Our friends Gill and Therese (affectionately known as “G&T”) are vegetarian. We were cooking dinner for them the other night, and I made this simple Lebanese rice and lentil dish to accompany a root vegetable tagine. The rice stole the tagine’s thunder – we were all surprised by how delicious it was!
The original recipe is from Abla’s Lebanese Kitchen, a truly fabulous cookbook and one I’d highly recommend if you’re looking for a Christmas gift…
I changed Abla’s recipe slightly, substituting French lentils and Basmati rice for her original ingredients…
Here’s my take on the recipe:
- 300g (1½ cups) French lentils, washed and drained (original recipe used brown lentils)
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 125ml (½ cup) light olive oil (or other neutral oil for frying)
- 2 medium brown onions, halved and sliced thinly (I used a mandoline)
- 200g (1 cup) Basmati rice (or other long grain rice)
1. If using Basmati, put the rice in a bowl of water to soak. If using regular long grain rice, rinse and drain well.
2. Put the lentils and salt in a large saucepan with 750ml (3 cups) water, cover and bring to the boil over a high heat. Once the pot is boiling, add another cup (250ml) of cold water and boil for 15 minutes (the extra water is supposed to stop the lentils from splitting). Check the lentils – they should be tender but not mushy.
3. In the meantime, in a large pan (I used a wok), heat the oil over high heat and fry the onions until golden brown – the time this takes will vary depending on your onions (Abla specifies 6-7 minutes, but mine took longer). A lot of the flavour in the dish comes from this step, so take the time to really brown them well. Once they’re done, scoop out a quarter of the onions with a slotted spoon and reserve for garnishing.
4. At this point, carefully combine the cooked lentils with the remaining onions and their oil. I did this by turning the heat off on the onions in the wok, and then carefully ladling in the lentils and their cooking liquid. Take care to go slowly, as the oil will bubble and pop. Abla’s original instructions are to add the onions and their oil to the lentil pot.
5. Drain the Basmati rice (if using), rinse well and drain again. Add the rice to the cooking pot, then add another cup (250ml) of water and stir well. Cook, covered, over a low heat for 20-30 minutes or until the water is absorbed and the rice tender (keep an eye on it and stir occasionally).
6. Scatter over the reserved fried onions and serve. This dish reheats well – I made it the day before and the flavours seemed to intensify overnight. If you plan to do that, keep the fried onions in reserve and scatter them over the dish just before serving.
This dish was so good that I made it again a few days later for Big Boy and Small Man, who both loved it. Definitely a keeper!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Thanks for the tip on stopping the lentils from splitting. I love this dish and your version rocks :)
Cindy, how nice to hear from you, hope all is well! The water-adding trick was in the book, but I’m not sure French lentils split anyway.. ;-)
This is right up my alley. Thanks for the idea!
Em, I think it’s going to be a favourite here too! :)
I love this sort of dish, it’s amazing how tasty such fsimple, frugal ingredients can be isn’t it – I think I’m definitely a peasant at heart, always prefer simple rustic dishes from any culture.
Andrea, I know exactly what you mean – I think I’d rather have a generous rustic meal at home over a restaurant dish any day!
You’ve reminded me that this is a dish that I’ve been meaning to try for a long time – your success with French lentils means I don’t need to go and buy another variety. It looks really tasty too – I’m often in two minds about Puy and other green lentils, I like the idea of many recipes but I’m often not overwhelmed with the outcome.
Sue, I’m a bit puzzled, I always thought French and Puy lentils were basically the same. They’re growing French lentils here in Australia now!
Puy lentils must be grown in a specific area of France and have an ‘appellation d’origine protegée’ mark on the pack, which is a guarantee that they are genuine. It’s a bit like ‘appellation controllée’ on wines. It’s said that the soil, water and growing conditions in the Puy area give the lentils a better flavour.
Similar lentils grown in other areas of France are called green or continental lentils here.
As you might expect, Puy lentils are more expensive than other green lentils. I have to say that I can’t tell the difference between Puy and other green lentils!
Are French lentils standard in big grocery stores? Or do I need to seek them out in delis or special stores?
Fatima’s on Cleveland st make this and I’ve been getting it there for years. Never knew it could be had at home so easily!
Thanks for yet another excellent tip!
