Vegans for Palestine Podcast - Episode 16 - M'jaddara

M'jaddara is what happens when brown lentils, rice (or bulgur), carmelized onions, cumin and golden olive oil come together. It is one of many Palestinian vegan dishes. You might think this episode is just about the dish, but you'll need to tune in to find out more! Dalal and Rayan discuss the warmth, versatility, and cultural significance of the dish. M'jaddara is both a comfort food enjoyed with salad, bread, or (vegan!) yogurt, and a symbol of simplicity, community, and resilience. The episode also traces m'jaddara's history, noting how colonialism, the Nakba, and refugee food aid turned it into both a survival meal and a reminder of loss, while also celebrating its place in Palestinian cookbooks, literature, and family memory. So this episode is not just about the dish itself, but how cuisine connects to identity and resistance. .

This episode has captions that are edited for Deaf and Hard of Hearing viewers. View here.

Recipes for M'jaddura:
Blanche Araj Shaheen: Blanche and her mamma Vera give you insider tips and tricks on how to make this popular vegan Arab dish--lentils, rice, topped with sweet caramelized onions! Watch here.
Plant Based Arab - Watch here for Mujaddara (Bulgur Lentils) 

The music in this episode is credited to various Palestinian artists:

Ahmed Muin is a Palestinian musician currently surviving the genocide in Gaza. He is the founder of Gaza Birds Singing which is a musical support group born during the displacement in Gaza.
Follow Ahmad here
Follow Gaza Birds Singing here

Mahmoud Shalabi is a Palestinian actor and artist based in Akka, Palestine. Mahmoud Shalabi plays the ney (Arab flute) here.

Noel Kharman is a Palestinian singer originally from a small village near Haifa. Follow Noel here:
Rola Azar  is a Palestinian singer originally from Nazareth. Follow Rola here: 

The Vegans for Palestine Podcast Team are proud to showcase such amazing Palestinian music talent. 

Sahtein and Free Palestine.

Transcript

(Mahmoud Shalabi – Flute)

DALAL: The story of m’jaddara spans the Arab world from Syria, Palestine, Iraq to Jordan and Lebanon. And whether it's known as M’jaddara or Mujaddara or the dish transcends religious and cultural boundaries, appearing on the tables of the Druze communities, the Sephardic Mizrahi Jewish families as a traditional kosher meal, and across south Asia; kichiri is a similar blend of rice and lentils and holds similar cultural weight in India and Pakistan. The folklore around m’jaddara is as rich as its flavour. One tale credits a Levantine mother who named the dish after noticing its pickled appearance that reminded her of her daughter's chicken box. Palestinians also call it ‘the nails of the knees’ for its iron rich lentils that build strength. Syrian Christians make it the centrepiece of Monk Monday, the first day of Orthodox Lent, where it represents abundance, humility, and spiritual reflection.

(Mahmoud Shalabi – Flute)

Dating back to a 13th century Iraqi cookbook, M’jaddara 's classic trio of lentils, rice or bular and caramelized onions has remained largely unchanged. Its enduring appeal stems from remarkable versatility. While traditional Levantine versions stay plant-based, more variations sometimes include meat. the spirited rice versus bulgar debate reflects geography and tradition more than authenticity. Rice versions dominate urban and coastal areas. Bulgar versions connect to rural wheat growing countries or regions, but both honour the same principle. the comfort of lentils, onions, and greens coming together. And that's unity and community. And here is a story from Palestinian Vegans.

(Rola Azar & Noel Kharman chanting)

RAYAN: I have a theory, Dalal.  Palestinian vegans who grow up in households where we eat meat as a child and then change into veganism, we develop an attachment to m’jaddara whereas most of our siblings will probably prefer meat dishes. But there's something about m’jaddara that we gravitate towards because it is naturally vegan. And I know that when people think of vegan Arab food, they think of falafel and hummus. But I like to think of m’jaddara. Tell me what is m’jaddara?

