Recipe Mujaddara From Arab

Mujaddara

Mujaddara consists of cooked lentils together with groats, generally rice, and garnished with sautéed onions.

Mujaddara is the Arabic word for smallpox; the lentils among the rice resemble pockmarks. The first recorded recipe for mujaddara appears in Kitab al-Tabikh, a cookbook compiled in 1226 by al-Baghdadi in Iraq. Containing rice, lentils, and meat, it was served this way during celebrations. Without meat, it was a medieval Arab dish commonly consumed by the poor, reputed to be a derivative of the "mess of pottage" Jacob used to buy Esau's birthright. Because of its importance in the diet, a saying in the Eastern Arab world is, "A hungry man would be willing to sell his soul for a dish of mujaddara."

Ingredients:

1 cup dry lentils, rinsed

2 cups water

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon garlic powder

3/4 cup white rice, rinsed

3/4 cup water

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3 white onions, sliced into 1/4-inch rings

Combine the lentils, 2 cups water, 1 teaspoon salt, the cumin, and garlic powder in a pot over medium heat; bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, and cook until the lentils begin to soften, 20 to 30 minutes. Stir the rice, 3/4 cup water, 1 teaspoon salt, and the olive oil into the lentils. Cover the pot and continue cooking until the lentils and rice are tender, about 40 minutes. Heat the cooking oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook the onions in the oil until browned, 7 to 10 minutes. Spread the onions over the rice and lentil mixture to serve.