- TLC >
- Guides >
- Food >
- Recipes >
- Courses & Dishes >
- Side Dishes >
- Vegetable Side Dish
Muhjadarrah
Difficulty Level Easy
My newspapers had articles this morning about how people are taking cooking classes for basic cooking skills and how magazines like Gourmet are providing people with economical recipes. Well, we here at Planet Green have been getting ready for bad times for quite a while now and we have lots of economical recipes in our archives.
Sometimes you stumble across something that is not only frugal, but also a really satisfying dish. This Egyptian meal is a perfect for a university student or a family on a limited budget because the ingredients are cheap, it's easy to make, it's nutritious, and it's really delicious. The key is to really caramelize the onions, which gives the depth of flavour you require. The recipe says it will take about 12 to 15 minutes, but I usually do them on a lower heat and give it more time. That way you can be certain that you won't burn them, which makes them bitter.
You can serve this with plain yogurt and some flat bread, or you can add some other spices like cumin, but I actually ate it just as it and I really enjoyed it. I had leftovers, so the next day I added some stock and mushrooms and made soup.
INGREDIENTS
| 6 tbsp | olive oil |
| 1 very | sliced into rounds 1/4 inch thick |
| 1 1/4 cups | green or brown lentils, sorted and rinsed |
| 3/4 cup | white or brown long-grain rice |
| salt and freshly ground pepper | |
PREPARATION:
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until it becomes a rich, dark brown color, about 12-15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, put the lentils into a saucepan with one quart of water. Bring to a boil and simmer 15 minutes. Add rice, plenty of pepper and more water, if needed, to cover. Cover and cook over low heat until rice is done, about 15 minutes. Stir in half the onions and about 1 teaspoon of salt, then cover and let stand off the heat for 5 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if necessary. Spoon the lentil-rice mixture on to a platter and cover with the remaining onions.
From The Kitchn Apartment Therapy