DALAL: M’jaddara to me is - if you want to tell me that you love me, make me some m’jaddara. It's heartwarming. It's perfectly well if you want to eat it right off of the stove, where your mama would put you like a scoop with that paste that sticks on the pan when she sautés the onions with the olive oil that your family collected and harvested from their land, or you can just eat it cold leftover. It's unique in all different conditions. And you can have it with salad, just a mix of cucumber, tomatoes, olive oil, lemon juice, some salt. It doesn't take much really to make that salad or maybe if you're not vegan, you're eating it with yogurt, with a side of yogurt. And it's just that blend of refreshing cold yogurt with the hot warm m’jaddara. And m’jaddara it normally in our households is the combination of the rice, the white rice with the brown lentils. And you just put these ingredients together. I honestly don't necessarily know the exact measurements. What I grew up seeing my mother and grandmother uh doing is that they simply eyeball things really. They just put some like rice with some lentils and they cook it together. So like normally they would cook the lentils before they would start cooking it before so it because it takes longer to cook and get to that really soft texture and then they would add the rice that they were soaking for a bit so it softens, and so that blend and the cooking together in one pot, it's to preserve all these really nutritional benefits of m’jaddara and then when it's you know when the rice and the lentils are cooking with the water and then when you start seeing the water evaporating because it's really cooking that mix together. You know, you would slice your white onion and you would just sauté it in olive oil and you pour it on top of the of the mix and you just give it a really gentle mix together because you don't want to over mix it. And normally what my mom would do, she would take a scoop, she put she puts that back in the pan and she would put it on the table and we would just eat it with forks or with spoons. And it's always perfect to get some homemade, home baked bread. You put that with some olives, and you just dip that bread in the olives and you eat that you eat the m’jaddara with it or you just eat it with the spoon and definitely with a side of salad or I mean if you're not vegan, you would just have it with some yogurt (Laban). 

RAYAN: Ahlam who's probably listening - we know that you are the queen of vegan labaneh, which means that I reckon I honestly have a feeling that Ahlam also has a recipe for vegan laban (Yoghurt). 

DALAL: Yes. 

RAYAN: We're on to you, Ahlam!. 

DALAL: Yeah, we have to bring everyone together for some really vegan laban and Ahlam is really the queen for all of these uh amazing Palestinian recipes. 

RAYAN: Before you were talking about how there are variations we have it with laban, like I grew up having it with salad, lots of onion and uniquely there's a way I've got to learn in terms of making the onions crispy because apparently that's when it's most favourable. So listeners in the comment section on YouTube if you have any ideas in terms of making onions crispy and don't just say ‘fry it’ cuz we've done that. There's a special technique, whether you add flour before or after. I'm not sure. If you know, let us know. But there's also bulger, right Dalal? 

DALAL: Yeah. Yeah. My understanding is it's an alternative to I mean to me personally with all respect I think in some other countries in the Levantine they would cook it with bulgar and that is a replacement or an alternative or maybe it was cooked like that in in some communities where rice was more expensive um so bulgar was more accessible. It's simply the same the same steps the same way. I think the minor difference is that bulgar doesn't take longer to cook versus the white rice that takes more time. What I was going to say is - I think people are very creative when they have those stable ingredients. When you look at it from the perspective that it's just only two ingredients uh people would think ah that's too poor. that is really, you know, it doesn't live up to that, you know, expectation when people just want to show off that they have more because it's the assumption that when you're celebrating, when you're having people over, you want to serve them more. But the magic that dish, you know, brings to the table with just two simple ingredients that are accessible, that are inexpensive, that are really satisfying and reliable like the rice and lentils. It's perfect because we normally say it's which means, you know, it's an esteemed dish. Steamed in the sense that it's really because it really feeds many people. It's nutritious. It doesn't really fail you. Like it never fails. You don't really know what to cook that day. you don't really have enough, you have very little ingredients, you have a big family, just throw that together. Put these ingredients together in one pot. I I love the fact that it's just one put that can serve it really can serve a community. And also we call it the peasants meal or the poor man's uh meal where uh people again they don't really have a lot and they have very limited resources. They have very limited ingredients. when you have grains and you have rice and you have some olive oil, you have some onion and it it just comes together as one meal that really serves a lot of people. And sadly in in our cultures sometimes associated with people who don't really have enough but I think it's it should be the other way around when you have those limited resources and you can really make something out of it that is enough for a large gathering it's that's a sign of richness. 