Tommy, I don’t mean to sound like a git, but I rarely shop in supermarkets, so I don’t know. Having said that, I had a look and found McKenzie’s are now making them, and their website says they’re available in Woollies, Coles and IGAs…
http://www.mckenziesfoods.com.au/product/116/McKenzies_French_Style_Lentils
If you get a chance, it’s worth taking a drive up to Harkola in Auburn, they have an amazing array of interesting produce on offer. I picked up my bag of French lentils from them…
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2009/09/24/harkola/
PS. Thanks for stopping by, I’m a huge fan of yours! :)
I have never been a lentil cooker, but this does look like something I can manage.. but what are lentils really, are they a pea or a bean?.. c
Celi, Wiki tells me that they’re “an edible pulse”. They grow on small bushes in pods, so I think they’re technically a seed. They’re a part of the legume family…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lentil
Love lentils and love lentil-rice. This post inspiring me to post the Persian lentil-rice recipe … but mainly, it is making me hungry!
Azita, I’d love to read about the Persian version – does it have dried fruit in it? We used to make Kosheri rice, but this one is so flavourful even without the added spices…
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2010/07/31/kosheri/
Yes! We use raisins and dates, but, it’s also possible to have it plain and eat it with a side of yogurt. It’s not the kind of rice one serves at a party (it’s not considered fancy enough) but it’s hands down one of my favorite rice dishes because it just tastes very very good. ps I have to check out that Ottolenghi book!
I have two of his cookbooks – the first one and Plenty. Plenty is full of the most amazing vegetarian dishes I’ve ever seen – I think you’d love them! :)
Holiday wish list! :)
Rice recipe sounds so good. I love the name of your blog! Sue
Thanks for stopping by, Sue! You might also enjoy Marian’s blog…
http://thelivingwellinretirementchallenge.blogspot.com.au/
Thanks for reference Celia. Sue
Sue, I’m guessing your blog is http://womenlivinglifeafter50.com/? You’ve got the wrong one linked to your name, I’ve been manually correcting it for you, but you might want to fix it? :)
Thanks. !! Sue
Womenlivinglifeafter50.com
Too bad my beloved cannot eat onions, I don’t think this dish would be the same without them… :-(
I love a simple dish like this…. I am now wondering if I could do it with some type of caramelized carrots… could turn out good, I think… something to consider!
Sally, that must be tricky to cook around, I don’t think we’d manage without onions here! :) Hope you find some way to adapt it – you’re very good at that! xx
Looks wonderful! We have vegetarian food at least twice a week…will have to give this savory dish a try.
Laila, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did! I think it’s going to become a staple here!
I’ve had the pleasure of eating at Abla’s on a number of occasions, no menu, just a succession of delicious dishes come to the table, and I do believe we were served lentils and rice. Thanks for the memory jolt and the recipe!
I think the next time we go to Melbourne, we’ll have to make a point of eating there! I’ve loved all the recipes from her book!
super delicious rice and lentils, worth it to try another version, which is Persian. Add thinly sliced dates to fry with the onions together, throw in a few raisins and yum it.
Cornelia, thank you for the suggestion! Serendipitously, I’m discussing Persian rice right now with Azita in the comments above! :)
Yum :) I love Abla. I don’t have the cookbook but have had a couple of memorable dinners at Abla’s in Melbourne.
ED, I reckon you’d enjoy this cookbook. Mind you, do any of us need more cookbooks? ;-)
No but that doesn’t stop me buying them :)
Ha! Me neither.. :)
One of my favourite lentil dishes. Reminds me that I haven’t made it for a while. I will try this recipe. I sometimes add a little cumin..
Carmen, I was really interested that Abla’s recipe didn’t have anything added other than salt – other similar recipes I’ve tried have always had quite a lot of spices added!
i love lentils and rice together celia..love your interpretation of the recipe and it’s one i’d like to try..x
Jane, thank you! It was fun to make – both times! :)
This is a classic dish that I forgot about. Thanks for the reminder.
No problem, it’s a classic that I’ve only just discovered! :)
I think this may be on the menu tonight Im thinking slow cooker for the combining after the onion fry. Looks delicious thanks for recipe. :)
Now that’s a good idea! I think this dish could also be finished off in the microwave…
Love lentils, Celia, thanks for sharing this recipe.
Most welcome, darling, hope you like it! xx
I never seem to cook with lentils enough Celia, I don’t know why. This recipe looks really simple and yummy, I’m sure the family would love it for a change from plain rice.
For some reason both BigJ and littlej hate cous cous which I can’t have anyway, so at least this will add variety :) xox
Becca, Small Man won’t eat couscous either, so we don’t have it very often. Like you, I can’t figure out why, as he’ll happily eat every other form of pasta!
I LOVE this dish. I’ve made it at home (and beefed up the flavours just a little) and also had it at Abla’s where it is just wonderful.
Amanda, we’ve never been to Abla’s, but I’m dying to do so – we’ll have to put that into our plans for the next Melbourne visit!
