Mujaddara

There's something special about the smell of fried onions and in this Middle Eastern dish it takes centre stage.

Ingredients
serves 4
100ml olive oil
4 large onions - thinly sliced
200g dried green (or brown) lentils - rinsed
350ml water
200g long-grain rice or bulgur wheat
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
small bunch flat-leaf parsley finely chopped
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
Labaneh  or Greek yogurt - optional

Method
for the labaneh
You can easily make your own labaneh. Line a large sieve with cheesecloth and set over a bowl. Place natural yogurt in the lines sieve. Gather edges of cheesecloth and cover the yogurt. Put in a refrigerator and let it drain for 2-3 days. If you start with already strained yogurt like a Greek yogurt then leaving it to drain for 12 hours should be enough.  Gently squeeze out any excess liquid. The yogurt left should be very thick and resemble soft cheese. 

for the mujaddara Heat the olive oil in a large heavy-based saucepan and add half the onion and slowly fry them for 45 minutes.  Season with salt. 

Meanwhile,  put the lentils in a small saucepan, cover with plenty of water, bring to a boil and cook for 12 minutes until the lentils have softened but still have a little bite. Drain into a colander.

Keep on cooking the onions until they reach a dark caramelised colour but do not let them burn. They should be soft and on the point of breaking up. Take the fried onion out of the pan with a slotted spoon to keep as much oil in the pan as possible and put the onion to one side.

In the same pan turn the heat back up to a medium-high heat and toast the cumin and coriander seeds for a minute or two. Add the turmeric, then the rice (or bulgur wheat), sugar, a teaspoon of salt and plenty of black pepper. Stir to coat the rice with oil, then add the cooked lentils and water. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer on a low heat for 15 minutes.

In another pan - Fry on a high temperature the other half of the sliced onion. Fry for five/six minutes, stirring occasionally with a slotted spoon, until the onion turns a golden-brown colour and turns crispy. Transfer the onion to a colander and sprinkle with salt.

Remove the rice and lentils from the heat, lift off the lid and cover the pan with a clean tea towel. Seal tightly with the lid and set aside for 10 minutes. Finally, tip the rice and lentils into a large mixing bowl. Add the slowly fried onion and stir gently with a fork.

Pile up the mujaddara on a plate and top with a spoonful of the labneh, a sprinkle of the chopped fresh parsley and finish with the crispy onion.