Mjadara Hamra

from Day of Honey

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 c. small brown lentils
  • 2 c. coarse (#3) bulgur wheat (preferably dark brown, found in Middle Eastern grocery stores
  • 2 Tbs salt, divided, plus more to taste
  • 8 c. water
  • 2 c. cold water
  • 1/2 cup pur olive oil  (not extra virgin)
  • 1/2 c. canola oil
  • 2 1/4 lbs onions (about 5 large), finely diced (5 to 6 cups)
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp greshly ground white or black pepper
  • 1 tsp aleppo pepper
  • 1/4 tsp allspice
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Cook the lentils

  1. Rinse the lentils and drain.  Put in a medium cooking pot with 1 T of salt and 8 cups of water.  Bring to a boil and skim off the scum.  Cover the pot and turn the heat down to low.  Simmer the lentils very slowly, about 40 minutes.  Stir occasionally, adding more water if needed.

Cook the onions:

  1. Get 2 c. cold water ready to throw over the onions when they are done.  
  2. Heat the olive and canola oils ina large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  When the oil starts to heave and shimmer, throw in a little of the onions; it it sizzles dramatically, the oil is ready.  Add the onions and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. At this point the onions should be expelling a lot of liquied, almost boiling in the mix of oil and onion juice.  They will still smell sharp and a little raw from the sulfur evaporating.  Turn the heat up and stir them enought to keep from sticking.
  4. After 10 to 15 minutes, te onions shold have expelled most of their liquied.  When they begin to cramelize, developing little flecks of reddish brown at the edges, lower the heat slightly and keep stirring.  This is a good time to check your lentils.  They should be simmering very quietly, gently swelling up with the heat.  If they're bubbling at all, trun the heat down and add more water if needed.
  5. By now the onions should be golden brown all over and darker brown around the edges.  Start stirring them more frequently - you can ignore the letils for now - and turn the heat up under the onions.  Once they start turning reeish brown and crispy, almost burning, make sure your 2 cups of water is handy.  Do not stop stirring.  The next few minutes will be crucial.
  6. At a certain point, usually abaout 35 to 40 mintues after you put them on, the onions will begin to change very rapidly.  They will puff up like Rice Krispies and start turning dark reddish brown, almost maroon.  They will start to give off a bacony, almost burnt aroma that distinguished mjadara hamra.  As soon as that happens, immediately throw the cold water over them, take them off the heat, and keep stirring.  They will continue to sizzle furiously for about 30 seconds.  Keep stirrng until they settle down.

Cooking the mjadara.

  1. Check the lentils.  By now they should have soaked up most of the water.  If they are soft and some of them are beginning to burst, they're ready.
  2. Move the onions back over high heat.  When they are boiling vigoously, throw in the lentils, spices, and enough water to cover by about 1 inch.  Bring back to a boil and continue to boil for about 10 minutes.
  3. Test the lentils.  They should be really soft now, almost crumbling.  Taste for salt and adjust.
  4. Rinse and drain the bulgur.  Add to the lentils and onions and turn the heat down to medium-low.  It shold be grumbling softly, making a comfortable growling noise as the bulgur absorbs the liquid.  Let it cook for 10 minutes.
  5. Taste the bulgur for doneness.  It should be soft and chewy, almost fluffy, with a hint of bite.  Adjust for salt again, cover the pot tightly, and let it sit in a warm place - over very low heat, with a flame tamer, or in a warm oven for at least 1 hour before serving.  Serve with something acidic: pickles, lemons, tomatoes, tabbouleh.