 Mujaddara | |
| Course | Main |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Iraq[1] |
| Region or state | Western Asia (Levant,Iraq) |
| Main ingredients | Rice orbulgur,lentils, onions |
Mujaddara (Arabic:مجدّرةmujaddarah, with alternative spellings in Englishmajadra,mejadra,moujadara,mudardara, andmegadarra) is adish consisting of cookedlentils together withgroats, generallyrice, and garnished with sautéedonions. It is especially popular in theLevant and Palestine.
Mujaddara is the Arabic word for "pockmarked"; the lentils among the rice resemblepockmarks.[2][3] The first recorded recipe formujaddara appears inKitab al-Tabikh, a cookbook compiled in 1226 byal-Baghdadi inIraq.[3] Containing rice, lentils, and meat, it was served this way during celebrations.[3] Without meat, it was a medievalArab dish commonly consumed by the poor 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."[4]
Cooked lentils are popular all over theMiddle East and form the basis of many dishes.Mujaddara is a popular dish throughout theArab world, and is generally made using brown or green lentils and rice, that can be seasoned withcumin,coriander, ormint.[2] It is topped with fried onions and is generally served with yogurt, among other vegetables and side dishes, either hot or cold.[2]
The dish is made with brown lentils and rice. In Lebanon, the wordmjaddara refers to the puréed version of the dish, rather than the version with whole grains and lentils.[5]Mjaddara usually has the consistency of rice pudding whereas in theLebanese variant known asmudardara, the rice and lentils remain relatively intact and distinct. Bothmujaddara andmudardara are topped with caramelized onions and usually served with yogurt or a salad.
Arab Christians traditionally eatmujaddara duringLent.[2]
The dish is also popular amongSephardic andJewish communities of Middle Eastern origin, in particular those ofSyrian andEgyptian backgrounds; it is generally made with rice rather than wheat.
The dish is also popular amongDruze in theLevant.[6]
Palestinians replace the rice withbulgur; the dish is called m'jaddaret-burghul to distinguish it from the m'jaddara which is served with rice. Pronounced asm'jaddara, the dish is served multiple times a month for family, cooked with olive oil and onion strips, and served alongside local plain sheep's-milk yogurt (laban n'aj) made inNablus, with green salad.[7][8][9][10][11]
InEgyptian cuisine, lentils, rice,macaroni, and tomato sauce cooked together are known askushari. In Indian cuisines, lentils cooked together with rice are known askhichdi (see alsokedgeree). InIranian cuisine, a similar dish composed of rice and lentils is calledaddas polo.
InCypriot cuisine, the dish calledfakes moutzentra (φακές μουτζιέντρα;[fa'kesmu't͡ʃendra])[12] is very similar to mujaddara, as it consists of lentils and rice. In Greek,fakes means lentils.
InJewish cuisine,hamin (also known ascholent) is a traditional dish eaten onShabbat. Its main ingredients are meat, potatoes, beans, and barley though all shabbat stews contain some type of grain and meat or featured vegetable which is slowly cooked overnight.
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