Mujaderra

Lentil and rice pilaf with browned onions

By Victoria Sutton for MyJewishLearning.com

Mujaderra (Mujadara), a hearty and satisfying lentil and rice pilaf, has for centuries been a staple in the Middle-Eastern diet, as well as in the cuisine of Jews around the world with Middle-Eastern heritage. Nutritious, a good source of protein, and inexpensive to prepare, Mujaderra was often referred to as “poor people’s” fare. It now has a place on restaurant menus from Egypt to Israel to the U.S.According to some Semitic traditions, Mujaderra is the “red, red pottage” that enticed the famished Esau to sell his birthright in exchange for a portion (Genesis 25:30). A difference of opinion persists as to whether this biblical lentil pottage was in fact Mujaderra, or another of the age-old lentil dishes popular in the region. What is clear is that recipes of this kind have been essential to Levantine cultures since Neolithic times, when lentils became one of the first farmed crops.

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