Mujaddara ( ''mujaddarah'', with alternative spellings in English majadra, mejadra, moujadara, mudardara, and megadarra) is a dish consisting of cooked

lentil The lentil (''Vicia lens'' or ''Lens culinaris'') is an annual plant, annual legume grown for its Lens (geometry), lens-shaped edible seeds or ''pulses'', also called ''lentils''. It is about tall, and the seeds grow in Legume, pods, usually w ...

s together with groats, generally

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

, and garnished with sautéed

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classifie ...

s. It is especially popular in the

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

Name and origin

''Mujaddara'' is the Arabic word for "pockmarked"; the lentils among the rice resemble pockmarks.Middle Eastern Kitchen
Ghillie Basan, p. 118. The first recorded recipe for ''mujaddara'' appears in '' Kitab al-Tabikh'', a cookbook compiled in 1226 by al-Baghdadi.''Encyclopedia of Jewish Food''
Gil Marks, p. 412. 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 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."''From the lands of figs and olives: over 300 delicious and unusual recipes from the Middle East and North Africa''
Habeeb Salloum and Jim Peters, p. 199.

Variations

Cooked lentils are popular all over the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

and form the basis of many dishes. ''Mujaddara'' is a popular dish throughout the

Arab world The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

, and is generally made using brown or green lentils and rice, that can be seasoned with

cumin Cumin (, ; ; ''Cuminum cyminum'') is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native to the Irano-Turanian Region. Its seeds – each one contained within a fruit, which is dried – are used in the cuisines of many cultures in both whole ...

coriander Coriander (), whose leaves are known as cilantro () in the U.S. and parts of Canada, and dhania in parts of South Asia and Africa, is an annual plant, annual herb (''Coriandrum sativum'') in the family Apiaceae. Most people perceive the ...

, or

mint Mint or The Mint may refer to: Plants * Lamiaceae, the mint family ** ''Mentha'', the genus of plants commonly known as "mint" Coins and collectibles * Mint (facility), a facility for manufacturing coins * Mint condition, a state of like-new ...

. It is topped with fried onions and is generally served with yogurt, among other vegetables and side dishes, either hot or cold. The dish is made with brown lentils and rice. In Lebanon, the word ''mjaddara'' refers to the puréed version of the dish, rather than the version with whole grains and lentils. ''Mjaddara'' usually has the consistency of rice pudding whereas in the Lebanese variant known as ''mudardara'', the rice and lentils remain relatively intact and distinct. Both ''mujaddara'' and ''mudardara'' are topped with caramelized onions and usually served with yogurt or a salad.

Arab Christians Arab Christians () are the Arabs who adhere to Christianity. The number of Arab Christians who live in the Middle East was estimated in 2012 to be between 10 and 15 million. Arab Christian communities can be found throughout the Arab world, bu ...

traditionally eat ''mujaddara'' during

Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...

. The dish is also popular among

Sephardic Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

and Jewish communities of Middle Eastern origin, in particular those of

Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

and

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

backgrounds; it is generally made with rice rather than wheat. The dish is also popular among

Druze The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...

in the

Palestinians Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenou ...

replace the rice with

bulgur Bulgur (; ; ; ), or Borghol (), is a cracked wheat foodstuff found in Egyptian cuisine, South Asian cuisine and West Asian cuisine. Characteristics Bulgur is distinct from cracked wheat, which is crushed wheat grain that, unlike bulgur, has ...

; the dish is called m'jaddaret-burghul to distinguish it from the m'jaddara which is served with rice. Pronounced as ''m'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 in

Nablus Nablus ( ; , ) is a State of Palestine, Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 156,906. Located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a ...

, with green salad.

Similar dishes

Egyptian cuisine Egyptian cuisine makes heavy use of poultry, legumes, vegetables and fruit from Egypt's rich Nile Valley and Delta. Examples of Egyptian dishes include rice-stuffed vegetables and grape leaves, hummus, falafel, shawarma, kebab and kofta ...

, lentils, rice, macaroni, and tomato sauce cooked together are known as kushari. In Indian cuisines, lentils cooked together with rice are known as khichdi (see also kedgeree). In

Iranian cuisine Iranian cuisine comprises the culinary traditions of Iran. Due to the historically common usage of the term "Name of Iran, Persia" to refer to Iran in the Western world,Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. ...

, a similar dish composed of rice and lentils is called ''addas polo''. In

Cypriot cuisine Cypriot cuisine is the cuisine of the island of Cyprus. Food preparation Frequently used ingredients are fresh vegetables such as courgettes ( zucchini), olives, okra, green beans, artichokes, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and gr ...

, the dish called ''fakes moutzentra'' (φακές μουτζιέντρα; ) is very similar to mujaddara, as it consists of lentils and rice. In Greek, ''fakes'' means lentils.

References

External links

* Wikibooks recipe (Palestine) * Wikibooks recipe (Lebanon)
Jordanian Mujaddara Recipe Kitchen of Palestine: Mjaddara RecipeVariation using quinoa instead of rice
{{Cuisine of Lebanon Arabic words and phrases Arab cuisine Jordanian cuisine Rice dishes Lebanese cuisine Legume dishes Lentil dishes Levantine cuisine Palestinian cuisine Syrian cuisine Iraqi cuisine Israeli cuisine National dishes Bulgur dishes

Name and origin

Variations

Similar dishes

References

Further reading

External links