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{{Short description|Dish of lentils, rice and sautéed onions}}
{{Infobox prepared food
| name             = Mujaddara
| image            = Mujaddara.jpg
| caption          = Mujaddara
| alternate_name   = 
| country          = [[Syria]]<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.sbs.com.au/food/article/2021/09/30/three-ingredient-middle-eastern-specialty-pure-comfort-food | title=This three-ingredient Middle Eastern specialty is pure comfort food | work=Food | date=30 September 2021 }}</ref>
| region           = [[Western Asia]] ([[Levant]])
| creator          = 
| course           = Main
| type             = 
| served           = 
| main_ingredient  = Rice or [[bulgur]], [[lentils]], onions
| variations       = 
| calories         = 
| other            = 
}}
'''Mujaddara''' ({{langx|ar|مجدّرة}} ''mujaddarah'', with alternative spellings in English '''majadra''', '''mejadra''', '''moujadara''', '''mudardara''', and '''megadarra''') is a [[dish (food)|dish]] consisting of cooked [[lentil]]s together with [[groat (grain)|groats]], generally [[rice]], and garnished with sautéed [[onion]]s. It is especially popular in the [[Levant]].

==Name and origin==
''Mujaddara'' is the Arabic word for "pockmarked"; the lentils among the rice resemble [[wikt:pockmark|pockmark]]s.<ref name=Basanp118>[https://books.google.com/books?id=-7wnpIi3VRwC&dq=mujaddara&pg=PA118 Middle Eastern Kitchen], Ghillie Basan, p. 118.</ref><ref name=Marksp412/> The first recorded recipe for ''mujaddara'' appears in ''[[Muhammad bin Hasan al-Baghdadi|Kitab al-Tabikh]]'', a cookbook compiled in 1226 by [[Muhammad bin Hasan al-Baghdadi|al-Baghdadi]].<ref name=Marksp412>[https://books.google.com/books?id=gFK_yx7Ps7cC&pg=PT1278 ''Encyclopedia of Jewish Food''], Gil Marks, p. 412.</ref> Containing rice, lentils, and meat, it was served this way during celebrations.<ref name=Marksp412/> Without meat, it was a medieval [[Arab cuisine|Arab dish]] commonly consumed by the poor because of its importance in the diet, a saying in the Eastern Arab world is, "A hungry man would be willing to sell his soul for a dish of mujaddara."<ref name=Salloump199>[https://books.google.com/books?id=pkmdosckh7MC&dq=mujaddara&pg=PA199 ''From the lands of figs and olives: over 300 delicious and unusual recipes from the Middle East and North Africa''], Habeeb Salloum and Jim Peters, p. 199.</ref>

==Variations==
Cooked lentils are popular all over the [[Middle East]] and form the basis of many dishes. ''Mujaddara'' is a popular dish throughout the [[Arab world]], and is generally made using brown or green lentils and rice, that can be seasoned with [[cumin]], [[coriander]], or [[Mentha|mint]].<ref name=Basanp118/> It is topped with fried onions and is generally served with yogurt, among other vegetables and side dishes, either hot or cold.<ref name=Basanp118/>

The dish is made with brown lentils and rice. In Lebanon, the word ''mjaddara'' refers to the puréed version of the dish, rather than the version with whole grains and lentils.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mjaddara or mdardara?|url=https://www.oroom.org/forum/threads/mjaddara-or-mdardara.44811/|website=The Orange Room|access-date=26 August 2016|archive-date=10 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310155504/https://www.oroom.org/forum/threads/mjaddara-or-mdardara.44811/|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''Mjaddara'' usually has the consistency of rice pudding whereas in the [[Lebanese cuisine|Lebanese]] variant known as ''mudardara'', the rice and lentils remain relatively intact and distinct. Both ''mujaddara'' and ''mudardara'' are topped with caramelized onions and usually served with yogurt or a salad.

[[Arab Christians]] traditionally eat ''mujaddara'' during [[Lent]].<ref name=Basanp118/> 

The dish is also popular among [[Sephardic]] and [[Mizrahim|Jewish communities of Middle Eastern origin]], in particular those of [[Syrian Jews|Syrian]] and [[History of the Jews in Egypt|Egyptian]] backgrounds; it is generally made with rice rather than wheat.

