This beautifully fragrant and tasty lentils rice pilaf, Mjedra also known as Lebanese Lentils and Rice, is as delicious as it is simple and wholesome. This humble Lebanese dish is deeply satisfying and soul warming with its earthy spices, tender lentils, and fluffy rice ensuring the entire family will come running to the table, making it an ultimate Whole Food Plant Based dish, no oil, no sugar, no highly processed ingredients, and gluten free.

Ameera here!

My husband, Michael, introduced me to Mjedra (also called Mujaddara) many years ago when his dad made it for me, and I have loved this dish ever since. It was sooooo gosh-darned delicious.

Simplicity at its best, this easy rice and lentils dish was traditionally considered poor man’s food because it is relatively inexpensive to make, hearty, and satisfying.  I call it comfort food.

Two Versions of Mjedra/Mujaddara

Michael’s family likes to take an immersion blender to the Mjedra to create a paste-like consistency, which is then spread out into a thin paste on a large plate.  You then scoop some out and top it with Malfouf, a purple cabbage slaw, that boasts dried mint and a tangy garlic dressing.

This type of Mjedra is served, hot, cold, or at room temperature.  I like at all temperatures: hot, cold, or at room temperature. It is a perfect dish.

Mom and Dad like the other Mjedra which is not made into a paste. They prefer the lentils and rice intact.  Personally, I love both versions.  Michael prefers the paste-pureed version since that is how his family has traditionally made it.

This post contains affiliate links, and I may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.

Traditional Mjedra

Traditional Lebanese Mjedra is made with quite a bit of oil.  We made ours with no oil and then gave it to Michael to eat as a taste test.  We didn’t tell him we eliminated the oil. <insert evil laugh> He never noticed the difference. He scarfed it down and then raved about how great it was.  *score*

One of the best parts of traditional Mjedra are the super crispy fried onions that are typically placed on top of this dish as a crowning finish.  In making this dish Whole Food Plant Based compliant, we chose to leave the oil out of the dish as well as forego the crispy onion topping.

While the crispy onions are indeed all that, we do not have an air fryer; however, if you have an air fryer where you can make crispy fried onions without using any oil, I say go for it, you won’t be sorry.

Small Brown Lentils

We make this dish so often that Mom orders 5-pound bags of brown lentils from Palouse Brand.  We feel the small brown lentils also known as Pardina or Spanish Brown work best with this dish.

Palouse Brand is certified Non-GMO and 100% Non-Irradiated, USA grown in WA with a 5-star rating.  These beautiful legumes are packed with protein and absolutely delish!  I just love brown lentils.

Lebanese Seven Spice

Our favorite brand of Seven Spice is from Green Land Food; however, sadly, Green Land Food no longer makes Seven Spice.  In looking at their ingredient label, this Seven Spice consisted of nutmeg, coriander, allspice, various peppers.

You can buy Seven Spice from Amazon or you totally make your own Seven Spice, which is probably what I will do once my precious jar of Green Land Food’s Seven Spice is gone.  I have about 1/3 of a bottle left.  YIKES!!!!

Spices

My dad is not a fan of Seven Spice.  He prefers traditional Italian spice flavors like garlic and onion, etc.  You can easily make this dish to suit the flavors you love.

In the ingredients, simply exclude the Seven Spice and increase the garlic powder to 1 teaspoon, and add 1 teaspoon of onion powder (in addition to the dried minced onions, sea salt and pepper) and you should be good to go.

If you feel up to experimenting with the “Seven Spice concept”, then add a tiny pinch of nutmeg, coriander, and allspice.  This will give you a hint of what the Seven Spice might be like before you decide to purchase the Seven Spice seasoning blend.

Cabbage Salad “Malfouf”

Traditional Malfouf salad has oil in it that we chose to purposefully leave out.  Our WFPB Malfouf salad works so beautifully with Mjedra.  It is a simple salad and has this delightfully delicious garlicky tang to it.  We absolutely love it.

You eat the Malfouf salad along with the Mjedra.  Kind of like dipping your French Fries into ketchup . . . well not the same, but you get the idea.

We really hope you give this humble and simple dish a try.  It is so good!

Hi!  Robin here.

I love Monkey’s Mjedra.  She has perfected the recipe to make it Whole Food Plant Based compliant while keeping its beautiful flavor and texture.   It is one of my favorite dishes.

When Monkey first made Mjedra, I was like “what the heck” as it looked great until she used an immersion blender on it.  Then it turned into this brown paste and I thought “WHY???”  But once I tasted it with the Malfouf salad, it took the dish to a whole “nuther” level of flavor town.

I do have to say that I actually prefer the non-pureed Mjedra.  It’s a textural thing for me.  I enjoy the individual rice and lentils rather than the paste.

Both are equally great, I just prefer the pilaf style over the paste style.  It’s a presentation thing too.  The pilaf style is so much prettier than the paste style.  What do you think?

Products Used:

• 8-quart ceramic/enamel lined Dutch oven or similar large stock pot
• Immersion Blender – For making the pureed Mjedra
• Mortar and Pestle – For making Malfouf Salad (cabbage salad)
• Air Fryer – For making the crispy onion topping

Mjedra – Lebanese Lentil and Rice

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• Author: Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures
• Prep Time: 7 minutes
• Cook Time: 37 minutes
• Total Time: 44 minutes
• Yield: 4 Servings 1x
• Category: Dinner
• Cuisine: Middle Eastern

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Description

This beautifully fragrant and tasty lentils rice pilaf, Mjedra also known as Lebanese Lentils and Rice, is as delicious as it is simple and wholesome. This humble Lebanese dish is deeply satisfying and soul warming with its earthy spices, tender lentils, and fluffy rice ensuring the entire family will come running to the table, making it an ultimate Whole Food Plant Based dish, no oil, no sugar, no highly processed ingredients, and gluten free.

