG time.  By way of cultural interest, mujadarrah (for which you will see many spellings) is common across the Arabic world and, being meatless, is popular among Arabic Christians during Lent.  Similar to an appetizer at LaZeez.]

Ingredients:

3-4 T. olive oil

2 or 3 large onions (trimmed, peeled, and chopped)

4 C. water

1 C. brown lentils

1 C. white rice (basmati is best, but regular long-grain white is okay)

3/4 t. salt

1/4 t. garlic powder

freshly ground black pepper

1 t. cumin

1/8 t. cinnamon

1/2 C. water

Directions:

Find a cutting board and a sharp knife.  Trim and peel the onions.  Cut the onions in half and chop all halves.  (Yes, this seems like a lot of onion, but it will cook way down and is everyone’s favorite part.)

Find a large (~10″) omelet pan.  Add the olive oil to the pan and turn the heat to medium.  When the olive oil is hot, add the chopped onions.  Stir frequently with a silicone scraper.  Cook the onions until they are golden brown.  Then turn the heat down to medium-low, keep stirring occasionally, and continue to cook the onions until they are dark brown, nearly black.  You don’t want to burn them, obviously, but you do want the sugars in the onions to caramelize, making them sweet and crispy.  You may need to lower the heat a bit more, but the onions will continue to cook while the rest of the dish is assembled.

Now that the onions are underway, find a large, deep skillet with a tight-fitting lid.  Add 4 C. water to the skillet.  Add the salt and the garlic powder.  Add the rice and the lentils.  Stir.  Turn the heat to high.  When the water begins to boil, cover the skillet tightly and turn the heat down to between medium-low and low.  (Set a timer for 20 minutes and continue to stir the onions.)

When the timer goes off on the lentil mixture, the water should be pretty much entirely absorbed.  Try a spoonful of the mixture.  The rice should be done, and the lentils should still be a bit firm.  (Who likes mushy lentils?)  Sprinkle on the cumin and the cinnamon.  Grind on a generous amount of black pepper.  Add the remaining 1/2 C. water.  Stir.  Re-cover, turn the heat to its very lowest setting, and set a timer for another 5 minutes.

By now the onions should be done.  When the timer goes off on the lentil mixture a second time, turn off the heat, remove the cover, and scrape the onions and oil onto the lentil mixture.  Stir well to distribute the onions.  Serve hot or warm.