You may not have heard of this heart healthy porridge of lentils and rice. A Lebanese staple, Mjeddrah is simple to make, extremely filling, and full of flavor.
It is also cheap! Besides the fact, that we really like it, its cheapness is why I am making it today. Sometimes we eat like kings at the beginning of the month just after payday and like paupers the last week of the month trying to stretch our groceries as far as they will go. This will feed us for at least two meals so it saves time and effort too.
This takes a while to cook, but most of that is hands off time. I am home a lot during the day, so this works as a great weekday lunch for us, but if you work away from home, this would be great to make on a Saturday and then have as leftovers for lunches during the work week.
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We usually eat Mjeddrah with caramelized onions and olive oil, but check out this variation at Sensible Living with tomatoes, cucumbers, and salad greens. It is beautiful and I think it sounds delicious. I would have tried it myself if I wasn't trying to be so frugal this week!
My more basic version of Mjeddrah contains:
4 cups low sodium or homemade Vegetable or Chicken broth*
1-2 cups water, as needed
1 1/2 cup dried lentils
3/4 cup brown rice
salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste
4 onions (I prefer sweet onions)
2 Tbsp Olive oil
*You can totally use water for this recipe and it will still be really good. I only use chicken broth if I have homemade on hand. I don't think the added sodium from the store bought stuff is necessary to make this recipe work.
Directions:
Wash and pick through the lentils, discarding duds and any stones. Bring the chicken or vegetable stock to a rapid boil and add lentils. In a heavy skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Toast rice in heated oil until it starts to pop, but be careful that it doesn't burn.
Add the toasted rice to the boiling lentils. The brown rice takes about the same amount of time to cook as the lentils. If you use white rice, you will need to cook the lentils longer before adding the rice (about 20 minutes).
Reduce the heat so the water is just boiling, cover and cook for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally. The trick to this recipe is to get the heat hot enough so the lentils cook, but not so hot that the rice starts to stick and burn because the liquid absorbs too quickly. The better your cookware the more likely a lower heat setting will work for you. I cooked this around a 2-3 on my electric stove.
While the Mjeddrah is cooking, heat the other tablespoon of oil in the skillet. Slice onions into thin strips and add to heated skillet. Lightly salt and reduce heat to medium low. Cook the onions slowly until caramelized--about 20-30 minutes.
You will need to keep checking the Mjeddrdah to make sure you have enough liquid. I ended up adding 2 additional cups of water, but then that was too much and I had to let it boil with an open lid to reduce the liquid.
All the liquid did absorb after sitting for about 10 minutes. Your finished product should have some liquid without being soupy.
Serve this porridge topped with the onions. For the kids, I skipped the onions and added Parmesan cheese. For myself, I spiced up the dish with a dash of Frank's Red Hot.
I walked to work right after lunch and enjoyed this great full feeling all the way. What a great way to feel satiated without packing in a lot of calories. I ate my lunch with leftover cornbread and apple butter--so yummy, but lacking in the vegetable department. I've included a better option in this 1600 calorie meal plan.
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Breakfast-388 Calories
Snack- 190 Calories
2 Tbsp. Sunflower Seeds
1/2 Dark Chocolate candy bar--save the rest for tomorrow!
Lunch- 365 Calories
and Spinach salad with honey-mustard vinagrette
Snack- 121 Calories
Banana
Dinner- 504 Calories
Steamed Broccoli
Total Calories = 1568 Calories
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