Mjaddra Hamra – LENTIL PILAF WITH CARAMELISED ONIONS 

One of the dishes that always causes a dispute is mjaddara. There are so many variations to the recipe, but the uniting elements are lentils, onions, and bulgur or rice. The debates range from which lentils are used and are they creamed, to whether you use bulgur or rice or spices and is it mjaddara or mdardara? The list goes on… To me, mjaddara is when the proportions of lentils to bulgur/rice is higher. Mdardara uses almost equal proportions and is flavoured with cumin and fried onions on top. Mjaddara safra uses split yellow lentils; mjaddara hamra uses whole ones and gets its flavour from deeply caramelising the onions. Msaffaye means ‘strained’ and is made by pureeing cooked brown lentils, then cooking the rice or bulgur with them until thickened. A recipe in Kitab al-Tabikh, a cookbook compiled in 1226 by al-Baghdadi in Iraq, stated that this beloved vegetarian dish was served with minced (ground) meat in rich people’s celebrations, while the meatless one was the food of the poor. 

Mjaddara hamra is what my family used to make. It is common in South Lebanon and Palestine. My grandma called it the ‘nails of the knees’ because of the high iron content. Pair it with some fresh bread, a zesty salad, green olives and lots of fresh veggies. 

Last year, at the beginning of 2021, I had made Mjaddara and shared it on Instagram and, to my surprise, so many of my friends also made it the same week.
This year I decided to make it official and annonce the tradition of Mjaddara Week as the first week of every year.

The reason behind everyone making Mjaddara on the first week of the year is because we just want something quick and easy that has nothing to do with the holidays food that we’ve been having for the past two week, and Mjaddara comes to the rescue with its nutritional value and affordability and for the fact that we’d serve lots of seasonal veggies and pickles with it.

Italians have lentils on the new year and consider it a symbol of good fortune for the upcoming year for they resemble little coins and we have Mjaddara.

Therefore, by the power vested in me, I declare the first week of every year to be The National, or rather International, Mjaddara Week.

This recipe is from my book Bayrut The Cookbook, published on October 2021.

Mjaddara Hamra

Serves 2 persons

Ingredients

  • 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) whole red lentils, rinsed
  • 2.25 litres (9 cups) water
  • 600 g (1 lb 5 oz) onions, finely chopped
  • 120 ml (½ cup) olive oil
  • 150 g (scant 1 cup) coarse bulgur wheat
  • 2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
  • soft Arabic bread or markouk/saj bread, for scooping
  • Zesty Cabbage Salad
  • fresh veggies and herbs
  • pickled chillies & green olives

Procedure

  • Add the lentils to a large saucepan, cover with 2 litres (8 cups) of the water and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
  • Place the onions in a cold sauté pan with the olive oil, set over a medium–high heat and fry until they start to caramelise. Stir often to make sure they are browning evenly, and keep them on the heat until they turn from caramelised to very dark brown – almost but not quite charring. The burnt onions are what gives this dish its special flavour. Once the onions reach this stage, add the extra cup of water and bring to the boil.
  • Pour the onion mixture into the cooked lentils, then stir in the bulgur.
  • Season to taste with the salt. Bring to the boil and cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring often, until the bulgur has soaked up the extra liquid.
  • Ladle onto plates and let cool slightly before serving with your chosen accompaniments. I love to scoop this dish up with soft Arabic bread.

Note on the photo:
I have spent all my morning looking for the photos of Mjaddara I have from 2018 to no avail. I have a chunk of my 2018 photos and recipe, which i have uploaded to the blog then, missing from my storage. I had to resort to the header uploaded back in September 2018 as my recipe photo which is of the lentil porridge mjaddara that is puréed and strained 🥲

Ghammé; Fweregh & Kroush

Ghammé; Fweregh & Kroush recipe - cookin5m2-9968.jpg

Keeping up with my brand and my blog, I am mixing things up and posting things late.
Last week we celebrated the start of a great initiative started by two awesome ladies, Nadia and Mai. We celebrated on April 2nd, along with all the participants by hosting a gathering with my foodie friends at a local restaurant that I LOVE for its food, atmosphere, and simple feel.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BvyOKs2g27M/