2 of my favourite foods to eat! Lentils and rice really do complement each other so well :-)
We all adore lentils, but rarely eat them straight – this is a nice alternative! :)
Gorgeous recipe – I made something very similar from the Ottolenghi cookbook called (I think) Mejandra….delicious and yours looks so good :)
Chica, I had to have a look – it’s in the Jerusalem cookbook, which I don’t have yet. It’s a similar recipe! :)
That’s the one – I don’t think there’s a recipe in that book that I don’t want to cook (if I haven’t already cooked it)!
I was lucky to have an Irish gf married into the Scarf family [will make sense to you, Celia] and she taught me mujaddarrah [yep, there are various spellings] some thirty years ago – yes, I still make it regularly and think it is a wonderful side dish especially since it is so good at room temp as most Lebanese dishes are. [We used to take it sailing on Sydney Harbour!] I must say I do use red lentils and also a little turmeric when I fry the onions – have Abla’s book somewhere, have to have a look :) !
Eha, it sounds like the perfect dish to eat while sailing on the harbour! :)
Love the idea of this recipe. I love lentils so am always looking for different ways to include them in dishes. What are your thoughts if adding stock instead of water to cook the rice? Would it interfere with the flavour at all?
Tania, I’ve only made this twice, but I wouldn’t bother with adding stock – there’s so much flavour from the lentils and the fried onions and their oil, I wouldn’t want anything to mask that!
I combine lentils with rice but usually with brown rice. Must do basmati rice next time. It is such an aromatic rice. I am smelling the delicious aroma all the way in New York.
Norma, it DID smell amazing! And it’s one of those dishes I think we could make every week and never get sick of!
I’ve seen this recipe before but have never thought of trying it before. I love it when I see things like this pop up in my inbox because it inspires me to take another look. Looks like perfect comfort food.
Nancy, it was surprisingly easy to make! Even easier if you don’t use basmati rice which need presoaking…
Celia I’m surprised the rest of the world has not caught on earlier to our famous Mjudrah Lebanese dish. We were brought up on this & it derives from the mountain villages. It is known as the poor man’s staple…but rich in it’s simplicity, healthy way of eating & we can’t leave out the side additions that one eats with it. Long green spring onions, Lebanese bread, radishes ,pickled turnips, olives, or just raw onion(my hubby’s first accompaniment choice).Mine would be a fresh garden salad of tomato, cucumber , lettuce & sumac. This is my ‘quick’ meal when I haven’t cooked. Delicious and nutritious! thanks for sharing..
Lina, I can see how this would be a staple, it’s absolutely delicious! I’ll have to try it with salad, not sure about the bread though – don’t think I could add more carbs to the meal! :)
Sadly, not a dish I would try as I don’t like the texture of lentils :)
But you are a sweetheart to leave me a comment nonetheless, thank you! :)
Oh Celia, this is my husbands absolute favourite dish, and that speaks words given how much of a carnivore he is! We call this dish Mujadarra and it is very common throughout the Middle Eastern world.
Lisa, my meat loving wolves devoured this and nothing else for lunch – they absolutely adored it! I can see why it’s so popular! Do you also make the dish with the rice and cracked vermicelli? We’ve made that as well in the past – https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2010/07/31/kosheri/ – but this one was so much easier and just so delicious! Do you add spices to your recipe?
I make it identical to your listed recipe, except that instead of Basmati Rice, I add Bulgur, so its basically bulgur, lentils and onions. No spice :)
Kosheri is specifically Egyptian, some would say their National dish, it’s that popular! Your recipe is pretty spot on there too, although traditionally its served with a spicy tomato sauce. I make the sauce with fresh tomatoes/can tomato, large teaspoon cumin, tablespoon white vinegar, red pepper paste (buy a good one from the Turkish shops at Auburn, or if you don’t have it, substitute it for some paprika) salt, pepper and a good splash of olive oil. Bring it all to the boil, then give it a whizz with the stick blender. Serve it piping hot over the kosheri :)
That looks like an amazing rice dish. I will definitely cook this because I believe I have eaten something similar in a restaurant and loved it so much I couldn’t stop eating it xx
Charlie, it’s very moreish! I think you’d love it! xx
What a fantastic use of lentils and rice. We used to eat loads of lentils and rice when we lived in Mauritius but never combined like this.
Not sure if we get French lentils here – I have just added them to my shopping list.
Thank you for the fabulous idea Celia./
:-) Mandy xo
Mandy, if you don’t get French or Puy lentils (Puy being the ones grown in that region of France, and the French lentils being the same variety but grown elsewhere, as Suelle explained above), the original recipe specified using brown lentils. Hope you like it! xx
G’day! Your photo and recipe look delicious today, Celia, true!
How well and I going…I saw G & T and thought they were your “gin and tonic” friends! lol Hope you are laughing with me too!
