Mujadarah

Posted May 16, 2010

Got the inspiration for this dish from Veganomicon but changed a few things. It was delicious. Basically, you can never go wrong with caramelized onions. Well, I've never tried them with chocolate. But could it be all bad!?!

The caramelized onions make this dish. My daughters, who don't normally like onions unless they are totally hidden in a dish, LOVED them here. When I asked one of them to help me scrape the onions from the baking dish into the rice/lentil mixture, she was avoiding the blackened pieces. I told her that she had to get those bits in because they would be the best. Reluctantly, she tried a blackened one and just flipped out over how tasty and sweet it was.

Success.

Mujadarah (vegan lentils with rice and caramelized onions) -- prep time: 1 hr 15 min; serves 6

Ingredients

2 onions, peeled and thinly sliced into rings

1/3 cup olive oil

2 cups water

2 cups vegetable broth

1 cup Texmati rice

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon cardamom

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 cup lentils

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 425° F. In a deep baking dish, toss onions with olive oil until well coated. Spread onions out in pan. Roast for about 30 minutes, until onions are golden brown with some of them starting to burn. Stir occasionally. When done, remove from oven and set aside.

In a large pot, boil water and vegetable broth. Add rice, allspice, cinnamon, cumin, coriander and cardamom. Bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Add lentil, stir briefly, bring to a boil, lower heat, cover and simmer for 40 - 45 minutes -- until liquid is absorbed. (You may need to add a touch of liquid towards the end if liquid has been absorbed before lentils are fully cooked.) When done, remove from heat and let sit for about 10 minutes.

Pour lentil/rice mixture into a large bowl and gently stir in onions and any oil remaining in pan. Serve warm.