Mujaddara – Arabic lentils with rice

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 350 ml meat broth or vegetable broth
• 150 g lentils
• 2 small bay leaves
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 90 g basmati rice
• 120 g water, lightly salted
• 300 g onion(s), peeled
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• ½ tsp cumin powder
• ¼ tsp, leveled salt
• 2 tbsp, heaped natural yogurt
• some chives, parsley or chervil

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Rest time approx. 8 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 45 minutes; Total time approx. 9 hours 5 minutes

Soak the lentils in water overnight. Halve the peeled onions and slice them into strips. Drain the lentils, rinse them, and let them drain. Simmer gently in the broth with pepper and bay leaves for 10 minutes with the lid on. Add the salted water and rice, mix, and simmer for 20–25 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Meanwhile, fry the onions in hot oil, reduce the heat slightly, add a little salt, mix, and simmer with the lid on for about 5 minutes. Remove the lid, stir in the cumin, and let it brown over high heat. Mix about 2/3 of the onions into the lentils, reheat, and season to taste. Remove the bay leaves. Serve on plates, scatter the remaining onions over the lentils, drizzle with a little yogurt, and sprinkle with chives.