Cheers! Joanne
Yes indeed! I do get drunk with them a lot, so maybe that’s appropriate! :)
This looks delicious – lentils, rice and onions are staples in our kitchen – though I baulk at all that oil but I think with a good non stick frypan I might get away with less.
Johanna, worth a try, although you can taste the oil in the dish, so I think it’s quite a significant part of it. Look forward to seeing how you go! :)
I made this tonight and enjoyed it – wasn’t as glossy as yours which is probably because I used half the oil you used. What I was a little confused about was that my lentils hadn’t soaked up the water after 15 minutes and I wasn’t sure if it should be tipped in with the onions or not – I tipped some of it in and then added more water so I guess I should have. Just curious to know if you tipped water in with the lentils or not. I needed more salt too possibly because I tipped some of the lentil water down the sink. But I am going to try again because it was such a nice easy simple dish
Johanna, yes, I added the lentils and their cooking liquid (step 4). So glad you enjoyed it! x
This is a dish I would devour in a minute. Two of my favorites…I eat lentils at least twice a week…never post because I cannot my photos of food that are brown never come out well…yours is perfect…
Norma, thank you! Brown is so hard to photograph – chocolate takes ages and lots of natural light to get right! :)
I tried to comment on this dish the other day using my IPad & notice it didn’t make it out there (I’m sure it’s my IPad not a glitch in WP). Anyway, I love the looks of this dish & am so impressed with how few ingredients it uses. I could easily make a meal out of this.
Di, I could too – I’d only need a salad as Lina suggests above, and I’d be right. Sorry about your missing comment – I have trouble commenting on blogs on my iPad and iPhone as well for some reason..
spooky! I was just revisiting Ottolenghi’s version of Mujadarra in a conversation on Twitter with a friend two days ago and discussing the logistics of frying loads of onions :) :) He was making it for 60 people. Brian thought that maybe salting, rinsing and drying the onions after a little sit, would make them dryer and quicker to fry – I am yet to try out his theory. I know that when I did it it took ages and they all stuck together, in a clumpy way, because he uses flour. I would join everyone else and eat this all the time, wish I had a wormhole so I could just casually pop up at supper time – (I would do the dishes and bring wine) xx
On the topic of onions, I’ve now made this twice, and I found that brown onions brown faster and clump less than Spanish ones (which I think are much wetter). I think enough for a dish for 60 would take forever to get right though! :) Your place is set at the table, get the Doctor to drop you off in his Tardis. xx
Sounds interesting, Celia. I would have thought it needed some stock or lemon juice for flavour. I’m trying to cook with lentils more – you are forever expanding my repertoire!
Jo, it really doesn’t need it! I was surprised too!
Celia, this made us smile – this dish and koshari are standard comfort food here :) We make the same changes re types of rice / lentils. We also sometimes add a little sumac to the fried onion mixture, which is something we’ve done since we started making the Palestinian dish Musakhan. It adds a lovely lemony peppery taste (let me know if you want to try Musakhan – we created a good “diasporic adaptation”!)
Jeni, I’ve never heard of Musakhan! Heading to Google now to look it up! And thank you – sumac is a great suggestion! :)
Our version was posted a few years back now but the recipe is still good!
http://palestinecostumearchive.blogspot.com.au/2007/07/dr-jenis-musakhan-diasporic-adaptation.html
Thanks Jeni!
I agree, Alba’s Lebanese kitchen is a good addition to any cooks book shelf. Thanks for inspiring me back to the book and I’ll sure be trying this dish.
Most welcome, and you’re right, it’s a fabulous book! :)
The only way “we” have ever cooked lentils is in a soup, which I really love. I’ve enjoyed them (dahl) in Indian restaurants but never attempted to make them myself. This recipe may be the game changer, Celia. Love the caramelized onions on top and that first photo is mouth-wateringly good. The key now will be to find Puy lentils. I think I’ll look for French and if I find Puy, all the better. Thanks, Celia, for what looks like a great recipe.
John, the Puy lentils and the French ones are basically the same, I think, except the Puy ones are DOP (region) protected (a bit like Champagne and Parma ham). The ones grown outside of Puy are MUCH cheaper! :)
Hi Celia, I make something similar, but using a caramelised leek and red or brown lentils, and I add some spices…..cumin etc and because it’s just me and saves on lots of dishes, I add some baked eggplant right at the end and some greens…kale or spinach. I base it loosely on this recipe from Holy Cow, which is a great blog with tasty and delicious vegan recipes
http://holycowvegan.net/2013/10/one-pot-mujadara-with-leeks-and-kale.html
Nanette, thank you for the head’s up, Vaishali’s version looks absolutely amazing!
Very very delicous looking Celia. are they your sundrieds on the top there?.
T, they’re some of the fried onions, kept in reserve for garnishing! xx