Mujadarra

I have often sung the praises of the rich and flavourful cuisine of the Middle-East and so it should come as no surprise that I bring you yet another recipe from the region, this time from Lebanon. (Maybe I should change the blog's name to The Middle-Eastern Pot?)

Mujadarra is a firm favourite not only in Lebanon, but also among many Jewish communities, where it is referred to as Esau's favourite referencing the famous story of how Esau sold his birthright for a pot of lentils. Mujadarra has also made an appearance in contempary literature, playing a starring role in Ameen Rihani's novel The Book of Khalid.*

I have always been both foodie and self-confessed bookworm and I feel a strange tingle of delight when I stumble across instances of these two areas overlapping. As in the first case where food arguably forms part of one of the most-oft repeated tales of all time. Ditto for Ameen's book featuring the very same dish. 

You can imagine my delight then when I became aware of a blogging event that celebrates this partnership of good food and good books. Starting this month, I will be diving into Garlic & Sapphires by Ruth Reichl in preparation for my very first challenge of This Book Makes Me Cook. The basic premise is that all the participants read a specific foodie novel which will then serve as inspiration for a recipe to blog about. If you are a fellow book & food nerd, I am sure you will need no convincing to dive in with me.

Coming back to the dish that launched a thousand novels (almost), Mujadarra happens to also be perfect for Meat-Free Mondays. Not only that, but it is super versatile to boot, as you can served it both as main or side-dish, hot or cold. Some might say Esau was crazy, but I'm telling you, the man was onto a very good thing when he made that life-changing trade.

*source: Wikipedia

Mujadarra

Adapted from The Confused Homemaker

Serves 4 (as main or 6-8 as side)

2 tbsp olive oil

4 large red (or a mix of red & white) onions, thinly sliced

1/2 tsp minced garlic

2 tbsp cumin seeds, crushed

2 tsp mustard seeds, crushed

1 tbsp curry powder (optional)

1 cup brown lentils

1 cup brown rice

3 1/2 cups water 

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper 
1/2 tbsp lemon juice 

a handful fresh coriander, chopped 
hummus, to serve (optional, but highly recommended) 

1. Heat half of the oil over medium-high heat in a medium-sized frying pan. Add one onion and fry for a few minutes or until softened.
2. Transfer onion to a pot, adding garlic and spices and fry for a few seconds or until fragrant. Add lentils and rice, stirring to coat with the oil and spices, then add water, salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Reduce heat, cover and allow to simmer for about 30 - 40 minutes or until cooked through. Add lemon juice, stir through, taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
3. Meanwhile, heat the remainder of the oil in the frying pan yo used previously, then add remainder of onions with a touch of salt and allow to caramelise over low-medium heat. This will take roughly 30 minutes as well.

Spoon rice and lentil mixture into serving bowls, top with caramelised onions, hummus (if using) and fresh coriander. Serve immediately.

Nutritional info (per main dish serving): Calories 248.7, Total fat 8.7 g, Saturated fat 1.1 g, Polyunsaturated fat 1.1 g, Monounsaturated fat 5.9 g, Cholesterol 0.0 mg, Sodium 592.5 mg, Potassium 525.5 mg, Total carbohydrate 36.6 g, Dietary fiber 8.1 g, Sugars 0.2 g, Protein 8.3 g

Good source of: Manganese 56.1 %, Folate 30.5 %, Iron 24.6 %, Phosphorus 20.6 %