black lentil

The famous lentil and rice dish is versatile and takes well to a number of grain and bean substitutions. Don't skimp on the sizzled spiced onions.

Mejadra

basmati rice

unsalted butter

angel hair pasta,

brown lentils

onions,

cornstarch

extra-virgin olive oil,

Tbsp. cumin

cinnamon

turmeric

pepper

plain whole-milk Greek yogurt

chives (for serving)

Even famous chefs like Yotam Ottolenghi aren’t immune from the unexpected whims of the occasional picky eater (kids!). Luckily, he shares his road-tested blueprint for Mejadra, the popular dish enjoyed around the Arab world—and especially in his home kitchen.
This recipe for Mejadra is great as is, but you can also follow Ottolenghi’s lead and swap the rice and lentils for whatever combination of grains and beans you have on hand. The brown lentils called for here can easily be swapped for green, black, or Le Puy, with the latter taking about 10 minutes longer to cook.

Bon Appétit

Place 1 cup basmati rice in a medium bowl and pour in cold water to cover. Swish rice around with your fingers, then drain in a fine-mesh sieve. Repeat process until water runs clear (3–5 more times). Drain rice well the final time.

Heat 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high. Add 2 oz. angel hair pasta, coarsely broken into 1" pieces (about ¾ cup), and cook, stirring often, until lightly browned, about 90 seconds. Add rice, 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and 2 cups water and stir to combine; reserve sieve. Cover pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cook 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, place ½ cup brown lentils in another medium saucepan and pour in water to cover by about 1"; season with salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and cook until lentils are tender but still hold their shape, 12–15 minutes. Drain in reserved sieve; set aside.

Remove rice mixture from heat and let sit (still covered) 15 minutes.

While the rice mixture is resting, toss 2 medium onions, thinly sliced, and 1½ tsp. cornstarch in a clean medium bowl to coat. Heat ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil in a large nonstick pan over high. Carefully add onions to pan; reserve bowl. Reduce heat to medium-high and cook, stirring often and adjusting heat as needed, until golden brown and crisp in spots, 12–15 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and add 1 Tbsp. ground cumin, 2 tsp. ground cinnamon, ½ tsp. ground turmeric, and remaining ¼ tsp. Diamond Crystal or Morton kosher salt. Season with freshly ground pepper and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer onions back to reserved bowl.

Fluff rice mixture with a fork. Gently mix in lentils, then onions, reserving a few. Divide mejadra among bowls and spoon 1 cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt over. Top with reserved onions, then thinly sliced chives; drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil.

This one-pot Urad Dal recipe makes a creamy and comforting bowl of dal. Black lentils are flavored with spices and cooked with an onion and tomato masala in a pressure cooker.

Sabut Urad Dal Recipe

urad dal sabut (whole black lentil)

& ½ tablespoon ghee (or oil

cumin seeds

onion

green chili (or add more to taste)

ginger garlic paste

tomato puree (store bought)

coriander powder

turmeric powder

red chili powder (or more to taste)

salt (or

¼ teaspoon garam masala

butter (optional, to add at the end, preferably Amul butter)

Start by washing and then soaking the urad dal overnight. If you forgot to soak overnight, then I recommend soaking for at least 4 hours. Once soaked, drain the water and rinse the dal and keep it ready.

To a stovetop pressure cooker on medium heat, add ghee (or oil). Once the ghee is hot, add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle. Then add the chopped onion and green chili and sauté for 2 minutes until the onions are soft and translucent.

Then add the ginger garlic paste and cook 1 more minute. Now, add the tomato puree and cook 2 minutes. Add the spices like coriander powder, turmeric, red chili powder along with salt. Cook the spices for 30 seconds.

Now add the soaked and drained dal to the pressure cooker. Stir to combine the dal with the masala. Now add water (around 3 cups) and mix. Close the lid and pressure cook on medium high heat for 10 whistles, then lower the heat to low-medium and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes. In total the dal pressure cooks for around 20 to 25 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally.

Open the lid once the pressure has released and add garam masala and chopped cilantro. Turn on the heat to low-medium and let the dal simmer for 5 minutes. Crush some of the dal with the back of a spatula as it is simmering, this helps in making the dal creamier. Add salt and water as needed at this point.

Serve maa ki dal hot with basmati rice. You may top if with 1/2 tablespoon butter before serving.

