A few years ago I shared a recipe here for Mjadra, which is a thick lentils and rice dish that is eaten by dipping pita bread. Now that we're moving more toward the Nourishing Traditions way of cooking (at home, at least), I've adapted the recipe.
The original is this:
1 cup lentils (rinsed)
4 cups water
1/2 cup rice (rinsed)
1 onion, chopped
oil
salt and pepper and cumin to taste
Boil lentils in water for 20 minutes. Saute onions in oil; add to lentils with residue, rice and seasonings; cover and boil on medium for another 20 minutes. When done, you should have enough liquid left that once you've pureed it it's still very moist. Dry is OK, but then you have Mdadra. ;)
Now, for my new way of making it.
Soak the lentils and brown rice for at least 7 hours in 4 cups of water. Actually 4 cups minus 2 Tbsp, which you'll replace with 2 Tbsp. of whey. I get my whey from draining yogurt to make labneh. Then boil over medium for 20 minutes.
In place of oil I use bacon grease, but you could use coconut oil too. I prefer uncured bacon because the flavor is incomparable. I add the onions and residue to the lentils and rice along with the seasonings. I've started to replace the cumin with plenty of curry. Cumin is one of the spices in curry, but I find all the other spices, along with having terrific health benefits, make this dish fantastic.
Mjadra is a relatively plain dish. Delicious, but nothing fancy. However, I find that by using bacon grease and curry (sounds like an odd combination, I know) not only am I making it more NT, but the combination of flavors makes it hard to stop eating. I really need to start doubling it.
The original is this:
1 cup lentils (rinsed)
4 cups water
1/2 cup rice (rinsed)
1 onion, chopped
oil
salt and pepper and cumin to taste
Boil lentils in water for 20 minutes. Saute onions in oil; add to lentils with residue, rice and seasonings; cover and boil on medium for another 20 minutes. When done, you should have enough liquid left that once you've pureed it it's still very moist. Dry is OK, but then you have Mdadra. ;)
Now, for my new way of making it.
Soak the lentils and brown rice for at least 7 hours in 4 cups of water. Actually 4 cups minus 2 Tbsp, which you'll replace with 2 Tbsp. of whey. I get my whey from draining yogurt to make labneh. Then boil over medium for 20 minutes.
In place of oil I use bacon grease, but you could use coconut oil too. I prefer uncured bacon because the flavor is incomparable. I add the onions and residue to the lentils and rice along with the seasonings. I've started to replace the cumin with plenty of curry. Cumin is one of the spices in curry, but I find all the other spices, along with having terrific health benefits, make this dish fantastic.
Mjadra is a relatively plain dish. Delicious, but nothing fancy. However, I find that by using bacon grease and curry (sounds like an odd combination, I know) not only am I making it more NT, but the combination of flavors makes it hard to stop eating. I really need to start doubling it.
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