Mejadra is an ancient dish that is hugely popular throughout the Arab world. It’s a fragrant aromatic spiced rice (but not spicy) combined with sweet crunchy onion. You make your own fried onion in the authentic version, and it’s worth the effort when you have time on your hands. But if you don’t have time, a near perfect substitute is store bought crunchy Fried Shallots which nowadays you can purchase from the Asian section of most grocery stores. I really think it tastes almost as good!
Because this rice has such a wonderful flavour in itself, you can make a complete meal by serving just a simple piece of grilled fish or other protein, or even vegetables on the side. A dollop of yoghurt, a sprinkle of herbs and dinner is served!
Enjoy! – Nagi x
PS I served Mejadra on the side of Chicken Shawarma which I also published today. A beautiful pairing of flavours!
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Middle Eastern Rice (Mejadra)
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 20 minutes
Pilaf, Rice
Arabic, Middle Eastern
Servings4
Tap or hover to scale
Mejadra is a fragrant Middle Eastern rice pilaf with crunchy fried onion throughout it. This is slightly adapted from a Yotam Ottolenghi recipe, from his wonderful cookbook Jerusalem. The main difference is that he uses dried lentils, I use canned. If you don't have time or don't want to deep fry, substitute the fried onions with Asian fried shallots, available from Asian stores and the Asian section of major supermarkets in Australia (Coles, Woolies). The taste is remarkably similar!
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp cumin seeds (or 1 tsp ground cumin)
- 1 1/2 tbsp coriander seeds (or 1 1/2 tsp ground coriander)
- 1 cup basmati or long grain rice , uncooked
- 1 1/4 cup / 315 ml water (see notes)
- 400g / 14 oz canned brown lentils, drained (1 can) , drained
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- Black pepper
Crispy Fried Onions (Note 2)
- 3 large or 4 small onions , very finely sliced
- 1 cup / 250 ml vegetable or sunflower oil
- Salt
Instructions
Crispy Onions
- Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Add about 1/3 of the onions and cook for 5 minutes until golden and crispy. Drain on paper towels.
- Repeat with remaining onions, in two batches.
Rice
- Put the olive oil, cumin seeds and coriander in a saucepan over medium heat.
- Cook for a couple of minutes until the spices are fragrant.
- Add the rice and stir to coat with the oil and spices.
- Add the water and lentils.
- While it comes to boil, add all the other spices, salt and pepper.
- When it comes to a boil, turn it down to medium-low, cover with lid and let cook for 10 to 12 minutes, or until all the liquid has mostly been absorbed.
- Remove from heat and let it rest for 10 minutes - during this time, any residual liquid will absorb.
- Fluff rice with a fork and adjust the seasoning with more salt if you wish.
- Just prior to serving, stir through most of the onions and top with remainder. Sprinkle with chopped coriander if desired. Best served warm.
Recipe Notes:
1. Different rices and brands require different ratios of rice to water. Typically for long grain and basmati rice it is 1 cup of rice to 1 1/2 cups of water, but you should check the package instructions. Whatever the water quantity is, reduce it by 1/4 cup. This is because this recipe uses canned lentils which, although you drain it, adds to the liquid while cooking. If you do not reduce the quantity of water, the rice turns out wetter than it should.
2. ALTERNATIVE: Use fried shallots / onions sold in jars in the Asian section of the supermarket. They are crunchy, salty and oily, so they serve the same purpose and taste the same. This is what I usually use. They are addictive!
3. WHOLE VS GROUND SPICES: The Yotam recipe uses cumin and coriander seeds which soften when cooked, but the coriander is still a little bit firm (but soft firm). This added texture is the way the recipe is intended to be BUT if you prefer not to have the seeds in it, feel free to use ground, I've provided the quantities in the recipe. 🙂
LIFE OF DOZER
Wondering what I’m doing up here instead of down there throwing sand for him to chase…..
i have made this several times, adjusting as i go along. first, i chop an onion and cook that in the olive oil before adding the cumin and coriander. i use a bit less cumin, more coriander and turmeric and less cinnamon. i also do not use sugar, and i increase the rice to 1 1/2 cups, because that is how much i usually make. thanks for the idea, though. i believe mine tastes a bit more authentic. just sayin’…
Thanks for your tips!!! 🙂 I love the you adjusted it to your taste! N x
This looks really tasty Nagi! Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Thanks hun! I really love this rice, I haven’t made it in ages! Thanks for reminding me of this!! 🙂
I’m so confused about the Corriander seeds… Are they suppose to be grined down? Whole Corriander seeds seems like it would hurt to chomp down on.
Hi Megan! They soften when cooked. 🙂 They add little flavour bursts when you’re eating it, it’s really lovely!
HAVE no fear! As I sit here drinking my Jasmine tea…. I JUST got back from the BEST 🙂 Asian market, Lily’s, I could LITERALLY spend hours in there! REALLY! They had the fried onions, fried garlic, fried anything!- do tell what to use the garlic for! I buy a 32 ounce jar of Hoison sauce at Lily’s for 3.85 and an 8 ounce jar cost the same at the big supermarket! A huge bag of scallions cost 1.50!! Amazing products. I am set for the rice dish AND your Crunchy Asian Chicken Salad. hahaha.. I am not a stalker, you just have the most comprehensible, easy to follow blog I have seen, and the food is dynamite. I did copy a recipe from OMNIVORE… we will see how that goes. It is really funny because I LOVE Thai food, but Chinese is the last on my list, and I think it has to do with orange colored overly sauced chicken in the past- ick…BUT I am going to try her no fail egg fried rice using pork or chicken. Next week Lily’s is getting 3 tiered lunch containers the kids take to school… I just HAVE to 😉 Have a great week end Nagi! Lisa
I’m so glad!! You sound like me when I go to the Asian market. I go MAD, stocking up because it is so much cheaper than at ordinary supermarkets!! Ooh, I must think of a great recipe using the fried garlic. I swap it over with the fried onions in this recipe. Also in this recipe https://www.recipetineats.com/beef-bean-soba/ and on noodle salads like this https://www.recipetineats.com/asian-vermicelli-noodle-salad/ And this chicken salad https://www.recipetineats.com/asian-chicken-salad/ They are also great sprinkled over any Asian style meats, especially wings! And I sprinkle them onto thick soups like pumpkin and chowders because they add salt and crunch. Like croutons! Even though they are Asian ingredients, they don’t taste Asian 🙂 I use them for anything that crunch is a good addition too!
Hi Nagi! I would love to make this however I am racking my brain trying to think where I would buy dried shallots, which would be delicious right out of the bag I would imagine. We have an INCREDIBLE Asian store a mile away- I know- you are jealous..HA .. so I might check there as I need shaixing wine. IF for some reason I can not find dried shallots, could I fry shallots in sunflower oil or any high heat oil, or roast shallots on high in the oven? THX! Lisa.
Hi Lisa! I will be SHOCKED if the Asian store does not have fried shallots (scallions!)! If they don’t, you should scold them, it is a STAPLE in many Asian cuisines! 🙂 A great sub is fried garlic bits – they taste very similar. If you can’t find already fried shallots or garlic, I hate to say it but I think deep frying is the only alternative if you want the same “crunch” texture that the store bought fried shallots offer. And it takes quite a while to fry to get it crunchy! Here is a recipe here http://www.noobcook.com/fried-shallots-shallot-oil/ Hope that helps!