Mujaddara

Name and origin

Mujaddara is the Arabic word for "pockmarked"; the lentils among the rice resemble pockmarks.

The first recorded recipe for mujaddara appears in Kitab al-Tabikh, a cookbook compiled in 1226 by al-Baghdadi. Containing rice, lentils, and meat, it was served this way during celebrations. Later mentions of mujaddara include an 1895 Egyptian Arabic-to-English dictionary by Socrates-Spiro, which defined mujaddara as "boiled rice and lentils."

Some believe that mujaddara is the lentil soup mentioned in .

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 mint. It is topped with fried onions and is generally served with yogurt, among other vegetables and side dishes, either hot or cold.

In Lebanon, the word mjaddara refers to the puréed version of the dish, rather than the version with whole grains and lentils. Mjaddara usually has the consistency of rice pudding whereas in the 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.

The dish is also popular among Sephardic and Jewish communities of Middle Eastern origin, in particular those of Syrian and Egyptian backgrounds; it is generally made with rice rather than wheat.

The dish is also popular among Druze in the Levant.

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.

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; ) is very similar to mujaddara, as it consists of lentils and rice. In Greek, fakes means lentils.

In Jewish cuisine, the dish called hamin or cholent that is made during the Sabbath, usually from barley, is somewhat similar to mujaddara.

References

References

1. (30 September 2021). "This three-ingredient Middle Eastern specialty is pure comfort food". Food.
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3. [https://books.google.com/books?id=gFK_yx7Ps7cC&pg=PT1278 ''Encyclopedia of Jewish Food''], Gil Marks, p. 412.
4. Without meat, it was a medieval [[Arab cuisine
5. (1895). "An Arabic-English vocabulary of the colloquial Arabic of Egypt, cont. the vernacular idioms a. expressions, slang phrases, etc., etc., used by the native Egyptians". Al-Mokattam Press Office; London: B. Quaritch.
6. (22 August 2025). "Mujaderra Recipe {{!}} The Nosher". My Jewish Learning.
7. "Mjaddara or mdardara?".
8. (20 Jul 2013). ""المجدّرة أكلة مقدّرة"..وجبة غذائية متكاملة". [[Orient News]].
9. (29 Jul 2014). "مدردرة العدس بالبرغل: طبق لبنانيّ لذيذ من زمن الأجداد!". [[An-Nahar]].
10. Ashkenazi, Michael. (2020). "Food Cultures of Israel: Recipes, Customs, and Issues". ABC-CLIO.
11. (10 January 2013). "Walking Out into the Sunshine: Recollections and Reflections: A Palestinian Personal Experience". BookBaby.
12. "UN World Food Programme".
13. (18 August 2014). "Mujaddara palestinian rice & lentil dish".
14. "Kitchen of Palestine Bulgur with Lentils (Mjaddara)".
15. "Zaytoun".
16. "Φακές μουτζιέντρα". Cyprus Food Virtual Museum.