Instant Pot Mujadara with Crispy Shallots

Mujadara, mujaddara, mejadra - I have seen many variations on the spelling and slight variations of the recipe, depending on which part of the Arab world it is coming from. Christian Arabs eat this during lent, it's popular with Jewish communities from Israel to Syria and Egypt and it should be popular with you too. Packed full of flavour and protein, it makes a great vegetarian meal alongside some steamed or roasted vegetables. I served it with harissa yogurt and shrimp fried in the shallot oil for these photos. You can drizzle some Zhug or other hot sauce, serve with yogurt or smother it in fresh herbs like mint, cilantro and parsley - that's all up to you.

What I give you is a solid, basic recipe for mujadara made in the Instant Pot. Doing it in the pressure cooker means you don't have to cook the lentils and rice separately and no babysitting the rice on the stove is required. I do cook the crispy shallots in a small frying pan because I don't find that sauté feature on the pressure cooker works well enough to make them, but, otherwise, it's a one pot dish. Oh, and I use this method for doing the shallots because most other methods use flour and I like to keep it gluten free since this is a dish I make when I am cooking for clients so I avoid flour if it's not really needed. Make as many crispy shallots as you like, store them in an airtight container and use on top of everything until they are gone.

Instant Pot Mujadara with Crispy Shallot

serves 4 as a main course or 6 as a side dish

1 cup green lentils - plain green or puy work well
4 shallots or 1 small onion, finely sliced
4 cloves garlic, finely sliced or chopped
2 tbls oil (use the shallot oil from frying the crispy shallots)
1/2 tsp tumeric
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp kosher salt
1 cup basmati rice
2 1/4 cups water, chicken stock or veggie stock

garnish: *crispy shallots
optional: harissa yogurt, fresh mint, pomegranate seeds

*Crispy Shallots
at least 5 shallots, peeled
canola or grapeseed oil

Slice the shallots very thinly - a mandoline works best but if slicing by hand, just go slowly and slice very thinly
spread the shallots out on paper towel and let dry out a bit while you get the rest of your ingredients prepared.

Put the shallots in a shallow frying pan and pour in enough oil to cover bottom of the pan - the shallots don't need to be fully submerged. Turn the heat on high and watch like a hawk. When the shallots start to bubble like mad, turn the heat down to med, stir them and spread them out in an even layer and then let the cook until they are golden brown. Remove the shallots with a slotted spoon as soon as they are browned to a paper towel lined plate or cutting board and take the pan off the heat. They will crisp up as they cool down and can be stored for a couple of days at room temperature in an airtight container. I am not sure how long they stay crispy for because they have never lasted longer than a day or two in my house.

Reserve the shallot oil to use in this recipe and keep for other dishes too - it's very tasty.

Mujadara
Soak the lentils in hottest tap water in a bowl for about an hour.

Turn your Instant Pot (or other brand of electric pressure cooker) to saute and when it says "HOT" add in the 2 tbls of the reserved shallot oil. Brown the sliced shallots until they start to brown. Add in the garlic and sauté for another minute before adding in the spices. Cook for about 30 seconds, until really fragrant and then strain the lentils, getting rid of the soaking water and dump them into the pot.

Add in the water or stock and bring to a boil, cooking the lentils like that for 3 minutes. Now add in the basmati rice, give it a good stir.
Lock the lid on and program the machine for 6 minutes at high pressure. When the time is up, let it release naturally for 10 minutes. Release any remaining pressure at that time, open the lid, fluff up the rice and lentils and serve, heaped with the crispy shallots. You can add fresh mint, some yogurt mixed harissa, add fresh, chopped tomato if you like or pomegranate seeds for colour and some freshness.