Lentils with rice, known as fadji or moudjentra, is a favourite vegetarian family meal in Cyprus, my favourite way of serving fadji is with chopped tomatoes and cucumber and yogurt, some people like it with a fried egg on top or use it as a side dish with meat. I always had trouble getting this dish just right, always having either overcooked stodgy lentils or undercooked crunchy rice, I tried cooking it the oven, cooking the rice separately from the lentils, but never achieving the desired taste or consistency, until my Aunty just gave me a few simple tips and now I get perfectly cooked fadji, really delicious and a healthy satisfying meal for the whole family. Here's my recipe….
2 cups of brown lentils
1 cup of rice, I prefer to use Carolina rice, I found it seems to work better in this dish. I also tried it with brown rice which worked well, but make sure you use the short grain variety.
6 cups of water
2 onions, thinly sliced
4 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
Place lentils in a pot, just cover with water and bring to a boil. Leave to boil for a few minutes.
Drain the lentils, put back into the pot and cover with the 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil until just cooked. Lentils should still have a slight bite to them.
Add the rice and bring to a boil, for about 10 minutes.
Now, switch off the heat. Cover the pot with a clean cover and place the lid on top of the towel so that the pot is sealed well. The rice and lentils will carry on cooking this way and all the water should be absorbed.
Sautee the onions in the olive oil until they're brown and caramelised. Pour into the lentils and rice and mix.
Season with salt and pepper.
Androulla xx
