Lentils and Bulgur Pilaf – Mujaddara

For the Rice Mujaddara recipe please click here

Mujaddara, is a vegetarian friendly recipe that consists of cooked lentils with either white rice or bulgur topped with caramelized onions, it is very popular all over the Middle East and considered a staple in Arabic homes.

Usually it is served with yogurt, green salad, pickles, and olives. 

There aren’t many ingredients in this recipe; however the technique will affect your end result. It is not hard but in order to achieve the desired earthy and deep flavor you have to follow the steps to the tee.

Ingredients:

 

1.      1 cup Brown Lentils 

2.     1 cup Coarse Bulgur ( you can use short grain rice instead)

3.     5 medium sized onions

4.     1/2 cup of olive oil

5.     1 1/2 tsp of Bharat

6.     1/2 tsp turmeric 

7.     salt to taste

Directions:

 

Start by chopping the onions into medium julienne cut, in a large pot (its a one pot meal) heat up the olive oil and cook until caramelized and golden brown, remove most of the onions as they will be the topping for this dish, while leaving around one table spoon of the onions in the oil and burn them! 

 

Yeah you read that right burn them, not to the point that you have to call the fire department unless you need an excuse to call them over, that would be a whole ‘nother issue 😉 … Now back to the recipe, after you burn the onions (reaching a VERY dark brown caramelized color), remove the pot from the heat and add the washed drained lentils, be carefulwhen adding cold washed lentils to hot oil, it’s better to drain them completely before adding.

Now the REAL reason why we burnt the remaining onions is that it will give a deeper more rich flavor for the Mujaddara, it will taste amazing I promise.

Toss the lentils with the olive oil in the pot adding the spices and enough water to cover them, the lentils will need around 25-35 minutes boiling in the oniony olive oily water 😛 … they should still be firm but edible (al dente), if it took longer to reach this stage just keep on the stove and add more water if needed.

Now while the lentils are being cooked wash your bulgur with water, drain and set aside.

Once the lentils reach the al dente stage add the strained bulgur and adjust seasoning of the broth.

You might need to remove some of the broth liquid that the lentils has been cooking in, this is the hardest part for you guys and for me as I don’t nor does my mother use measurements in cooking we always eyeball (Sorry!).

But what you are looking for is that the water level should be slightly above the bulgur and lentils level.

Cover the pot and cook on high heat until it is bubbling and the water has reached just below the bulgur/lentil level, at this point lower the heat and cook for 20 minutes.

DON’T I repeat DON’T stir and don’t open the lid and check every 36 seconds, unless you want to eat a semi cooked mush of lentils and bulgur. 

Finally top your dish with caramelized onions w Sahtain.