Monday, April 19, 2010

Mjadra (Lentils with Rice)

My Slow Cooker Mjadra experiment went extremely well!  This is the ultimate cheap and delicious meal folks!!!!!  This is even more perfect for my vegetarian friends out there!  Even my two-year-old daughter loved this one!  "More, more yummy please!"  That's what I like to hear!  We served it with just simple pita bread....we like the Mediterranean kind.  (The garnish is just parsley!)

First of all, some of you may be wondering where in the store you buy lentils.  There are two places you can find them.  The cheaper place is by all of the dry beans.  The more expensive place is in the ethnic isle with all the Middleastern food.  I chose to buy brown rice for this dish because it takes longer to cook than white rice, but please feel free to use whatever rice you like the best.  Just bear in mind your cook time.

When I make this dish, I make a double batch, but I will post the single batch recipe below.  For a double batch, just simply double all the ingredients listed below.  We just happen to love Mjadra so much, we like to make alot!

Here's the recipe:

Hope's Slow Cooker Mjadra

Ingredients:
2 large sweet onions, roughly chopped
1/2 cup olive oil (or more)
1 cup lentils
1 cup brown rice
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/8 tsp. Pepper
1 tsp. Salt
3 cups water

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large skillet until hot.  Add onions, coat with olive oil then turn way down.  Cover and let cook for an hour stirring occasionally.  Be patient!  They will be so sweet and delicious by letting them cook this long!

When onions are done, add lentils and rice and coat them with all the yummy goodness of the onions. 

 Add to the slow cooker.

Add the water, salt, pepper and lemon juice, give a little stir.

 Cook on LOW for 8 hours.
Serve with Pita Bread and ENJOY!

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29 comments:

  1. That looks amazing! I bet the leftovers are delish as well!!!

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  2. They are Kyle! When we reheated it, we added a little water to re-moisten it! Just a little tip!

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  3. Again, another crock pot saves the night. Running late with last minute prep for a staff luncheon tomorrow. Come home after 6:30 and hmm, I don't have to worry about what's for dinner because it was mjadra. We will add more spices to fit our taste next time. We grilled the pita bread. Yummy! Great recipe. Thanks!

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  4. I love the new layout of your blog with all of the recipe's organized and I LOVE the print recipe buttons... but I can not get it to work for this recipe?
    Thanks

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  5. Jess,

    Wish I could help, but hence, I'm still learning all this! LOL I don't have a printer hooked up to my laptop and I'm not allowed to climb stairs, so I have no access to a printer right now to try.
    But, I'm glad you're enjoying the new layout! Look for more cool changes coming soon! :)

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  6. How much water do you use?

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  7. 3 cups.....it's listed last under "ingredients"

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  8. It looks like you put some kind of plastic bag in your slow cooker, why?

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  9. Nancy, that "plastic bag" is actually a Reynolds Slow Cooker Liner. They are awesome! They make clean-up a breeze!

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  10. I have a somewhat strange question: I have a digestive issue that prohibits me from eating onions, but I know they are integral to many dishes. I can deal w/that as long as I don't have to bite into them. Would straining them out and just using the oil work here? Or some other strategy? I am always dealing with this with recipes! Thanks :)

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  11. Great question Jennie.....not sure I have the answer for you! I think straining them would be your best bet here. :)

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  12. This was really good! I used white rice and it only took 6 hours on LOW to cook...also added some baharat to it and it was delish!

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  13. That's great Diane! I'm so glad you liked it!

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  14. I added bacon and cooked the onions in the bacon fat... probably not so great for the arteries, but made it more "husband friendly!"

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  15. Would I be able to skip the first step of caramelizing the onions? I don't have time to cook it first for an hour first...Thanks for sharing this recipe! :)

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    Replies
    1. It will not taste the same for sure. The caramelization is what gives this dish it's amazing flavor.

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  16. I served this with curried chicken breast and grilled naan. Added a side dish of pineapple dusted with cinnamon grilled in the table top grill. Served with cucumber mint water :-) I'm a wife and mommy of 10 ages 21 to 4 months. It's a universal hit for dinner

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  17. I'm eating this right now for lunch. It is so good. Thank you!

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    Replies
    1. I should tell you that I continue to make this often and it remains a HUGE family favorite.

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  18. I bought your cookbook recently and made this, but there's a typo in the cookbook, it called for 2 cups of lemon juice. Yuck! It was such a waste of time. Are there any other typos you know of that I should be aware of?

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    1. I just noticed the typo myself about 1 week ago. I'm terribly sorry. It is the only typo I'm aware of! We will take care of that in the next printing! Again, I'm very sorry!

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  19. Can I throw a couple of chicken breasts in with the mixture in the crockpot and let them cook with it?

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