MOUJADARA (LENTILS AND RICE)

“This is a meal on its own and needs nothing else to make it special. In my mind’s eye, I see a little girl, sitting cross-legged on Granny’s kitchen floor, with a bowl of warm moujadara and a spoon. I smell her and her spices, and I feel such love for this woman, my grandmother.”

Serves 6 to 8

EASY

GREAT VALUE Preparation: 20 minutes Cooking: 1 hour

dried green lentils 400 g basmati rice 100 g brown onions 4 olive oil ½ cup, plus extra for frying salt 1 heaped t baharat 1t ground cumin 1½ t

1 Cover the lentils with boiling water and set aside for 10 minutes. Cover the rice with boiling water. Leave to soak until needed.

2 Peel and roughly chop 2 onions. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over a medium to high heat, and fry the chopped onions until translucent and just beginning to caramelise. 3 Drain the lentils and add to the saucepan. Cover with water and cook for 25 minutes, or until just tender. 4 Drain the rice and add to the saucepan, along with the salt and all the spices. Cover with water and cook until soft over a medium to low heat.

5 Meanwhile, slice the remaining onions and cook in olive oil until caramelised. 6 When the rice is cooked and the water has been absorbed, serve the moujadara topped with the fried onions. DAIRY-FREE, MEAT-FREE, WHEAT- AND GLUTEN-FREE

WINE: Warwick First Lady Sauvignon Blanc 2019