MIDDLE EASTERN FRIED RICE

This is my take on the middle eastern fried rice dish that some of you might know by the name Mujaddara.

I just love the soft spicy flavour topped with some sweet caramelised onions. Turmeric and cinnamon are probably two of my favourite spices at the moment. I use them almost every day to make spiced latte and I haven been using them more and more for main meals too. Clearly!

In this dish, the cinnamon and turmeric definitely play a key role as they bring a delicate spiciness to the food without being too strong. This whole dish is quite delicate and not over-powering in terms of flavour and spices but that just makes it very delicious and fulfilling.

It is the perfect dish for a cold day and perfect also for you guys who don’t like your food too spicy.

MIDDLE EASTERN FRIED RICE

 

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

55 mins

 

Author: Antidote Kitchen

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 200g brown lentils
• 200g basmati rice
• 2 yellow onions
• 2 garlic cloves
• Spices 1tsp/each: ground cumin, ground coriander, turmeric, cinnamon, chili flakes
• 250ml water
• 50g Pine nuts
• 1 Pomegranate seeds
• A small bunch coriander
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

1. Rinse the brown lentils and put in a pan. Cover with water and bring to boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to simmer and let cook for about 15 minutes, or until the lentils become tender but still hold their shape. Once done, take off the heat
2. In the meantime, cut one yellow onion in rings or half rings
3. Heat a large skillet and add 1 tbsp olive oil. Add the onion rings and fry over medium heat stirring frequently. Keep frying until the onion starts turning brown, then add 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar and 1 tsp sugar. Fry for another few minutes more until the onion caramelizes, then take off the heat. Transfer the onions into a separate dish and let rest
4. Swipe the skillet clean so that you can keep using the same one
5. Chop the other yellow onion and the garlic cloves
6. Rinse the basmati rice
7. Heat up the skillet over medium heat and then add 1 tbsp olive oil and the yellow onion. Sauté until the onion turns translucent
8. Add the garlic cloves and all the spices. Toss around for a couple of minutes, then add the rice and the cooked lentils
9. Mix the rice and lentils around properly so that the spices cover everything
10. Add water to cover the rice (about 250ml) and then let cook over medium heat until the rice becomes tender and all the water dissolves. Add more water if needed to cook the rice properly but don’t worry about frying the rice slightly, as long as it doesn’t burn
11. While the rice is cooking, roast the pine nuts, scoop out the seeds from the pomegranate and chop the fresh coriander
12. Once the rice is done, take off the heat and mix in the pine nuts, pomegranate seeds and the fresh coriander
13. Top with the caramelized onions and enjoy!

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 1 Calories: 432 Fat: 16 Carbohydrates: 61 Sugar: 9 Fiber: 9 Protein: 12

3.5.3226