In June of 2001, my husband and I went to Paris to visit his cousin Arsene Dirkelessian.
Before we arrived, Arsene warned us that he and his wife Odile were vegetarians, and wanted to be sure we’d be OK with that. We thought this would be a good chance to shed a few pounds while visiting a city so rich in pastries.
We assured Arsene this would not be a problem – and it wasn’t. Not only did Arsene and Odile go above and beyond their duty as hosts, Odile turned out to be a phenomenal cook!
She prepared one knock-out recipe after another. The one that stands out is mujadarah, a hearty mix of lentils and rice flavored by caramelized onions.
I was floored, not only by the taste but by the discovery. How is it I’d never heard of this fabulous dish before then? Mujadarah isn’t Armenian, but all of the ingredients certainly are — and it’s popular with Armenians from Syria (like Arsene) and elsewhere in the Middle East.
So, we hereby declare it adopted!
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This is one I really want to try :)
After the previous posting, the Lessson On Lentils, I was waiting for a recipe....thank you. I like this one. I hardly think this is too much work. Make rice. Make lentils. Saute onions. Snap.
it'slebanese not bloody syrian!
Dear Anonymous,
I did not say the recipe was Syrian. I said that Arsene, who introduced us to this wonderful dish, originally came from Syria.
I make this a lot but I don't use rice I use bulger wheat #2 much better for you and it's the authentic way of doing this dish.
That sounds delicious, Ani. We'll give it a try, too. Thanks!
There are two ways my mom would cook it, with short-grain rice or with bulgur. Either way, she would use 1/2 measure of grain for 1 measure of lentil. When she made it with rice, she would add more water and cook it for a long time (or in the pressure cooker) so the rice would "melt" and the whole thing came out like a porridge. If she made it with bulgur, then it would be dry, like a pilav. Otherwise, the recipe is the same as the ones you posted. My mom called the rice version "mujaddarah" and said that was the Lebanese version. She would call the wheat version "muderdereh" and said that was the Armenian version.
this is a classic Levantine dish..that is from the Levant..Syria,Lebanon,Jordan and Palestine..
ps.. this is traditionally paired on the side with a chopped tomato,cucumber salad dressed in lemon/olive oil mint parsley .the combo is sublime yet earthy
Mujadarah is not "Levantine," it is Lebanese --and, more specifically, a Lebanese Christian dish that was originally eaten during Lent. And it's true that is was originally made using burghul instead of rice, but the Lebanese have used rice instead of burghul for ages, and it's just as authentic. Lastly, if you are using one cup of lentils, you should use no more than 1/8 to 1/4 cup rice at the very most. This is primarily a lentil dish, and if you use too much rice, then it becomes mudardarah, not mujadara. It should be served at room temperature in very shallow plates, and you use Arabic bread to eat it, just as you would eat hummus bi tahineh.