Mejadra
by Ottolenghi
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
1 1/4 cups/250 g green or brown lentils
4 medium onions (700 g before peeling)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
about 1 cup/250 ml sunflower oil
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 1/2 tablespoons coriander seeds
1 cup/200 g basmati rice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 cups/350 ml water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
METHOD
Place the lentils in a small saucepan, cover with plenty of water, bring to a boil, and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until the lentils have softened but still have a little bite. Drain and set aside.
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Peel the onions and slice thinly. Place on a large flat plate, sprinkle with the flour and 1 teaspoon salt, and mix well with your hands.
Heat the sunflower oil in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan placed over high heat. Make sure the oil is hot by throwing in a small piece of onion; it should sizzle vigorously. Reduce the heat to medium-high and carefully (it may spit!) add one-third of the sliced onion. Fry for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally with a slotted spoon, until the onion takes on a nice golden brown color and turns crispy (adjust the temperature so the onion doesn’t fry too quickly and burn).
Use the spoon to transfer the onion to a colander lined with paper towels and sprinkle with a little more salt. Do the same with the other two batches of onion; add a little extra oil if needed.
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Wipe the saucepan clean in which you fried the onion and put in the cumin and coriander seeds. Place over medium heat
and toast the seeds for a minute or two.
Add the rice, olive oil, turmeric, allspice, cinnamon, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and plenty of black pepper. Stir to coat the rice with the oil and then add the cooked lentils and the water. Bring to a boil, cover with a lid, and simmer over very low heat for 15 minutes.
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Remove from the heat, lift off the lid, and quickly cover the pan with a clean tea towel. Seal tightly with the lid and set aside for 10 minutes.
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Finally, add half the fried onion to the rice and lentils and stir gently with a fork. Pile the mixture in a shallow serving bowl and top with the rest of the onion.
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The best thing to serve it with are grated carrots with lemon juice, olive oil and raisins. This provides a contrast in colour and texture to this quite substantial dish. (This accompaniment is recommended by our lovely customer, Lynda Cook).