RAYAN: I came across some really really interesting facts about major in relation to Palestine some which I already knew. Uh it's the best carb on carb meal with protein. If you're traveling long distances in summer in the Palestinian sun or springtime where you're doing a lot of gardening work as a felahi, carb on carb actually helps sustain you for that. So it really works out well plus the protein plus with the um like a lot of dieticians they always recommend having raw vegetables with a protein and that's perfect because you actually have salad with it and yeah I did come across the two distinct variants across Palestine one with bulger I'm told is more so in rural areas whereas the I'd need this verified uh this was in um Leila Hadad's book the Gaza Kitchen where she actually writes extensively about Palestinian dishes, but those that are specific to Gaza. When I looked at a book called Falastine, which is compiled by Sammy Tamimi, he actually mentions that the caramelized onion toppings uh were not just about flavour. They actually carried a smell through the neighbourhood and in some communities would signal hospitality. I have heard that in Palestinian culture, similar to Arab culture, salt signifies hospitality, but I didn't know that onions as well do. And I do know that in some communities they do cook with ghee, but if there's ethical vegan ghee, by all means, you can use it as long as it's ethical and vegan. So the class symbolism is definitely there as well. So that was also another interesting fact about Palestinian m’jaddara, the idea that it's peasant food. But it's interestingly eaten by everyone. But I do notice that when it comes to say traditional Palestinian weddings, meat unfortunately is a huge part of it. So if Maqluba was served, it was not vegetarian or vegan. So yeah, that was what was really interesting is that while it does sort of signify class differences, it is a comfort food across all households and it's also seasonal as well. And then that was also like another thing that I picked up is that it's seasonal. So it's my understanding that shourabet adas is its winter counterpart. So shourabat adas is lentil soup with red lentils and a lot of lemon. But the mutual ingredient in both dishes is actually cumin which yeah is a a herb for both which helps with regards to the digestion of lentils of so you have brown lentils in summer, and then you have red lentils in winter and so both store in the pantry really really well. so whilst m’jaddara you could argue can be eaten all year round there are preferences within Palestinian society and the final thing I want to talk to you about is what really stuck out for me in researching about it's the significance of m’jaddara after the Nakba colonization imposes poverty. British colonization imposed poverty upon Palestine. The Zionists compounded the poverty that we experienced. in a lot of refugee camps when the UN was distributing a lot of basic foods. It was usually rice, lentils and cooking oil. Unfortunately, what is in fact a beloved Palestinian dish which is easy to make, which is affordable, became a staple in the aftermath of the 1948 Nakba. And it signified a survival dish, a memory of home. So, it was affordable. It had nutritional value. And there's a researcher by the name of Rosemary Sayigh today she's a Palestinian elder who lived through the Nakba wrote a book called Palestinians from peasants to revolutionaries. She did some heavy research on refugee camp food patterns and how lentils or m’jaddara actually operated as food security. So during hard times, harvest gaps, economic downturns, m’jaddara was the dish that families could rely on. So they made it a symbol of poverty but also resilience. And that is why I think that today in Gaza perhaps if m’jaddara is accessible, it has become almost a staple by force. And so unlike the rest of us outside of Gaza, we make shourabat adas (lentil soup) in winter and we make them m’jaddara in summer, but the people of Gaza don't have that choice. If they've got red lentils on hand and then that's all they've got in summer, they will have in summer. So the Zionist colonization and the genocide attempts disrupt lives, murder Palestinian bodies, but also impose eating habits that are restrictive. in the context of a famine, the portion sizes are incredibly small. But in saying that, we also note that Gaza in right now, the people there that are going through a man-made famine are forced to eat non-human animals that are also not traditional to Palestinian cuisine, like turtles, like horses, and so forth. I also found something really, really interesting. Ghassan Kanafani who is a Palestinian author, poet, artist and revolutionary wrote a book called Men in the Sun. It was published in 1962 because we will do a whole episode on Kanafani who is just an amazing man. Ghassan actually doesn't talk about lentils, but he talks about how food appears in these short stories and his essays as a marker of poverty, as a marker of exile, and a marker of home. And he describes how, as an example, in terms of his characters, they're reduced to simple diets of displaced Palestinians, which include bread, staples provided in camps. And so it's horrible that comfort food, which is enjoyed by all of us, which we understand is I don't want to say stigmatized as being the poor man's food, but it's it's seen as being affordable peasant food. But it's interesting is that peasant food is the best. Felahi food is the best because of just how you know you you'll be picking the the cucumber and the tomatoe from the from the garden in the heart of summer because you don't really hear of salad going with soup because again in winter you do not have those resources to pick say fresh cucumbers or tomatoes when there's snow outside. Instead you're limited to like you know whatever you've preserved over summer. I’m from Ramallah and several people in the during the Nakba in Ramallah fled, the vast majority of Ramallah people whereas some of the people stayed including my grandmother and a lot of people from Lyd and Ramleh set up refugee camps in Ramallah, and so when it came to donating staples for them I was told that if she bought a bag of lentils for herself, she would buy a bag give it to someone, a family in the refugee camp and I was told that she'd do this whenever she'd buy for herself she'd go to the she'd make sure she didn't just donate to one she'd try and help all the families which is something I'm really really proud of, but yeah it was just really interesting how the journey to talking about v\ the quintessential vegan Palestinian dish one of many I'm proud to say one of many, but the one that you and I know about has so much symbolism, has so much significance. Which goes to show you that food is not just what we consume. I came here to talk about Palestinian vegan food, but we're talking about our history, our culture. 