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Ingredients

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Mjedra (Lentils & Rice) Ingredients:

• 1 large yellow onion, fine dice
• 1 cup Pacific Organic Vegetable Broth *
• 3 cups water
• 1 cup small brown lentils *
• ½ cup uncooked rice (rice of choice) *
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 Tablespoon dried minced onions
• 1 teaspoon Seven Spices *
• 1 teaspoons sea salt (+/- to taste) *
• ¼ teaspoon pepper (+/- to taste)

Cabbage Salad (Malfouf) Ingredients:

• 1 purple cabbage, thinly shredded
• 1 teaspoon sea salt (+/- to taste) *
• 5 large garlic cloves (or 10 small), crushed into a paste
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/8 cup of dried mint

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Instructions

Mjedra Instructions

1. In a large ceramic/enamel lined Dutch oven/pot or similarly large stockpot, add the diced onion. Sauté over medium-high heat for 7 to 10 minutes to soften and then crisp.  You want the onions browned.  Do not add water or broth.  When they start to really stick and brown nicely, then add the 3 cups of water and 1 cup of vegetable broth.  Increase the heat to a boil, then lower to a simmer.    
2. Add the garlic powder, sea salt, pepper, minced dried onion, and Seven Spices.
3. Add the lentils and cook uncovered for 15 minutes. See recipe notes – cooking times vary by lentils used.
4. After 15 minutes, then add the rice and simmer covered for another 15 minutes. See recipe notes on cooking times.   
5. After the additional 15 minutes has expired, check the rice and lentils to ensure they are both tender. Once they are tender, then the recipe splits into TWO different versions of Mjedra:

1. 1. Pureed Mjedra – take an immersion blender and blend until it forms a paste.  (see images)
   2. Mjedra (not pureed into a paste) – remove the cover and cook uncovered for 5 minutes. (see images)

1. To serve, place some mjedra onto a plate and top with the Malfouf (red cabbage) salad. Enjoy!

Malfouf Instructions

1. Shred the purple cabbage into very thin slices and place into a large bowl.
2. Add one teaspoon of sea salt into a mortar, then add the garlic cloves and smash the garlic into the salt with the pestle until it forms a paste.  (Approx. 2-3 minutes).
3. Add the red wine and lemon juice to the mortar and stir to mix well, then pour over the purple cabbage slaw. 
4. Add the dried mint and toss well.  Refrigerate.     

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Notes

*Vegetable Stock:   We use Pacific Organic Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients; however, this brand of vegetable stock does have a strong flavor so less broth is required when compared to the water ratio. We use a higher water to broth ratio because of this. If you use another brand of vegetable broth, then adjust the water/vegetable broth ratio accordingly.  

*Seven Spices:  Seven Spices is a Lebanese spice consisting typically of black pepper, cumin, paprika, coriander, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cardamom (8 spices). There are a variety of Arabic Seven Spices available with variations.  We prefer the Lebanese Seven Spices. 

*Small Brown Lentils (Pardina/Spanish Brown):  You can substitute any type of lentil for the brown lentil (other than red); however, you will need to adjust the cooking time.  Small brown lentils typically cook within 20 to 25 minutes.  If left to cook longer than 35 to 40 minutes, they can start to get mushy which is fine if you are making the pureed mjedra, but not, if you are making traditional mjedra.  ALSO see the notes on rice as you need to coordinate their tenderness timing with 10 minutes or so.  We have found that the Small Brown Lentil works beautifully with this recipe. 

*Rice:  The beauty of this recipe is you can substitute any type of rice you wish as well.  The key is to find the best time to place both the lentils and rice (separately or together) into the pot so they are both tender at the same time, so adjust your times accordingly.  If you are using a brown rice, then brown rice typically takes longer to cook than a white or basmati rice.  Also, green lentils typically take longer to cook than the small brown lentils.  If you are combining green lentils and brown rice, then you can add both the green lentils and brown rice at the same time and cook them with the cover on the pot to ensure they are both done at the same time or at least close to the same time.  If you are nervous about the coordination of cooking times, then cook your lentils until tender and add cooked rice near the last 10 minutes or so of the cooking time.

*Sea Salt:  You may need to add some sea salt. We added 1 teaspoon (plus) to the Mjedra as we felt the added sea salt improved the flavor. We added 1 teaspoon to the Malfouf salad as we felt it improved the flavor.  Feel free to adjust the sea salt according to your diet and taste preferences. 

*Malfouf salad:  Traditionally, Malfouf salad is made with olive oil.  Leaving the olive oil out of the recipe makes the salad garlicky and tart.  We loved it this way. 

*Nutritional Information: Does not include toppings (Malfouf, cabbage salad)

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 Serving
• Calories: 278.6
• Sugar: 3.2 g
• Sodium: 624.7 mg
• Fat: 1.3 g
• Carbohydrates: 51.9 g
• Fiber: 16.6 g
• Protein: 15.2 g

Storage:  Cool to warm and refrigerate.

This post contains affiliate links, and I may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.