The initiative is called April Is For Arab Food, and it is to celebrate our heritage recipes and bring exposure to it. To me, most importantly, this is so important in the west where our food is being appropriated and promoted as Israeli food. I live online and I SEE!
My friend, blogger and cookbook author, Bethany Kehdy said it best in her book and shared it on instagram. I could not have said it any better Continue reading “Ghammé; Fweregh & Kroush”

Al Nakba and Palestinian Recipes

This year, March 15 marks the 70th commemoration of Al Nakba, the day after the declaration of independance of the state of Israel, the day Palestinians were kicked out of their homes and their village to make way for settlements for paid Jews from the world to live in.

Hisham Assad Kuffiya Kuffiyi Palestine cookin5m2.jpg

If you don’t agree with this at this point, please press Ctrl+W

What is different this year? The person in The White House decided he is playing a board game and falsy assigned a capital to an occupying country by doing what they’re doing best; occupying another. This year, also, the Palestinians aren’t taking it anymore and are revolting. A large number died was killed.

You’d ask, why a food blog is getting into politics? The answer is because I am not separate from this messed up world we live in. And this subject is dear to my heart. I’ve brought it up before and I will still bring it up now more than ever. My grandparents came to Lebanon from Palestine in 1948 when they left their homes for what they assumed would be a short time. Fifty years later, my family moves from UAE, their 1975 refuge from the Civil War, to Lebanon. We have no place to go as we were expelled due to sponsorship country regulations. So we move to the Palestinian Refugee camp in Dbayeh and here I am twenty years later living and making a living from here. Fortunately, my family got the Lebanese nationality, which made things somehow easier on several fronts.

Fighting has been taking place since Earth day, end of March. And for Al Nakba, more than 60 have been killed. YES, Killed. Murdered. Not dead, as reported. and more than 2700 injured to the date of publishing this post.

Still not convinced?
It angers me how the world is silent to the 70-year-old actions of the “only democracy in the Middle East” and the massacres commited to the land they occupy and the neighboring countries.
What also angers me is the cultural theft commited against anything Levantine being promoted, mainly in the US, as Israeli. Hummus is not Israeli. There was nothing called that. It is Levantine, Middle Eastern. There is Jewish bread. But there is not an Israeli hummus. And the list goes on.

Here is where I feel responsible; storytelling and food. Memories and oral history is a vital part in keeping the cause alive. I will do what I am good at, and I will use the platform and medium I have. So here it is. My food and my family’s inherited food is at your hands. Share the stories and the flavors. Fight the way you can, and let’s not turn a blind eye at all the brutal physical and cultural killing taking place until justice is served.

My thoughts and energy goes to all the Palestinians fighting for our land and for our right have the land for us!

Maftoul & Moghrabieh

the spill 002-moghrabieh-cookin5m2

Msakhan; Sumac Chicken Rolls

Continue reading “Al Nakba and Palestinian Recipes”

Fava beans, Peas, and Freekeh Salad

It’s seasonal produce at its BEST!

A couple of weekends ago, I had the chance to hide among the tall fava bean plants and dive deep to collect the long green pods.

I also kneeled down the search for the fresh pea pods hiding underneath barricades of pea vines. I stepped on numerous ones, despite being careful, attempting to reach a handful of pods sunbathing together in the open.

PIN-Freekeh fava beans peas salad recipe cookin5m2-4.jpg Continue reading “Fava beans, Peas, and Freekeh Salad”

Sausage Shakshouka with Anchovies and Capers

This is not my first shakshouka recipe. It is said, once you make it, you’ll keep making it all the time. I am not an exception to the rule!
Rarely do I repeat the same dish exactly to the point. It has to be different in something. And this time won’t be any different.

PIN-Shakshouka with sausage and capers recipe cookin5m2-0542-2

My love for shakshouka is real. A real love story. Or in the terms of food writers; it is a perfect marriage of ingredients and flavors. Jokes aside, it is. If you haven’t tried it at least once, you’re missing out. Continue reading “Sausage Shakshouka with Anchovies and Capers”