End of the Year Issue
By Angela Saab Saade
November 30, 2022
Welcome back, fellow eaters! Last month, I promised you exciting traditional recipes that are quick, easy to make and delicious. Today, I shall fulfill my pledge. Let us celebrate Lebanese independence, acquired on Nov. 22, 1943, with two meals prepared straight from my grandma’s kitchen, who, like her fellow Arab grandmothers, does not joke when it comes to food!
Essential kitchen appliances:
One medium or large pot
Strainer
Knife
Wooden spoon
Cup (for measuring purposes)
Ladle (for serving purposes)
“Mdardara” مدردرا
Also known as mujaddara in other colloquial Arabic dialects, such as Syrian Arabic, “mdardara” has been one of my favorite meals, especially after transferring to a more vegetarian diet. “Mdardara” is a protein-dense plant-based meal that is convenient to prepare, and it involves lots of lentils, one of my favorite ingredients to cook with (after corn, obviously).
Ingredients:
One cup of lentils
Half a cup of rice
Two cups of water
One big (or two medium-sized) yellow onion
Two tablespoons of olive oil
Salt
Pepper and curcuma (optional)
Recipe:
Soak the rice and lentils together in water for 10-20 minutes.
Meanwhile, chop your onion into cubes.
Add a tablespoon of olive oil in the pot and place it on the stove over low-medium heat.
Add the chopped onion cubes and occasionally stir for five to ten minutes. The goal is for the low heat to facilitate an onion-sweating process which should render them slightly translucent.
Once your onion is ready, strain the rice and lentils and add them to the pot.
Put another tablespoon of olive oil in the pot with the onion, rice and lentils and sprinkle some salt, pepper and cumin to taste.
Stir all ingredients together, add two cups of water and bring to a boil.
Once the water reaches boiling point, reduce the heat to low, and allow everything to cook slowly. Do not cover the pot or stir the ingredients! Check up on your “mdardara” every few minutes.
Once the water is absorbed, give it a taste test and either add some water if the lentils and rice are not fully cooked or turn the heat off.
“Mdardara” may be consumed on its own — cold or warm, and it may also be served with your choice of salad or “laban,” a fermented dairy product that I am obsessed with. Sadly, it is unavailable in the stores of Menton. For a “laban” alternative, you can use plain kefir or greek yogurt with a dash of olive oil and salt.
“Rishta” رشتا
Aside from meaning marriage proposals in Urdu and Hindi, “rishta” also refers to my grandma’s favorite childhood meal, which makes it very dear to my heart. I only learned about it recently over the autumn break, which was the perfect timing for me to be able to share it with you! Is that not truly heartwarming? I can certainly feel our beautiful friendship blossoming with every passing Menton Times Issue.
A fellow Sciences Piste brought to my attention that “rishta” is similar to a traditional Italian dish — Pasta e lenticchie. Like its antecedent, “rishta” includes a healthy dose of lentils.
Ingredients:
One cup of lentils
One-two cups of spaghetti (I use tagliatelle, but any kind of pasta works)
Six cups of water
One large (or two medium-sized) yellow onion
One large (or two medium-sized) red onion
Two cloves of garlic (or more or less, based on preference)
Half a lemon or two to three tablespoons of lemon juice
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper and cumin (optional)
One bunch of cilantro leaves (optional)
Vegetable broth (optional)
Recipe
Soak the lentils in water for 10-20 minutes
Meanwhile, chop your onions into slices and press two cloves of garlic.
Add a tablespoon of olive oil to the pot and place it on the stove over low-medium heat.
Add the chopped onion cubes and occasionally stir for five to 10 minutes. Allow them to sweat and transform into slices of translucent joy.
Once your onion cubes are ready, strain the lentils and add them to the pot.
Add another tablespoon of olive oil, and sprinkle some salt, pepper and cumin to taste.
Stir all ingredients together, add six cups of water, and keep the temperature high.
You may add less water, depending on the end-result texture you want. The less water, the less soup-like the “rishta” will be. You may also add vegetable broth and cilantro leaves for additional flavor.
Once the water begins to boil, bring the heat to a low so that everything slowly cooks.
Once the lentils are fairly cooked, in about ten-fifteen minutes, break up about a cup or two of spaghetti and put them into the pot.
Depending on personal preference and the desired lentil-pasta ratio, more or less spaghetti may be added. You might also have to add more water to cook the pasta if the lentils have already absorbed too much of it.
Once the pasta is cooked, turn the heat off.
Estimated Price Calculations:
Aldi sells five hundred grams of raw lentils for under one and a half euros. This means that a cup of lentils, equivalent to roughly two hundred and fifty grams, costs between half and two-thirds of a euro. Slightly cheaper calculations apply to rice purchased from any of the three big stores, making our rice costs equivalent to about a quarter to half a euro. As for the pasta, the relative quantity used prices under half a euro. The onion(s), olive oil and salt should not amount to more than one and a half to two euros, making each of the aforementioned meals cost under three euros for quantities yielding two to three servings!
Fellow eaters, whether my favorite meal or my grandma’s seems more tasteful to you, I hope you give at least one of them a try. It is not common to find traditional Lebanese recipes that do not require long hours of preparation, so I encourage you to seize the opportunity. If any questions or comments should arise in your Lebanese cooking journeys, do not hesitate to contact me or the Google search engine, preferably). Next month, we shall draw inspiration from holiday joy and prepare sweet treats adequate for our seasonal celebrations. Until then, eat up and sahtein!