Spring's Inspirations Recipe Series: Mujadara

 Once upon a time, the woman who introduced me to Pennsic and the SCA had a baby. She had a rough delivery, and I was in between grad school/full time employment at the time. I took the opportunity to make her something I knew she would like: a vegetarian dish that was more "exotically spiced" than her husband would typically enjoy. I got to her house with food and the baby was crying and upset. I picked up the kid and bounced him and told her to eat. She felt terrible he was crying so much. I said "Babies cry, eat and I'll bounce." It was the first hot meal she had been able to eat in the week after giving birth and even now, 7 years later it is something she asks me to make at Pennsic because it has become comfort food. The dish also met the needs of our camp's dietary limitations that year and it was very well received. 

I use the recipe by Aarti Sequeira in her cookbook: Aarti Party. It's truly one of my most used cookbooks and inspired nearly the entire day board menu. I dug a bit into the history of the dish and have found that it was mentioned in Kitab al-Tabikh ("The Book of Dishes"), an early Arabic cookbook written by al-Baghdadi in 1226. It is also theorized to be mentioned even earlier in the Quran:

    And [recall] when you said, “O Moses, we can never endure one [kind of] food. So call upon your Lord     to bring forth for us from the earth its green herbs and its cucumbers and its garlic and its lentils and its     onions. (verse 2:61 of the Surat al Baqara chapter)

It is also "reputed to be a derivative of the “mess of pottage” Jacob used to buy Esau’s birthright." from Mujaddara So this is an old dish that was often enjoyed by commoners as the ingredients are affordable and accessible. 

Mujadara means "pockmarked" in Arabic - apparently indicating how the lentils look among the rice. One adaptation I made from the original recipe to scale up for a dayboard, was to caramelize the onions in my slow cooker. It was so mind-blowingly easy, I will always use this method in the future. I halved and peeled the onions, then sliced in 1/4" slices. Tossed with 1 tsp of fat per onion(I used olive oil for allergen reasons, but butter would work or other fats). Put in slow cooker and cook on low for 12 hours. Toss a couple times if you remember. My first batch I did overnight and woke up starving because my house smelled divine. They freeze well and I will start keeping a bag on hand for instant French onion soup! Recipe notes are all in relation to what I served at Spring's Inspirations (SI).

Here is the recipe:

3 medium red onions (about 4 cups) plus 3 tbls fat of choice
1 tlbs olive oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
fresh cracked black pepper
2 cups lentils (for SI, I used brown, the recipe says specifically not French Puy lentils, but I used them regularly, though they are hard to find here in Maine)
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2- 1 tsp cayenne pepper (for SI, I used the lowest amount)

1 cinnamon stick
1 1/2 cup basmati rice
6 cups water
salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup pine nuts

Rinse lentils and pick through to remove any stones. In medium saucepan, cover lentils with water, bring to boil then simmer for 20 minutes. Drain and set aside. (for camping I do this early, then vacuum seal and freeze)

In a large pot that has a lid, heat oil until it shimmers, then drop in one cumin seed. If the seed sizzles and pops, add the rest of the seeds and pepper and cook for one minute. If it does not sizzle, wait and test again in a minute. 

For Spring's Inspirations, I knew I had an allium allergy to consider, so I did not combine the onions until ready to serve. I also had to caramelize so many onions it was worth it to do in the slow cooker. Adjust to suit your needs. 

Add onions and toss in oil to coat. Let onions cook down until they are deep brown - at least 15 minutes. If they start to stick, add a splash of water. Sprinkle with a dash of salt, cook an additional 5 minutes and remove about 2/3s of the onions (reserve for garnish).

Add another tbls of olive oil, then add rice. Toast rice for a minute until it is aromatic (about 2-3 minutes). 

Add water, lentils, and salt. Bring to boil, then cover and reduce to simmer for 30 minutes until water has been absorbed. If it is still too much water, cover and continue to cook until water evaporates or is absorbed completely. 

To serve, transfer to serving dish and top with reserved onions. Toast 1/4 cup pine nuts and add as garnish (optional)

I like to have yogurt or raita (recipe to follow in another post) on the side to combine. 

Another excellent side for this is roast leg of lamb ;) something my camp insists upon at this point!