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Lebanese Lentil Rice Pilaf (Mdardara) with Cabbage Tomato Salad

Lebanese Lentil Rice Pilaf (Mdardara) topped with caramelized onions and served with a garlicky Cabbage Tomato Salad. A delicious, nutritious vegetarian summer meal!

Total1 hr
Serves5 (2 cups pilaf per serving)
Calories582
Protein17g
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Lebanese lentil rice pilaf (mdardara) with caramelized onions and cabbage tomato salad

SUMMER! There’s something about the warmest season of the year. The sun has a miraculous effect on my happiness. It just makes life feel so harmonious. I just LOVE a beautiful, sunny, breezy summer day… a weekend day, of course, filled with relaxation and a delicious meal. ☜ That was moi a few hours ago.

The recipe

Lebanese Lentil Rice Pilaf (Mdardara) with Cabbage Tomato Salad

Prep
10 min
Cook
50 min
Total
1 hr
Serves
5 (2 cups pilaf per serving)
Colorful Recipes kitchen-tested
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Ingredients

Lentil Rice Pilaf (Mdardara)

Cabbage Tomato Salad

Instructions

Lentil Rice Pilaf (Mdardara)

  1. In a medium pot, add the lentils and 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer for .

  2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, add 1-2 tbsp of olive oil, the diced onion, cumin, cinnamon, allspice and salt, and caramelize until golden brown. It should be ready when the lentils are done.

  3. Drain the lentils and add them, along with the rinsed rice, to the rice cooker.

  4. Add one cup of water to the caramelized diced onion, scrape up all the bits and spices, then pour into the rice cooker.

  5. Add the remaining 3 cups of water to the rice cooker and mix everything well. Turn on the rice cooker using the white rice setting. It should take around .

  6. Meanwhile, heat the 1/4 cup of oil in your saucepan and caramelize the onion wedges until golden brown. Drain on paper towels until ready to serve.

  7. Top your Lentil Rice Pilaf (Mdardara) with the caramelized onion wedges and serve with the Cabbage Tomato Salad. The pilaf can be served warm or cold.

Cabbage Tomato Salad

  1. Add all the ingredients to a bowl and mix well. It tastes best when served immediately.

Notes

– If you prefer more lentils in your pilaf, you can use equal amounts of rice and lentils.
– If you're not using a rice cooker, for steps 3-5, add all the ingredients to a large pot instead, bring to a boil, then simmer covered until the water is absorbed. You might need to play around with the amount of water.

Nutrition Facts

5 servings per recipe
Serving size2 cups pilaf with cabbage tomato salad
Amount per servingCalories
582
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 19g24%
Saturated Fat 2.7g14%
Cholesterol 0mg0%
Sodium 1193mg52%
Total Carbohydrate 89g32%
Dietary Fiber 10.3g37%
Total Sugars 10.6g
Includes 0g Added Sugars0%
Protein 16.8g34%

* The % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Macro mix

  • 11% Protein 16.8g
  • 60% Carbs 89g
  • 29% Fat 19g

Protein score

2.9g protein per 100 calories

Treat yourself

Nutrition is an estimate per serving, calculated from USDA ingredient data and will vary with brands and portions. Uses midpoints for ranges: 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil and 2 1/2 tsp cumin. Assumes about 1 tbsp olive oil drizzled on the salad and half of a 700 g cabbage. Use it as a guide, not medical advice.

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Behind the recipe

The story, tips & photos

Lebanese lentil rice pilaf (mdardara) topped with caramelized onions, with cabbage tomato salad

And then Sunday afternoon crept up on me, had the audacity to interrupt my happiness and bring me the Monday blues. And all I kept repeating in my head was: “Wasn’t it Friday like 8 minutes ago?!”

But I quickly put on my big girl panties and reminded myself that I still had one more delicious meal to savor on our deck. Lebanese Lentil Rice Pilaf (Mdardara) with Cabbage Tomato Salad was the perfect summer evening meal. The pilaf was absolutely delicious and nutritious, paired with the ever-so-refreshing summer salad.

Plate of mdardara lentil rice pilaf with caramelized onions

Why we love this Lebanese lentil rice pilaf

This is one of our favorite vegetarian meals, and we enjoy it year-round. But I enjoy it even more in the summer since the pilaf doesn’t have to be served warm, which makes leftovers very easy to serve. I also use my rice cooker in this recipe, which ensures a perfectly cooked pilaf.

This pilaf is topped with scrumptious caramelized onions. They add so much flavor to this dish!

Caramelized onion wedges on top of Lebanese lentil rice pilaf

An easy cabbage tomato salad on the side

The Cabbage Tomato Salad is very easy to prepare. It’s a mixture of white cabbage, tomatoes, lemon juice, olive oil, fresh garlic and dried mint. The garlicky, lemony juiciness of the salad adds a kick to the lentil rice pilaf. I love using my mortar and pestle to mince my garlic. I feel it adds so much more flavor.

Lebanese cabbage tomato salad with lemon, garlic and dried mint
Mdardara lentil rice pilaf served with cabbage tomato salad on a summer deck

I hope you try this and enjoy it as much as we do! And most importantly, may your coffee be strong and your Monday be short!

What I’ve used in this recipe:

Aroma rice cooker used to make lentil rice pilaf
Mortar and pestle used to mince garlic for cabbage tomato salad

Here’s a complete list of my kitchen essentials.

Lebanese Lentil Rice Pilaf (Mdardara) with Cabbage Tomato Salad

Lebanese lentil rice pilaf (mdardara) with cabbage tomato salad in serving bowls

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