Mjadara

Mjadara belongs to the ancient foundation of Levantine cuisine, where legumes, cultivated for millennia in the Fertile Crescent, formed the basis of peasant diet. A written record appears as early as 1226 in the Kitab al-Tabikh, a collection of medieval Arab recipes, testifying to a culinary practice already well established at that time, transmitted orally long before being written down. Long considered a poor man's dish due to its simple and inexpensive ingredients, it has nevertheless endured through the centuries without losing its place in the family kitchens of Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Jordan. The word mjadara likely derives from the Arabic root meaning smallpox or grains, referring to the speckled appearance of lentils among the rice or bulgur. This dish also nourished religious communities and fasting periods, when meat and animal products were excluded from tables.

• 250 g brown or green lentils
• 200 g rice or bulgur depending on variation
• 3 large yellow onions, finely sliced
• 80 ml olive oil or neutral oil for frying the onions
• 1 liter water or light broth
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 pinch of cinnamon (optional, depending on family tradition)

1. Rinse the lentils and cook them in water, covered, until they begin to soften, approximately twenty minutes.
2. Add the rice or bulgur to the pot, season with salt, cumin, and pepper, then simmer over low heat until the liquid is completely absorbed.
3. During cooking, slowly brown the sliced onions in oil, stirring regularly, until they become brown and crispy.
4. Let the lentil and grain mixture rest for a few minutes off the heat, covered, so it finishes swelling and softening.
5. Arrange the mjadara on a serving dish, drizzle with some of the frying oil, and garnish generously with the golden onions before serving warm or at room temperature.

Mjadara offers a soft and tender texture, where lentils blend with the delicate grain of rice or the slight chewiness of bulgur. Its taste is deeply earthy and comforting, enhanced by the warm note of cumin and softened by the sweet, caramelized fragrance of the fried onions that crown it. The whole presents a rustic simplicity, without embellishment, where each bite recalls the peasant cuisine of old.