DALAL: Yeah. Because you can never talk about food without history and culture and legacy and traditions. And this is how we reclaim the narrative. This is how we exactly decolonize what has been for ages circulated around about us as Palestinians, about us and other occupied colonized nations in not just in Palestine but in in in different parts of the world. And in a nutshell, Rayan, you really touched on really important points with colonialism and how it disrupted indigenous food production and land access, and land sovereignty, and food sovereignty, as well, and how colonialism really promoted dependency on standardized grains and really what I can call as also like as pulse rations in a way that it really controlled how people in displacement camps, in refugee camps, have been forced throughout years to find ways to survive and resist to the status quo they're forced to be in. And that is how people with all these ingredients that were passed on to them through these humanitarian aids, quote unquote, they figured ways to not feed their direct family members, but the community itself around them. And lentils and grains, they became stable survival foods in camps. and not just in camps that also was finding its way also inside households. And I think that's where it comes like this idea of it's the poor man's food comes from as well because some people would still perceive or dishes made with very simple, very basic ingredients as poor because ‘oh what's there to add’, you know but then when you're really looking at things from a from a wider perspective you look at the bigger picture you really will understand that there is more to that. It's not just what you're putting on that table, but it's the story behind all of that and where that food comes from. And it's it really reflects both that cultural continuity and the imposed food aid systems and how that really played a role in our survival and in our resistance to occupation to colonialism to ages of atrocities conducted on us as Palestinians and also other occupied people in different parts of the world. And when you also look at the food dependency itself, it really also highlights on that broader colonial impact on the force displacement, the ethnic cleansing, occupation, humanitarian quote unquote humanitarian um you know aids and that food insecurity. And this is an invite to everyone who's really following the news on Palestine. Like really when you see people queueing or lining up for food uh from Itakaya or from um you know those kitchens um makeshift kitchens, you really need to to think why it's only lentil soup or why it's only very very specific meals that are served. Because if you know how to answer that question, you will really understand what we're talking about and why we're talking about food insecurity and displacement and and that struggle that comes along with it. When you when we look at literature as well and Ghassan Kanafani's works, yes, he may not necessarily um talked about or referenced it um to the best of my knowledge and I apologize if I missed it somewhere in his literature, but for sure there was olive oil. For sure there were there were the olives in his literature and the oranges. and when you when you when you try to understand how olive oil is really an essential part of as well and the same goes to lentil soup, other soups, other dishes because it's the binding ingredient that really brings those different ingredients together. And also if I want to look at it from a different perspective, it shows you how olive groves and olive oil like olive oil basically it's it shows you the connection of Palestinians to their land. And when you understand how settler colonialism today settlers attack Palestinians, they attack the olive trees. They uproot olive trees. And just a couple of days ago in Al-Mughayer village in Ramallah, they uprooted close to 10,000 olive trees and other trees. And that was a grave attack on Palestinians legacy and Palestinians connection to their country, to their land, because they know that Palestinians, they're not just the people, it's our land and what we have for centuries grew in that land and what our ancestors have maintained and took care of as well. And what people may think as a breaking news that look what the settlers are doing, they should really try to see that it's it's just more than that because this has been happening for ages for for years. I keep saying ages but really like it's been happening for for for decades now. Um and it goes back to before even 1948. I think if if people want to look at m’jaddara as well as as a as a comfort food as a seasonal as well us for instance I'm I come from a um family from the village and I like I've seen how throughout the different seasons we grow different things and we eat what we grow and um but also people learned how to grow vegetables outside of the season and that's when they use green houses and that's a different story, but really um I think it was a way for people to maintain the continuity of the food and the ingredients. I mean the basic items that they need in their daily meals. So m’jaddara is really that warm hug from the inside. It gives you that sense. It gives you that feeling when you're eating it. And that's why it nourishes you. It gives you the warmth. And um and it's yeah, as you said, it's those simple ingredients. They really nutritious. It's easy to digest. It's freshly cooked and back to the community, especially in displacement camps. And as you were just saying uh that story about your grandma, it's not just taking care of your direct family members, immediate family, relatives, you really also think of your neighbours and the extend like that extended uh community you live in. 

