Mujadara (Mujaddara) is a popular Middle Eastern dish made with lentils and rice garnished with caramelized onions cooked in an Instant Pot or Stovetop

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 15 minutes
  • Total time: 325 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Main Course
  • Cuisine: Mediterranean

Ingredients

For The Caramelized Onions

  • 2-3 tablespoons oil
  • 1 large yellow onion (sliced thinly)

For Lentil Rice

  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 3 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 1 large yellow onion (finely chopped)
  • 1 cup brown lentils (whole masoor dal) ((or green lentils), soaked overnight)
  • 1 cup basmati rice (rinsed)
  • 2 1/4 cups vegetable broth ((or water))
  • salt (to taste)
  • 1/4 cup cilantro ((or parsley))

Dry Spices

  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder ((or black pepper), optional)

Method

  1. Wash and soak the Brown/Green lentils overnight or for at least 5 hours in hot water.
  2. Press Saute on Instant Pot. Add oil, and once it's hot add sliced onions and saute till they caramelize i.e. till they turn golden brown in color, takes about 8-10 minutes. Alternately you can saute onions on the stovetop pan. Once done take them out in a bowl.
  3. Now heat 1 tablespoon of oil, then add bay leaf, garlic, chopped onions. Saute till the onions turn translucent. Then add ground cumin, ground coriander, ground cinnamon, red chili powder and salt. Cook for another 30 seconds.
  4. Add Basmati Rice, soaked lentils, and water (or vegetable broth), salt, and give a quick stir.
  5. Close the Instant Pot with pressure valve to Sealing. Cook on High Pressure for 6 minutes. Once the pot beeps, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes and then quick release the remaining pressure manually.
  6. Open the lid, garnish with some fried onions and cilantro. You can enjoy mujadara with yogurt or Tzatziki sauce and some salad on the side.

Stovetop Pressure Cooker Method

  1. Follow the same steps as with the Instant Pot. Give it two whistles on medium heat and allow the pressure to release naturally. The remaining steps stay the same."

Stovetop Pot Method

  1. Follow the same steps as with the Instant Pot. In a Heavy Bottom pan or Dutch oven cook mujdhara for about 12-15 minutes or until rice and lentils are cooked perfectly. You may have to increase to the water.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.