Cookbook talk:Rice and Lentils (Mejadra)

This module was the featured recipe on the main Cookbook page from June 25, 2004 - July 10, 2004. Gentgeen 17:37, 10 Jul 2004 (UTC)

My Arabic dictionary translates "baharat" as allspice, which makes sense in context. Wouldn't the recipe be improved by changing "baharat" to "allspice"? I also corrected a typo - onion - was oninon - Leila - not registered user. 28 Nov 2004

-- baharat is a spice mixture - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baharat (an article created in 2008) Abznak (discuss • contribs) 13:51, 10 February 2013 (UTC)

should the rice/lentils be cooked before frying? this isnt clear from inspection of the recipe.

no, they should not be cooked before frying, fry them dry

Shouldn't this say "Serve with yogurt"? lol ~Khadijha

very good recipe. i simplified it further by adding the chopped onion to the lentils 5 minutes before they were done and letting it cook that way. they steam nicely.
 * granted, there's no right or wrong in cooking, but you're really missing out if you do it that way.. a big part of the flavor comes from getting those onions good and carmelized.. believe me, just try it once: cook them for 30-60 minutes nice and slow until they get droolingly browned and then add them in (if you do this and toast the rice and the lentils, you don't even need the spices.. just a good bit of salt and you will have an ultra-simple and tasty dish)

Help

 * I tried to fry the lentis, then add a cup of water. however when i added the first cup it nearly went boom. i stirred. then i left it to boil with closed cap. then it went boom. So i kept stirring it:). What should i do to keep it from going boom? Enfwm


 * Try using hot water from a kettle. This helps as both the water and the ingredients are the same temperature. If you add tap water that may cause your recipe to go 'Boom'.


 * Thank you, i'll try it. Tsester (discuss • contribs) 11:30, 30 November 2017 (UTC)

Edit war
As of 5 Jul 2008, there seems to be an edit war going on, with various parties claiming that the recipe is Palestinian, Israeli, or Levantine. Too bad I don't have experience with shuttle diplomacy. :-)

According to http://orangette.blogspot.com/2007/03/into-pantry.html, it's also Lebanese. According to http://frugalcuisine.blogspot.com/2006/05/mujadara.html, it's a Middle Eastern recipe.

I figure that none of the participants in the edit war are in a position to know that it isn't cooked in any of the other countries, so claiming it's Middle Eastern seems best. -- Tim Freeman tim@fungible.com 64.161.114.2

which lentils?
which kind of lentils are commonly used for this?

(there are big differences, so that does seem important) 2A02:908:F61:1640:ED5F:6F04:A7F3:151B (discuss) 13:56, 6 March 2024 (UTC)


 * I used green lentils, and it turned out fine. Adrianmn1110 (discuss • contribs) 10:40, 27 May 2024 (UTC)

Water
I'm about to make this for the first time. Is that amount of water really right? 4 cups of water seem huge for only 1 cup of lentils and another cup of rice. Adrianmn1110 (discuss • contribs) 12:00, 17 May 2024 (UTC)


 * @Adrianmn1110 It seems reasonable to me! 2 cups of dry grains will definitely absorb double the volume of water. Let us know how it goes :) —Kittycataclysm (discuss • contribs) 12:08, 17 May 2024 (UTC)
 * Will do. Thanks. Adrianmn1110 (discuss • contribs) 12:31, 17 May 2024 (UTC)
 * I just made this dish three days ago. Four cups of water turned out to be perfect. The recipe didn't specify how much salt, cumin, and black pepper were needed, so I used 2 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of cumin, and 1 tsp of pepper. I think those amounts are good for this recipe. Adrianmn1110 (discuss • contribs) 10:38, 27 May 2024 (UTC)