RAYAN: I just want to point out two things quickly. One thing I will never forgive the Zionists for is how they have imposed m’jaddara to signify so much trauma. what is supposed to be a comfort dish is now associated with trauma because of the the the way families were forced to consume it and nothing else. And I want to also acknowledge that the unique position of people in Gaza who are going through a man-made famine, where they're even denied access to the basic staples like lentils. And I al also want to pay tribute to the efforts among many pro-Palestinian Egyptians who have worked out a way to transfer dried lentils in bottles through the sea. just the way that now Palestinians and Gaza are going fishing and they've worked out a way looking at the sea and it's horrible that to address this famine, Egyptians are forced to put plastic into the ocean which is not very vegan at all. But at the same time, they're doing it strategically so that way with the waves and the currents and the amount of dried lentils and rice that they're putting into these empty bottles that are floating and then are being directed towards the beaches across the Gaza Strip. So that way like that's how desperate of a time we are in. 

DALAL: Indeed, Palestinian writers and poets including Ghassan Kanafani, they yeah, they used uh food as a metaphor to convey themes of resilience and resistance, identity, loss, um legacy, um and the use of olive oil, the use of olive trees, oranges, they are symbols of permanence. They are symbols of resistance, connection to the land. And those metaphors are not random. They're when they are there in the literature, it's also an extension to our cultural memory and the political struggle, the ethnic cleansing that people have endured for decades and the making of m’jaddara for instance, and that those metaphors of food. It's really survival and identity in literature and art. And you start that conversation in the kitchen and then it's it goes um really into bigger wider spaces where you talk about politics and you talk about economy, and you talk about agriculture and different many other different things. 

RAYAN: And to no surprise in doing research for this topic, to no surprise and to my dismay, I wouldn't say shock because like I said, no surprise, Israeli chefs have appropriated m’jaddara. Uh it's like honestly like with …

DALAL: Classic! 

RAYAN: Dalal, I'm convinced that if we pretended that there was a quintessential Palestinian dish called Zift and Rice, they will appropriate it and put it in Israeli cookbooks. So honestly like we should just pretend  a there's a dish called Zift and Bread. Or Zift on toast. Go on Israelis, appropriate it. 

DALAL: Yeah. In in white and blue it's there. 

RAYAN: Like is there nothing you'll appropriate like but at the same time it it doesn't surprise me. 

DALAL: Yeah. and and the and the settler state would uh you know and bring those uh propagandist influencers and pay them to go to those restaurants in XYZ areas to promote the amazement with oh my god and it's Israeli food everyone look at this come support this and that but yeah people fall for it 

RAYAN: honestly are they that desperate for an identity that they have to sort of steal And so just on so many levels, it's not enough to sort of force people to sort of consume it with the bare minimum at a time of crisis, but you're going to appropriate it as well. Uh and so yeah, and so this conversation of m’jaddara, cuisine is not just cuisine. Cuisine is ancestry. It's culture. It's felahi life. It's an everyday lived experience. 

DALAL: Yeah. On the note of that food appropriation, I know like some pro Palestine vegans would argue that it's really theft and uh it's not just appropriation. what's often presented as Israeli cuisine and Israeli culture is really just a rebranding and aggregation of of Palestinian and the broader Levantine Middle East really food and and legacy and and traditions and that there is actually no nothing really called Israeli like there is no Israeli food. Yeah, those like Israeli dishes are actually Palestinian and Levantine because also it's important to note that m’jaddara is a Levantine dish as well that it's uh available in different variations in whether it's in Syria, whether it's in Lebanon, in in Egypt. In Egypt, you even cook it with chickpeas and um pasta and you make koshari with that you know with more salsa and tomato uh to it. And then you have the variations with bulgar. I think also in in Syria and in uh Lebanon and the Druze community as well has their own connection to m’jaddara. So also for for the Christian community as well um in Lent, um m’jaddara is also one of the integral tables um dishes that um people have on their tables as well and let alone I mean m’jaddara is is not the only food the only dish the only ingredients with rice and lentils that were even um trying to like see how settler colonialism is trying to appropriate and steal and claim. But again, we've seen how with hummus, felafel, tabouleh, M’sakhan, Maqluba, knafeh, labaneh, za’atar with olive oil, stuffed vegetables, salad, like everything that they you can ever think of, they steal it. They put the label on it. They rebrand it in white and blue. and then it becomes Israeli or it becomes part of their culture. 