For the Instant Pot, everything remains the same (including soaking the dal) except add 2 &amp; 1/2 cups water, make sure to deglaze the pot so there&#39;s nothing stuck at the bottom of the pot before pressure cooking and then pressure cook for 40 minutes on high pressure with the pressure valve in the sealing position. Let the pressure release naturally.40 minutes might seem a lot of time to pressure cook but it is needed if you are looking for that authentic melt-in-mouth consistency of maa ki dal. If you don&#39;t care about that consistency then you can pressure cook it for a lesser amount of time. And don&#39;t forget to simmer it on sauté mode for 5 minutes after it is pressure cooked. That helps bring all the flavors together.

Instant Pot Instructions

Is there a recipe like this without the pressure cooker as I do not have one?

Here’s your answer to the question: “What can I make on Sunday night that will taste great for my 10:30 a.m. desk lunch on Wednesday?” This is precisely the work lunch you always wish you had packed, with lots of lentils to keep you full 'til at least 3 p.m., kale (for health!), salty olives, crunchy nuts, and just the right amount of cheese. 

Lentil Salad

Tuscan kale (about 10 oz.)

Kosher salt

almonds

scallions

garlic

lemon

olive oil

black beluga or French green lentils

Tbsp. cumin seeds

½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

feta

Castelvetrano olives

Here’s the answer to your question, “What can I make on Sunday night that will taste great for my 10:30 a.m. desk lunch on Wednesday?” This is precisely the work lunch you always wish you had packed, with lots of lentils to keep you full ’til at least 3 p.m., kale (for health!), salty olives, crunchy nuts, and just the right amount of cheese. And it’s all dressed in a lemony, garlicky spiced oil that we’d encourage you to drizzle over ricotta or hummus. Be sure to use black or French green lentils. Brown or red lentils will get too soft—you’ll end up with a stew rather than a salad.

Epicurious

Strip leaves off stems from 1 large bunch Tuscan kale; discard stems or save for later! Stack leaves, then roll into fat cigars. Slice crosswise into ¼" strips to long, thin ribbons. Unfurl ribbons and run your knife through them just once or twice more to shorten any very long strips. Transfer to a large bowl, season with salt, and massage until kale is silkier, softer, and darker in color, 1–2 minutes.

Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil over high heat. While you're waiting, prep the spiced oil. Coarsely chop ½ cup raw almonds; set aside. Trim 3 scallions and separate white and green parts (save the green parts for later in the recipe); thinly slice white parts and transfer to a small skillet. Smash and peel 4 garlic cloves. Add those to same skillet, too. Using a vegetable peeler or paring knife, remove three 3" strips of lemon peel (avoiding white pith); reserve rest of the lemon for your salad dressing. Add peels to skillet. Pour ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil into skillet and stir so that all of the elements are coated in oil.

Add 1½ cups black beluga or French green lentils to now-boiling water, reduce heat to medium, and simmer, uncovered, until lentils are tender but still al dente, 20–25 minutes (they'll turn mushy if overcooked). We love to cook lentils like pasta—that is, in an abundant amount of salted water—so that we can monitor their doneness as they cook and make sure they don't get too soft.

While lentils cook, heat skillet with scallion mixture over medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic starts to brown and lemon peel starts to curl, about 3 minutes. Add almonds and cook, stirring frequently, until almonds are browned, about 3 more minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 1 Tbsp. cumin seeds and ½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes—the residual heat from the oil will bloom those spices and bring out their flavors.

Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl, shaking to help oil drain; reserve oil (that's the base of your salad dressing). Spread almond mixture (don't forget those cumin seeds!) on a paper towel-lined plate or baking sheet. Season with salt and let cool (the nuts will get crunchier as they sit).

Crumble 5 oz. feta into bowl with kale. Smash 1 cup Castelvetrano olives with the back of your knife; remove pits. Tear olives into large pieces and add to bowl. Thinly slice reserved scallion greens and add most to bowl (save some for serving). Add juice of reserved lemon and ½ tsp. salt.

Drain lentils well, shaking to get rid of excess moisture, and add to bowl with kale; season with salt. Add infused oil and half of nuts and toss to combine.

Divide salad among bowls. Garnish with remaining nuts and scallion greens. (If you’re taking this to work, just throw all of the scallions and nuts in at once—or bring them to work in separate containers and be that person garnishing your desk salad. You're worth it.) Eat around the lemon peels and garlic slices, which are edible but intense.

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Mejadra

Sabut Urad Dal Recipe

Lentil Salad

Top 3 black lentil recipes from across the web

The most viewed black lentil recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Mejadra

Sabut Urad Dal Recipe

Lentil Salad

The most viewed black lentil recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine