6. Spoon the lentils and rice onto a large platter or bowl. Top with crispy onions. Serve warm with yogurt, if you like.

Mujadara, with just three main ingredients (lentils, rice, onions), is often served during Ramadan for Iftar, the meal that breaks the daily fast. The holy month of Ramadan began on Feb. 28. This ancient dish, writes Yumna Jawad on ''Feel Good Foodie,'' a website with healthy Middle Eastern and Mediterranean recipes, can be made with lentils and bulgur, or with lentils and long-grain white rice, as her family does. Jawad was raised by Lebanese parents in a large Lebanese community in Sierra Leone in West Africa. When she was 11, they left and eventually settled in Detroit. Today she lives in Grand Rapids, Mich., with her husband and children, writes a blog, cooks in videos to go with the recipes, and tends to social media accounts that have nearly 10K followers. She's the author of ''The Feel Good Foodie Cookbook.'' To make her Mujadara, saute onions in olive oil for 20 minutes, or until they are deep golden and crisp. Partially cook brown lentils in a pot of water, then add long-grain white rice or basmati white rice and simmer them together. When they're cooked, sprinkle with cumin, and fluff with a fork. The dish, with its generous garnish of caramelized onions, is full of flavor. Top with yogurt, but it's very good plain.

1. In a bowl, combine the rice and cold water to cover (not the water on the ingredient list); set aside.

2. Line a plate with two paper towels. In a skillet over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil. Add the onions and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring constantly, for 20 minutes (lower the heat if the onions start to burn), or until the onions are deeply browned and starting to crisp around the edges. Watch them carefully near the end of cooking. Transfer to the paper towel-lined plate. They will crisp as they cool.

3. In a large flameproof casserole or Dutch oven, combine the lentils, water, and a generous pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Turn the heat to medium-low and cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid. Simmer for 15 minutes. (The lentils will not be cooked through.)

4. Drain the soaked rice into a sieve. Rinse with cold water. Transfer to the saucepan of lentils. Stir once, then cover the pan again. Continue cooking over low heat, undisturbed, for 15 minutes, or until the rice and lentils are tender.

5. Remove the pan from the heat. Leave the cover on. Set aside for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with cumin. With a fork, fluff the rice and lentils to combine them.

6. Spoon the lentils and rice onto a large platter or bowl. Top with crispy onions. Serve warm with yogurt, if you like.