Mujadara (Jordanian rice and lentils)

Place the rice in a large bowl, cover with boiling water and leave to soak for 30 minutes, then drain well. Place the drained lentils in a large saucepan and cover with 1 litre (4 cups) water. Bring to the boil and simmer, uncovered, over medium heat for 15 minutes.Meanwhile, in a medium frying pan, heat some oil over medium-high heat and fry the vermicelli until golden. Set aside.Heat some oil in a large frying pan over medium-low heat and cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until softened, golden and caramelised. Set aside.Add the drained rice, fried vermicelli and half of the fried onions to the pot with the lentils and stir to combine. Season with salt. Cover with a lid slightly ajar and cook over low heat for 30 minutes or until the rice is tender. Check halfway through to see if you need to add more water. Remove from the heat and allow to rest, covered, for 10 minutes. Place the lentil and rice mixture on a large serving platter and scatter over the remaining fried onions to serve. You can serve hot or at room temperature.This recipe is part of our feature . Listen to the podcast here:The author travelled to Jordan as part of . Read more stories form .