The dish is also popular among [[Druze]] in the [[Levant]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Food Cultures of Israel: Recipes, Customs, and Issues|first=Michael |last=Ashkenazi|year= 2020| isbn= 9781440866869| page =XXIII|publisher=ABC-CLIO|quote=}}</ref>

[[Palestinians]] replace the rice with [[bulgur]]; the dish is called m'jaddaret-burghul to distinguish it from the m'jaddara which is served with rice. Pronounced as ''m'jaddara'', the dish is served multiple times a month for family, cooked with olive oil and onion strips, and served alongside local plain sheep's-milk yogurt (laban n'aj) made in [[Nablus]], with green salad.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hassoun|first1=Ghazi|title=Walking Out into the Sunshine: Recollections and Reflections: A Palestinian Personal Experience|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XypgDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT23|publisher=BookBaby|language=en|date=10 January 2013|isbn=9781935766636|access-date=24 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201031441/https://books.google.ch/books?id=XypgDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT23&lpg=|archive-date=1 December 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=UN World Food Programme|url=https://www.wfp.org/stories/familychef-samars-mujaddara|language=en|access-date=2017-04-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201032059/https://www.wfp.org/stories/familychef-samars-mujaddara|archive-date=2017-12-01|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=rice|first1=Mujaddara (Palestinian|last2=Says|first2=Lentil Dish /|title=Mujaddara palestinian rice & lentil dish|url=http://happiness-is-homemade.com/2014/08/18/mujaddara-palestinian-rice-lentil-dish/|website=Happiness is homemade|date=18 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Kitchen of Palestine Bulgur with Lentils (Mjaddara)|url=http://www.kitchenofpalestine.com/mjaddara/|website=www.kitchenofpalestine.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Zaytoun|url=http://www.zaytoun.org/downloads/recipes/Maftoul%20oil%20UM%20HIKMAT.pdf.|website=www.zaytoun.org}}</ref>

==Similar dishes==
In [[Egyptian cuisine]], lentils, rice, [[macaroni]], and tomato sauce cooked together are known as [[kushari]]. In Indian cuisines, lentils cooked together with rice are known as [[khichdi]] (see also [[kedgeree]]). In [[Iranian cuisine]], a similar dish composed of rice and lentils is called ''addas polo''.

In [[Cypriot cuisine]], the dish called ''fakes moutzentra'' (φακές μουτζιέντρα; {{IPA|[fa'kes mu't͡ʃendra]}})<ref name=CFVM>{{cite web|last1=Yangou|first1=Varvara|title=Φακές μουτζιέντρα|url=http://foodmuseum.cs.ucy.ac.cy/web/guest/parsintages/civitem/2342#_bs_civitems_tabcyprus.rec.tab1|website=foodmuseum.cs.ucy.ac.cy|publisher=Cyprus Food Virtual Museum|access-date=30 November 2015|language=el}}</ref> is very similar to mujaddara, as it consists of lentils and rice. In Greek, ''fakes'' means lentils.

==References==
<references/>

==Further reading==
*Roden, Claudia, ''A New Book of Middle Eastern Food'': London 1986 {{ISBN|0-14-046588-X}}

==External links==
*[[b:Cookbook:Mejadra|Wikibooks recipe (Palestine)]]
*[[b:Cookbook:Mjeddrah|Wikibooks recipe (Lebanon)]]
*[http://www.encyclopediacooking.com/arabic/lesson-7873-1.html Jordanian Mujaddara Recipe ]
*[http://www.kitchenofpalestine.com/mjaddara/ Kitchen of Palestine: Mjaddara Recipe]
*[http://www.thisamericanbite.com/quinoa-majadra/ Variation using quinoa instead of rice]

{{Rice dishes}}
{{Lentil dishes}}
{{Legume dishes}}
{{Levantine cuisine}}
{{Cuisine of Lebanon}}

[[Category:Arabic words and phrases]]
[[Category:Arab cuisine]]
[[Category:Jordanian cuisine]]
[[Category:Rice dishes]]
[[Category:Lebanese cuisine]]
[[Category:Legume dishes]]
[[Category:Lentil dishes]]
[[Category:Levantine cuisine]]
[[Category:Palestinian cuisine]]
[[Category:Syrian cuisine]]
[[Category:Iraqi cuisine]]
[[Category:Israeli cuisine]]
[[Category:National dishes]]
[[Category:Bulgur dishes]]