Start by washing the lentils separately from the rice (the rice needs to be washed as well). In a thick-bottomed pot, put the lentils and cover with water to about 2 inch above the lentils. Bring to boiling and reduce heat to medium. Cook for about 30 minutes or until the lentils are completely soft. When the lentils are ready, filter them and collect the residual water in a separate vessel. Those water are now rich in nutrients! 

Measure 2 cups of water, including the residual water from cooking the lentils, in the same cup you measured the rice. You’ll need two cups of water to cook the rice.

If you accidentally discarded the water, no harm is done and you can always just use fresh water instead.

Then, put back the lentils in the pot, along with the yet-to-be-cooked rice, oil, salt and water, stir it all up and cover with the lid. From this point onward, the lid MUST remain closed until the end, no matter what.

At this point, I recommend that you stay close and make sure you ‘catch’ the pot when it starts to boil. As soon as it does, immediately reduce the heat to low, and put a timer on for about 15 minutes. The dish will probably need more time, but you want to keep an eye and see after those 15 minutes how much longer it needs to continue cooking. As soon as it runs out of water, it’s time to turn off the stove. Do not open the pot and cover the lid on the pot with a kitchen-towel for 15 more minutes at least. That’s how the rice and lentils acquire their soft and smooth texture - by stewing in their steam.

For serving, add some fried onion ‘rings’ on the top of the madjad'ra.

Bete’avon! (which means “bon appetite” in Hebrew)