Rana Bishara is an Arab-Palestinian artist born in the Galilee and living in Jerusalem. She sends us her recipe for mujadarah. Known traditionally as "peasant food," this tasty lentils-and-rice dish is enjoyed by workers during the olive harvest, and by Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza and throughout the diaspora.
Ingredients:
5 cups of onions
1 1/2 cups of burgoul (cracked wheat) or (rice)
1 1/2 cups of olive oil
3 Cups of Lentils
Water
1 teaspoon of cumin
To Prepare:
Wash the lentils good and boil them until they soften.
Chop the onions to medium cubes and put it in a pan with olive oil – (olive should cover half of the quantity) and let it cook until it becomes brown and crunchy. (Take away the extra olive oil and add some fresh after browning)
You can over cock the onions until they become brown if you want a red mujadarah but then you will want to replace the burned olive oil with new olive oil.
Add the burgoul to the mixture after the lentils have become soft. Let the mixture cook down on a low fire. (If there is too much water take away some before you add the burgoul).
When the burgoul softens add the onions and stir carefully with a wooden spoon.
Turn the fire off and cover the pan for 15 minutes.
You can add a pinch of cumin to the mujadarah if you like its taste.
Now the mujadarah is ready to be served.
You can add a little bit of fresh olive oil before you serve the dish.
You can enjoy your mujadarah with different appetizers like: yogurt, black or green olives, some pickled cucumbers and small pickled eggplants, some jalapenos, or spring onions and Arabic salad.
Serves 3-4 people.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. 9(MDM3NjYwMjA5MDE1MjA1MzQ1NDk1N2ZmZQ004))