Some people tend to think about mujadara as stricktly one type though there are tremendous ways of making mujadara/ mujaddara. Literally, there is a family of mujadara in Lebanon. Mujadara safra, mujadara hamra, mujadara makhbousa, mujadara with rice, mujadara with bulgur, etc…. I would literally smell my childhood in these dishes – at least once a week one type of mujadara had been on our family lunch table. Though I wasn’t a fan of any type back then, but now mujadara is comfort food at its best; I can eat any type of it every day without being bored!

A frugal meal suitable also for vegetarians and vegans and regarded as poor man’s food, entirely made from your pantry, filling and most importantly delicious and nutritious. Serve it with fattoush, Middle Eastern salad or even some plain yogurt on the side! And I tell you, it is a meal fit for a king!! Watch the video tutorial below.

Today’s post is about mujadara with bulgur.  Eventually, at our house, there are two types of mujadara with bulgur that we eat on regular basis! “Mujadara with bulgur” and “mujadara hamra”! Both feature bulgur and lentils, and in both onions are typically caramelized; so you may be probably asking yourself what is the difference between both? Here is a detailed post about Mujadara Hamra in case you are interested to learn about it!!

Now back to today’s post “mujadara with bulgur”

Mujadara with bulgur is an aromatic bulgur and lentil pilaf garnished with caramelized onions. The garnish here is far more than just decorating a plate, but will add an incredible depth of flavor to the humble lentil-bulgur pilaf! Those beautiful crispy onions will bring out a sweet flavor and will fill your kitchen with a mouth-watering aroma – the wonderful smell will invade your neighbor’s kitchen and will attract them to your front door, and they taste as good as they smell!

When he was young, my son Ali had a weakness to caramelized onions, he used to pick them off the top of the plate and eat them as chips, so I had to make all the time a double batch – so crispy and comforting.

Caramelizing onions may be tricky to make for many people but once you get this down, you will be putting them on merely everything! The secret behind the crispiness is to use red onions and to slice them super thin; great tips that has been given to me by my cherished mom – she had been and still a very skilled cook and I didn’t know how valuable those hints were until I got out into the real world of cooking!

How  to caramelize onions?

• In a wide skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the sliced onions and cook about 10 minutes, stirring all the time  until onions start wilting.  Reduce heat to low and continue to cook and scrape until the onions are rich brown in color. You need to remove them before they get burnt brown. Use a slotted spoon or tongs to take the onions out of oil. (You will later top the dish with those onions you caramelized).

I adore  the very simple dressing of lemon juice, olive oil, pomgrenate molasses and sumac coming from the Middle Eastern salad or Fatoush , these salads go enticingly so well with all types of pilafs, mujadaras, including mujadara with bulgur. Serve them together and you will have a certifiably decent meal!

Or simply serve the mujadara with bulgur with some plain or Greek yogurt.

Here are some great mujadara recipes worth making, some are online while others are in my cookbook!!

–Mujadara hamra:

Mujadara Makboussa .

 Mujadara with rice and this has another name (Moudardara):  The recipe in the book, Hadia, Lebanese Style Recipe   page 139

Mujadara Safra/ Split Lentils with Rice:  The recipe in my cookbook, Hadia, Lebanese Style Recipes.

• Lentils are a powerhouse of nutritiens! They are rich in dietary fiber, protein and folate; bulgur too has too many health benefits, a grain that is extremely high in fiber and protein.

Mujadara with Bulgur

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Prep: 8 minutes minutes

Cook: 45 minutes minutes

Total Time 53 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Course

bulgur

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MAIN DISHES

Cuisine

Lebanese

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Mediterranean

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MiddleEastern

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RECIPES FROM AROUND THE WORD

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Description

A frugal meal suitable also for vegetarians and vegans and regarded as poor man’s food, entirely made from your pantry, filling and most importantly delicious and nutritious. Serve it with fattoush, Middle Eastern salad or even some plain yogurt on the side! And I tell you, it is a meal fit for a king!! Watch the video tutorial below.

Equipment

• Pot
• Skillet

Ingredients

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 cup brown or green lentils preferably the brown, but both work
• ▢ ¾ cup coarse bulgur
• ▢ 1/3 cup canola oil
• ▢ 1 small onion finely chopped, to cook together with the lentils and bulgur
• ▢ 3 large red onions julienne, to caramelize
• ▢ A dash of cumin powder optional
• ▢ 3 cups water
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt or to taste

Instructions

 

• Visually sort the lentils. Wash and drain and place in a pot. Add 3 cups of water and bring to boil; cover and let it simmer over very low heat for 20 minutes or until lentils are soft.
• Transfer the lentils to a colander and save the excess liquid.
• To caramelize the onions: In a wide skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the sliced onions and cook about 10 minutes, stirring all the time. At this stage onions start wilting. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook and scrape until the onions are rich brown and crispy. You need to remove them before they get burnt brown. Use a slotted spoon or tongs to take the onions out of oil. (You will later top the dish with those onions you caramelized).
• Transfer the oil in the skillet to a stockpot; add the chopped onion to the stockpot and sauté to a light brown color.
• Stir in the lentils, bulgur and 11/2 cups of the lentil broth (you saved before), salt and cumin powder and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover up and simmer for 25 minutes, allowing the bulgur to cook and the flavors develop together.
• Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with the caramelized onions. Serve with fattoush or Middle Eastern salad. Enjoy!!

Video

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