RAYAN: And so colonizers, if you're looking for another dish to appropriate; take this one -  Zift on toast.

(PALESTINIAN FEMALE ELDERS CHANTING)

RAYAN: Now, Dal, we've got a collection of Palestine cookbooks by Palestinian chefs who have put together these masterpieces. and you've got four with you and I've got four and let's go through them and let's see the m’jaddara recipe. So I'm holding in my hands; ‘olives, lemon and za’atar; by Rawia Bishara who is from Nazareth currently lives on Turtle Island on the lands of the Lanape people and interestingly in English calls it lentil pilaf. What's this pilaf anyway? let's call it m’jaddara, which is what it's called. And some recipes, what's interesting is that some recipes describe that, you know, it must be had with say basmati rice or Egyptian rice. But um she writes, "You'd be hard-pressed to find a Palestinian pantry that does not include lentils or bulgar. The primary ingredients in this classic dish beloved all over the Arab world. Some cooks make it with rice, others vary the spices, but all caramelize the onions that crown this dish’. I like that. Crowns the dish. ‘I love the subtle flavour and the sauteed fennel leads to this dish. In addition, um, and she describes how she made it for her restaurant, which is called Tanoreen. He serves it with pickled turnips and beetroot and olives and a bowl of cooling yogurt which sort of again emphasizes it is a summer dish. 

DALAL: So here with me Ryan I have a copy of ‘The Palestinian Table’ by Reem Kassis and in the book she is talking about the rice and lentil recipe specifically and she's uh giving us how steps how to put the lentil into a pan with the measurements of the of the water and how you bring it to boil where you reduce it to simmer and that would allow the dish to come together and cook until the ingredients absorb all the water. specifically when she's talking about m’jaddara with rice, she says how it's rice and lentils are stable foods for many cultures and that this dish I'm quoting her now ‘this dish which combines them is the staple pantry meal in Palestine as its ingredients are almost always to hand’. and that's what we touched on earlier in in this podcast and in and also she she writes how ‘regardless this dish is perceived with its simplicity and it's considered also the poor man's dish’ because you know it contains no meat and still like the combination of the rice and lentils with the crispy onions and the spices ‘produce a dish nothing short of marvellous’. and I think it really sums up what we were talking about earlier how simple ingredients, accessible ingredients, inexpensive they can really create magic together. and there is also another recipe she's is adding in her book. that's lentil and bulgar. And again we have uh the exact steps how to make bul but also she's talking in in that short in introduction to that dish. Uh she's talking about how the simple ingredients that people uh might be sceptical of as well because they're very simple, they're very basic. they end up becoming a combination of an amazing meal that is really wholesome, nutrient dense and serves uh people. And also she's adding how because of the ingredients is considered ‘a peasant dish that no one would serve at special occasions. It's a shame’ and I totally agree because ‘the dish is truly an unsung hero’. And uh I end the quote here. 

RAYAN: Honestly, I love the uh the expression within these books because you know whether it's crowning it with onion or you know the unsung hero. I'm just opening up now a cookbook called Falastine which is put together by Sammy Tamimi and his colleague Tara Wriggley. And this book is called Falastine. And unfortunately, there is a forward by a Zionist chef who I'm hoping is no longer in contact with Sammy. Inshallah. He writes, "For many Palestinians around the world, the answer to the question, what is your ultimate comfort food is m’jaddara. It's a humble dish. Lentils, spices, and then a grain, some form of rice or freekah." Now, I didn't know that you could actually make freekah with brown lentils. Now, that's interesting. goes to show you that there is not one Palestinian dish but rather variations which means the Zionists have their work cut out for them in terms of appropriating each and every dish. Yeah. ‘The fried onions are the secret weapon’. Mashallah. Interesting. 

