Lentil Pilaf

This is an age old recipe.  In medieval times this was called mujadarra, means a dish of the poor.  This used to be a favorite dish of misers yet everyone served it.  In medieval times when this dish was served in the Middle East, host often commented:” Excuse the food of the poor.”  To this the unanimous reply was :”Keep your food of kings and give us megadarra  (or mujadarra) everyday!”

The proportion of this lentil and rice pilaf varies with every family.  I used it equal amount of rice and lentil while many use two parts of lentil and one part of rice.

 

Ingredients:

1 cup black-brown lentil, 1 cup rice, salt to taste, cumin seeds 1 tsp, 2 onions, oil for frying onions

Method:

Wash and soak lentil for half an hour. 

Cook lentil in a big pan, add five cups of water, salt and cumin seeds.

It will take at least an hour for lentil to turn tender and cooked.

Now put the lentil through a colander but place this colander on another pan to save the water of the lentil in which it was cooked.

Wash rice well.  Cook rice in the left over water of the lentil.  If rice is one cup add two cups of lentil water.  Salt and cumin aroma of cooked lentil will come in this rice as well.

Cut the onions julienne and fry them in a very hot oil until they are dark brown and sweet, almost caramelized.

Once rice is cooked, take out the cooked rice a bowl, add a tbsp of cooked lentil and mix with the rice, now spread the rest of the lentil as a top layer on the rice.

Now garnish this lentil and rice pilaf with caramelized fried onion.

This dish can be served hot with plain yogurt.

Note : if you want to add color to the dish you may fry red and yellow peppers and garnish along with onions.