In This Syrian Community, There’s Always Mujadara on Thursdays

Photography by Penny De Los Santos, Food Styling by Judy Haubert, Prop Styling by Vanessa Vazquez

Shared by Lottie Bildirici
Recipe roots: Aleppo, Syria > New York City

“It’s kind of like its own world,” cookbook author Lottie Bildirici says of the close knit Syrian Jewish corner of Brooklyn where she grew up. Make your way down Ocean Parkway in Midwood or through nearby Gravesend and you’ll hear English tinged with Arabic slang. And when “you walk into a grocery store, everyone knows your name, everyone knows your whole family,” she adds. 

They also know what you’re cooking. From one house to the next, the menus are remarkably similar across this community. “If you go to someone for Friday night dinner, it’ll be a version of a yebra, which is a stuffed grape leaf, everyone makes chicken and potatoes…. peas and meatballs and another thing is hamod,” Lottie says, referring to a lemony soup with meatballs served over rice. 

Lottie (right) with her grandmother Lottie (left) in Brooklyn in 1996.

Mujadara is a staple here on Thursday evenings. The comforting dish of lentils, rice, and fried onions is centuries old. The earliest written recipe for it is found in “Kitab al-Tabikh,” an Arab cookbook written in Iraq in 1226 based on a collection of recipes from the ninth century. In Jewish communities in the Middle East, cooks prepared the simple-to-make mujadara on Thursdays so they could focus on preparation for Shabbat, culinary scholar Gil Marks writes in “The Encyclopedia of Jewish Food.” Historically, it was also popular on laundry or washing days, Sundays for the Jewish community and Saturdays for the Muslim one. 

In Lottie’s family, it’s served on Thursdays alongside a rich casserole of eggs, cheese, and spinach called jibon (or jiben), and a bowl of yogurt with diced cucumbers and mint. Her mother Claudia has even packed mujadara for family vacations and heated it up in places like Aruba. 

She inherited the custom of making it from her mother, a very traditional Syrian cook, whose parents emigrated from Aleppo in northern Syria. In the generations since, family members have tweaked it though. Claudia often makes hers with brown rice, while Lottie, who is a nutrition coach for high performance athletes, included a mujadara recipe with cauliflower rice in her book “Running on Veggies: Plant-Powered Recipes for Fueling and Feeling Your Best.” 

Even with the updates, Lottie says, “It still holds its tradition and you can still get that sentimental feeling from eating it.”

Mujadara (Rice and Lentils)

Makes: 4-6 servings
Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients
3 yellow onions, finely chopped, divided
2 cups short grain brown rice 
1 cup brown lentils 
5 tablespoons olive oil, divided2 ½ teaspoons salt

Preparation 
1. Place 3 tablespoons of olive oil into a medium pot over medium heat and add 2 of the chopped onions. Saute the onions until they are translucent and golden brown, about 5-7 minutes. 

2. Add the rice into the pot and let it cook for about 3 minutes, stirring often.

3. Pour 4 cups of water into the pot along with the lentils and 2 teaspoons of salt. Bring the mixture to a boil, about 10 minutes. Place a lid on the pot and reduce the heat to low. Continue to cook the mujadara on a simmer for 45 minutes or until the rice and lentils are cooked through. 

4. Meanwhile, place the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the rest of the onions and ½ a teaspoon of salt. Fry the onions until they are a deep golden brown.

5. Serve the mujadara hot and garnished with fried onions. 

Jibon (Spinach and Cheese Casserole)

Makes: 6-8 
Total Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil 
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
3 cups or 20 ounces fresh spinach or frozen spinach, defrosted and chopped
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup cottage cheese 
1 ½ cups muenster cheese, shredded
1 teaspoon salt  

Preparation:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a deep saute pan over a medium flame. Add the onion and stir until transparent, about 5-7 minutes.

3. Add the frozen spinach to the pan, cover and cook until spinach is soft, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool for 10 minutes.

4. Strain all water from spinach and onion mix. Set aside in a large bowl.

5. Mix the eggs, cottage cheese, shredded muenster and salt into the spinach mixture. Make sure that everything is distributed evenly.

6. Transfer to a greased 9” pie plate and bake for about 50-60 minutes or until the top is golden brown and set.

7. Serve warm with yogurt mixed with diced cucumbers and mint.

Cauliflower Mujadara

Chef’s Note: Mujadara is a classic Middle Eastern dish using rice, lentils, and caramelized onions. Inspired by my family’s Middle Eastern roots, my mom often made this for dinner when I was growing up. In my version, I decided to use cauliflower rice to make the recipe plant forward. The caramelized onions are key to adding a rich, slightly sweet flavor. It’s the perfect weeknight side dish or base to a rice, protein, and veggie bowl.

Makes: 4-6 servings
Total time: 50 minutes

Ingredients
1 ½ cups brown lentils
3 cups cauliflower rice
2 tablespoons avocado oil, divided
1 large white onion, diced 
1 ½ garlic cloves, minced 
¼ -½ teaspoon cumin seed 
½ teaspoon dried oregano 
⅛ teaspoon red chili flakes (optional) 
3 teaspoons salt
¼  teaspoon black pepper

Preparation:
1. Cook the lentils: Rinse lentils and place them in a pot with 3 cups of water and one teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer and cook covered for 15-20 minutes, until lentils are tender. Drain well and set aside.

2. In a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, heat the avocado oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden and deeply caramelized. Add the garlic, cumin seed, oregano, and chili flakes (if using), and toast for 1 minute. Season with 3 teaspoons salt and ¼ teaspoons pepper. Add the lentils and cauliflower rice into the pan and cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender and combined. If needed, season with more salt and pepper.

3. Serve warm.
Note: If using frozen cauliflower rice, defrost it before using in the recipe.

Recipe from RUNNING ON VEGGIES. Copyright © 2021 by Lottie Bildirici. Published by Rodale Books, and imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC.