mejadra

Mejadra

I guess I came late to the party. In 2014 I wandered into a gift shop and encountered Jerusalem, a Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi. I’d never heard of the book, which was two years old at the time, and I’d never heard of these guys. But I was intrigued, so I opened the cover—I was instantly in love. First of all, it was gorgeous. Second, it was interesting and informative. And third, I wanted to make every recipe in the book. So I bought it.

Among the many things I’ve never heard of, I’d never heard of mujadra. But anything covered in fried onions has to be good. And, it was a complete vegan protein which made it a valuable tool in my recipe toolbox. I made it and it was fabulous.

I’ve since explored other recipes for this Middle Eastern comfort food. None of them topped this one. And as I do when I discover something new, I thought about how I could make it better. I couldn’t.

I’m sharing this recipe with you here as a convenience, as it’s listed in one of my menus, specifically my menu for seudah hamafseket, the meal one eats before beginning the Yom Kippur fast. I figured it would be easier to link to it here, rather than having you track it down if you don’t have the book.

So here it is, Mejadra from Jerusalem, a Cookbook… I’ve made one small change, which I’ll tell you about because I’m giving you the unadulterated recipe. I adore beluga lentils. Strange to be enamored with a small black bean, but there it is. And since I had a hugh jar filled with them, the last time I made this I used those instead of the green or brown ones recommended in the recipe. It changes the texture somewhat, in that they hold their shape and don’t break down like other lentils do. That, however, was not a problem, just slightly different. This dish will be fabulous, no matter what lentils you choose to use.

Mejadra

Ingredients:

• 1 ¼ cups green or brown lentils

• 1 ½ lbs onions

• 3 tablespoons unbleached, all-purpose flour

• 1 cup neutral cold pressed fruit or nut oil (they use sunflower)

• 2 teaspoons whole cumin seeds

• 1 ½ tablespoons whole coriander seeds

• 1 cup basmati rice

• 2 tablespoons good olive oil

• ½ teaspoon ground turmeric

• 1 ½ teaspoons ground allspice

• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• 1 ½ cups water

• kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Method:

• Place the lentils into a saucepan and cover them with plenty of water. Bring the pot to a boil and cook for 12—15 minutes, until they’re tender but not mushy. (they’re going to cook further.) When they’re done, drain them and put them aside.

• Peel the onions, cut them in half lengthwise, and slice them into half moons, as thinly as you can. Put the onions on a plate, cover them with the flour, and add 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Using your hands, mix it all together so that all the onions are coated.

• Heat the sunflower oil in a heavy bottomed sauce pan over high heat. You’ll know the oil is ready when a small piece of onion sizzles when dropped in. Reduce the heat to medium-high and toss in a handful of the onions—don’t overcrowd the pot. Fry them for 5—7 minutes, until golden brown and crispy. Drain them on paper towels and sprinkle with a little more salt. Repeat until you’ve fried all the onions. Note: I used my deep fryer for this.

• Wipe the saucepan in which you fried the onions clean, with paper towel. Place the pot over medium heat and toss in the cumin and coriander seeds. Toast the seeds for a minute or two, agitating the pot a little as they cook.

• Then, add the rice, olive oil, turmeric, allspice, cinnamon, sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, and plenty of black pepper. Stir for a minute or so to coat the rice with the oil and spices, then add the cooked lentils and the 1 ½ cups water. Bring to a boil, cover the pot, and cook over very low heat for 15 minutes.

• Remove the pot from the heat, lift the cover, and quickly cover the pan with a clean tea towel. Replace the lid tightly and let it rest for 10 minutes.

• Add half the fried onion to the rice and lentils and stir gently with a fork. Pile the mujadra high on a serving plate and top with the rest of the onions.