DALAL: Yeah. I also got the feast in the Middle East uh the personal journey of a family and cuisine by Blanch Araj Shaheen and in her book she is also talking about m’jaddara lentils and rice and she given us the recipe for four servings, talking about how I'm quoting her ‘beans and rice have long been considered affordable comfort food all over the world and whether it's Latin America, whether it's the Middle East, whether it's uh southern United States, those two ingredients and staples were really integral and and really important and uh essential in the in our kitchens’. And I'm quoting her here. ‘While these dishes originated from a need to get maximum nutrition for very little money, these dishes are anything but poor in flavour. m’jaddara in particular actually lentils and rice is very rich in flavour and brought to life from the sweetness of caramelized onions but it's also known as mudardara in Syria and koshery in Egypt. Uh because m’jaddara is the term for this dish in Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine. And as as I said earlier, it's a Levantine dish with varieties in different communities around the region. And um yeah, it is indeed a a signature vegan dish that she refers to as her family enjoyed eating during the lentil fast and one of the most popular recipe videos on YouTube as well. 

RAYAN: And what we might do is along with brother Wasim's video on m’jaddara  or maybe he's a link to his I'm sure he's got on his plant-based Arab website. Um, and so what we might do is we we might also put Blanche's video as well. And I also want to point out that her book also has a really interesting recipe for granola baklava. And I've also got in front of me here a book compiled by Farah Abu Asad, Lama Bazari and Fadi Kattan who compiled a book called Craving Palestine which has a number of contributors Palestinians. And so well before the page which offers us a version of vegan M'Sakhan, put together by Susan Abul-Hawa, the recipe from m’jaddara is actually put forward by Noura Erekat, who is a phenomenal human rights lawyer, professor, author has written so well speaks so well about Palestine. Okay, so her recipe is with burghul and she writes, "I grew up the only daughter among three sons to meet the household needs. My mama took over the kitchen and tasked me with the household chore. So I never learned to cook well. But being a mama and a sister and a partner and a daughter living in a family setting, I had to learn some meals so I could sustain us when no one else was around. And I was the last resort. My Favorite go-to meal is a m’jaddara for the mix of hardiness, protein, and nutrition. And most of all, the ease with which it can be cooked.” And that's the other thing is that we've talked about how it's the poor men's dish. It's easily accessible, but it's so easy to cook. And I'm looking at the image of m’jaddara whereby she has the salad made of cucumber, tomato, and mint. She has on the side the Laban/yoghurt and she's also got lemon. 

DALAL: Yeah. I also got Joudie Kalla. But I also have to say I I think the audience the listeners are maybe getting that there are different pronunciations for the dish. uh you we call it m’jaddara like people from different uh parts of Palestine or from different Levantine countries or or even in in diaspora Palestine they refer to it uh differently but it's the same the same thing we're talking about. back to Joudie in her Book ‘Palestine on a plate: memories from my mother's kitchen’ and ‘Palestine on a plate’ is also her uh digital identity as well for her for her platform where  she shares the recipes and she really talks about food uh along with her advocacy and activism for Palestine and in her recipe under cumin lentils and rice with caramelized onions. She talks about how m’jaddara is a hearty and punchy and very filling and the lentils are cooked in water infused with cumin and added to caramelized onions and rice to make this earthy satisfying dish. She says that she also eats it with a chili garlic tomato salsa on the side to elevate it to another level and that there are different versions of this dish. But quote unquote: ‘I think simplicity is key. My mother often also adds lemon juice and rocket for colour and texture.’ And she also guides the readers to a tib uh this dish is also um delicious and can be served with uh some salsa and she links that uh to another page with the same recipe. 

RAYAN: What's interesting about Joudie Kalla's recipes from memory with regards to her m’jaddara is that she sprinkles fresh pomegranate seeds and she does the same with her foule as well which is interesting but it's like these bursts of sweetness amidst the savory and the saltiness which is so delicious. I always do the mistake of recording our podcasts when it's late in the evening here, and it's my bedtime not supper time and I'm having these conversations. So there's a Palestinian film by a Palestinian writer and director her name is Najwa Najjar and the film is called Pomegranates and Myrth, and it features one of my favourite all-time Palestinian actresses a woman, a legend by the name of Hyam Abbas ,when she was talking about the film she reminded the audience that there's a Palestinian expression or a saying whereby with every pomegranate one seed is from heaven, but going back to my grandmother that I was talking about before, she used to talk about the or the pith so the white bit that holds all the seeds together as being natural medicine. So when like my Auntie and Uncles were eating pomegranates, she would always encourage them to actually not throw away the white part but to consume it because of its medicinal purposes. But nonetheless, the point is I think it's a along with fried onions, I reckon it's a really good topping for m’jaddara along with rocket along with a lot of lemon. Now in terms of Leila Al-Haddad and Maggie Schmidt's book which is called the Gaza Kitchen, a Palestinian culinary journey, a lot of the recipes in this book are unique to the Gaza region. And a lot of them contain basil which is suitable for the climate of Gaza. And so in other parts of Palestine, you cannot grow basil all year round because the cold will just kill it. Whereas in a warmer climate, Basil flourishes and so there are lots and lots of variations. So there's a recipe for lentil soup but I noticed like lentils with dumplings chard, and smothered lentils and and so there there's these variations like you know okra with lentils as well which is something I'm definitely trying this summer because as you and I both know okra is a summer food. 

