Image by Sarah McAnaw

Mujaddara

I know, the name is hard to pronounce! Mu-jad-dara, I bet if you say it now it is not as hard as the first time. That’s right, many Middle Eastern foods have weird names, weird pronunciation, and  frankly, I do not know where they got the name. Growing up partially in Kuwait, and raised mainly in the United States, I never cared to know the meaning of this meal’s name. All I know is that it tasted good, since we eat lots of rice, and tastes great with a tangy small chopped salad,Yummy! In the process of writing about Mujaddara which is derived from the  Arabic language, I had to find the meaning and history of this meatless dish made in many countries in the Middle East, and known by the same name in four countries in that region.

Mujaddara literally means”chickenpox”  due to the pock-mark appearance of the brown lentils in the rice(Sarah McAnaw).I guess this dish is going to appeal to appetites after knowing the meaning! The History of this dish was, according to Sarah McAnaw, author of Small Kitchen College, goes back to one version of the  “mess of porridge” of the Geneva Bible., when Jacob offered Mujaddara to buy the birthright of his brother Esau.According to McAnaw and my mother Zakiyah Manour, this dish was of poor people or peasant’s food. It was considered a poor man’s food when a meal did not contain meat. So lentil soup and Mujaddara are one of such foods.

Mujaddara is very easy to make. In fact my mom used to make it on a lazy day, since she used to cook on a daily basis. I follow on that too. I cook Mujaddara once a month and the recipe is pretty simple and is not time consuming. The recipe uses rice, brown lentils, little spices,and sauteed onions for garnish which add a great flavor and little moisture to the “pilaf”.The recipe is simple and easy to prepare.Whether you eat the Mujaddara right away or  leave in the refrigerator for a couple of days, it should still be good to eat on those days where you are hungry and need something to eat quick.

Mujaddara Ingredients:

1 cup Basmati rice( washed and soaked 15 minutes then drained)

1/2 brown lentils

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt (as desired)

1/2 teaspoon Allspice

2-3 onions thinly sliced

1/2 cup olive oil

5 cups water .

Chicken Stock(optional)can be added as half of the liquid in the recipe

Directions:

Boil the lentils in water and simmer till tender but not mushy. In the mean time, slice onions then add olive oil to frying pan on medium heat. Saute onions till they turn caramel in color. set half onions aside and add the other half to the lentils, then mix in the rice, spices, and salt. Bring to a boil . Water in the pot should cover the rice mixture .Lower the heat and cover the pot.Simmer for about 20 minutes ,till the rice is tender. If rice is not tender and water has evaporated add little water and keep on simmer till the rice is well done. Flip the pot and pour rice into a platter and garnish with the rest of the caramelized onions. Can be eaten with plain yogurt or with small chopped salad with lemon and olive oil dressing.Enjoy!!!

Source: http://college.biggirlssmallkitchen.com/2012/05/five-ingredient-feast-mujaddara.html