1000 Year Old Middle Eastern Comfort Food - Mujaddara

Mujaddara (also known as Muceddere in Turkey) is one of the most widespread and popular legume and rice / bulgur dish in the Middle East, Iran and Turkey.
The dish was first mentioned in the ancient cookbook Kitab al-Tabikh (Book of Dishes) by Hasan Al-Baghdadi, in 1226 inspired by the Persian recipes. The original version was made with rice, lentils and usually meat for festive celebrations. Without the meat and substituting the rice with bulgur, it was an inexpensive and delicious dish for the poor people.
It’s still very popular in the Middle East, Iran and southern parts of Turkey and is usually served with caramelized onions, sizzling spicy oil, sometimes topped with yogurt and in some parts with fried eggs.

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Ingredients:
• 1 cup coarse bulgur
• 1 cup green or brown lentils
• 1 tbsp chili paste
• 2 liter water
• 100 ml olive oil (1/2 cup)
• 2 onions
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp chili flakes (optional)
• ½ cup yogurt to garnish (optional)
• Chopped fresh mint to garnish (optional)

Instructions:
1. Wash and rinse the lentils throughly and let it drain
2. Transfer into a pot with 1 liter water and bring to boil
3. Bring to low heat and cook the lentils covered for 10 mins until they are tender but not fully cooked
4. Drain the lentils and set aside
5. Roughly chop 1 onion and cook in a pan with 50 ml olive oil until they are until golden brown
6. Next, add the chili paste and stir and cook until fragrant
7. Add 1 liter water, 2 tsp salt, stir to combine and bring to a boil
8. Once boiling, add the lentils into the pot and cook for 5 minutes
9. Add 1 cup bulgur, stir, bring to low heat and cover the lid
10. Cook for 15 mins until the liquid is absorbed
11. Turn off the heat and let the pilaf rest lid covered, to absorb all the liquid and steam
12. Cut 1 onion into long slices and in a separate pan, heat up 50 ml olive oil on low heat
13. Fry the sliced onions until golden brown and caramelized about 15 minutes
14. Add 2 tsp chili flakes, stir and turn off the heat
15. Whisk ½ cup yogurt for garnish (optional)
16. Transfer and serve the mujaddara in a plate. Garnish with yogurt (optional) on top
17. Add and garnish with the caramelized onions with spiced oil
18. Optionally, garnish with fresh mint leaves

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[vaibhavjain]

Thanks for not adding music in the background and letting the video be a relaxing and soothing experience.The Sweet sound of cutting onions, transferring bulgur and rice to bowl and so on...listening to these crisp sounds is a treat to the ears.

[marthasleep]

I can only agree with those who thank you for a lovely video without music, just the natural sounds of food prep. It's a treat.

[ferris]

I had this dish when I was in Jordan. They made it with rice and also with burgal and served it with yogurt, yogurt salad with cucumbers, garlic, and mint and also a finely chopped green salad. The tomato paste was optional. It was a tremendous dish and I can tell you I am no vegetarian.

[wolfdudercp]

i just subscribed to your channel just for the sheer joy of watching something without music, speaking or over explanation. I learned probably more watching this than 10 others of the supposed same recipe. THANK YOU!

[whakx]

Keep making high quality videos. This channel is going to catch on big eventually!!! Criminally underrated at the moment.. superb quality

[jdoe]

Middle eastern food is absolutely nuts

[megsarna]

Your cooking pots and pans are artistic looking and the their handles even more so. Nice cooking video 😊

[ladybug]

My husband never cooks. He's never done it or been interested in the kitchen. But he will eat anything I put in front of him 😜😜😜. He is a great provider. My dad used to cook. He was excellent. Your videos remind me of my dad's cooking. Thank you 🙏🙏🙏

[MK-gyug]

What a beautiful presentation! Looks delicious. Us Lebanese make Mujuddra very different. We don’t add tomato sauce or cumin to it. We Fry a lot of onions. Reserve half to make them darker. Cook the lentils, when water is absorbed and they’re 70% done, we add the rice or burger, add a little more water, cook them together, then add the oil with the caramelized onions. Let them all cook together. Salt is the only spice we add. Garnish with the reserved darker onions! We eat it with Fatoush salad or a Shepard salad. Even yogurt! Good job! ❣️

[jyotikalapa]

What a simple but beautiful dish. Love your cooking vessel and how clean and gleaming bright it is. In India we make a Kichidi from pulses and rice, there are many variations . There is a saying that Khicdi had four friends / accompaniments, so it is best eaten with clarified butter, ghee pickles and papad ( a wafer made from a paste of lentils that is spread into thin round discs, then dried in the sun, one can either roast or deep fry it to eat it ) . Your recipe with the garnish reminded me so much of it. Your dish is just beautiful.

[someone_]

Mjaddarah was the 1st meal i cooked in elementary school, it was a project that all the school partecipated in and it tasted so good, it was good choice to cook this dish, easy for kids 9-12 yo to cook it... Oh the memories 😢❤
From that point i fell in love with it

[inthekitchenwithlynn]

New subscriber! After watching your video, reading others comments, I realize that my videos don’t need music or my excessive chatter to me good:)

[deborahfaithreiki]

This looks delicious! I love lentils and rice too but the buckwheat also appeals. Thanks so much 😊

[jmsuther]

My grandmother used to make this but with lentils and rice! Looks delicious!

[aznamoon]

I love that there are similarities and differences between Middle East and Indian foods. It was one of the reasons I loved traveling to Turkey. This dish reminds me of Kitchari minus the bulgur. I love that this dish is vegetarian. I will definitely try it 🥰

[clementine]

This is a wonderful recipe, made it several times already! Thank you so much for posting this. And your videos are beautiful and very artistic too!

[mjremy]

What a joy not to have music or voice! Great visuals and lighting and audio. Wonderful recipe, must try it. Thank you!!
Subscribed. Those tin lined copper pans mean you must be Turkish!

[k.dineshpillay.]

Oh yes We call this mudhra. In olden days they were boiled snd given to horses for strength . Its a poor man's dish in my hometown

[Deedeevenice]

It’s 23:08 in London while I am watching this, after my supper and washing up, now I am starving after watching this!

[abelvikram]

The preparation is quite similar to an Indian dish "Khichadi'' where instead of bulgur people use rice. In fact, a majority of people love khichadi with curd (yogurt) too. Anyway, looks beautiful and tasty :).