Mjudraa

A friend once asked me what I was eating and I replied "Mainly lentils and rice." "Oh," said she, "In Pakistan that's considered poor people's food." Needless to say, my frugal heart grew three sizes that day. Here is an excellent savoury recipe combining those two great tastes that taste great together: A Lebanese dish called Mjudraa. One of my professors very kindly gave me this old family recipe. It's fairly easy to make, the only downside is cutting up all those onions. I'd imagine that a food processor would be very handy here, I'll have to try that out when I am in a place where such a device resides. Usually when I'm cooking for myself I only use half this recipe, which still provides for plenty of leftovers.

Mjudraa

2 cups of brown lentils (washed and drained)

8 cups of water

1 teaspoon of sea salt

1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper.

1 cup white rice (basmati recommended)

1/6 - 1/3 cup of oil (olive recommended)

6 large onions, chopped

Place the lentils in a heavy-based saucepan and add the water. Season with salt and cayenne pepper and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer gently for 25-30 minutes. Stir in the rice and simmer for 20 more minutes, adding extra water if necessary. Stir to make sure that it doesn't burn.

After adding the rice to the lentils, saute the onions in the olive oil in a heavy skillet until they are a golden brown and are slightly gooey. I usually use less oil, 1/6 of a cup is 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons. Add to the lentils and rice, stir and then remove from the heat.

My professor suggests garnishing with the green onions, and serve with pita bread, black lives, plain yoghurt, a squeeze of lemon over each serving, and a fresh lettuce, feta and tomato salad.

Serves 5