DALAL: I have another one by Christiane Dabdoub Naser and in her book Classic Palestinian Cuisine, she brings to life over 100 dishes and recipes um that really smell and taste and attest to the Palestinian cookery and what for generations people have practiced in in kitchens across the region. And in her m’jaddara, rice with lentils recipe, she's also um talking about the proverbial poor man's dish and how I'm quoting her here. How it ‘it took me quite a few years before I started appreciating it now that I can eat m’jaddara with a simple tomato salad on the side any day. And there are two types of lentil grains, flat ones and round ones’. And that's what we have been talking about with the uh the flat ones being uh the ones the red ones I think or the yellow ones people use for the lentil soup and the rounded ones are the mostly greenish brown that people use for the recipe. People who cook m’jaddara and lentil soup would know that the difference would be using whether the rounded or the flat. It's it also makes the difference in the length of how long it would take to cook or and also she also says how again just as in other rice dishes the cooking water of the lentils should be totally absorbed, trapping in all the nutrients in the prepared dish. And that's really what brings that uh uniqueness to the dish is because you don't really need extra pots to prepare things separately and then combine it all together in one pot or you know to ultimately serve it. Um, and that's how you also um I would say trap all those flavours and um keep them in one place in one pot because you will have the taste and the flavours from the rice with the lentils and then you add the caramelized onions to it. It's just all mixed in together and to give you the tasty yummy m’jaddara at the end of the day. And those are amazing I I recipes. I really appreciate how in different cookbooks by Palestinian uh chefs, activists, writers, researchers, um we do have the variations that also attest to how our families, how those generations preserve those dishes, but also how each one of these uh chefs and these writers, they also reference family first. They start that recipe by telling you how it really ties them to their family, to their own traditions, in their own households, and how they want to share that with the world, to also tell you that it's not just two simple ingredients together, but it's really family, like we have family here in the story in this in this um backup u narration, and also the variations in the pronunciation and also the spelling as well. But it's m’jaddara. it's very simple. And one thing also to mention how people could actually fight each other if it's m’jaddara with rice or burghul, so I don't know Rayan which side of of the argument are you taking or what do you prefer? Like what is your favourite? 

RAYAN: That's an interesting question. So I'll be honest I've grown up on m’jaddara with rice or I I thought that was the only one that existed. I didn't know you could have it with bulger and now you know what? Freekah has entered the discussion. So what I propose dal is that in a free Palestine, the vegans for Palestine community we've got to get together and we've got to have all three in the centre, and we taste test each and we make sure that I'll bring the pomegranates and for dessert we have to have the vegan knafeh – Waseem, we’re looking at you! And we've got to have a side of vegan laban/yoghurt – Ahlam – how are you? 

DALAL: And so yeah, um in our household, my mother always cooked m’jaddara um with the short grains rice and uh yeah, we we never really cooked it with bulger but I know also people have been making the shift from the short grains uh to the long grains rice. Uh, I think it's just because they would favour the long grains because of like you can have it like as if it's um you can still like really uh see how the rice uh remains intact like it doesn't really stick together. It's not really as sticky. But I also read somewhere that I never tasted it or like I never tried it, but I read somewhere that some people would cook m’jaddara and it it's in a pudding in a style. So it would still kind of have that stickiness to it. The water is not fully absorbed like you can you can still kind of have that budding texture to it. I never tried that. If anyone actually had tried it before or cooks it that way, we would love to hear from you. And we would love also to hear from people of of what is their favourite m’jaddara or if anybody wants to make m’jaddara now would you be willing to try all the three like the three or maybe other recipes that we just mentioned and you let us know how you like it and what is what would be your favourite go-to recipe.

(GAZA BIRDS SINGING AND CHANTING)

TIKTOKER: And you're being so political. Okay, listen, [ __ ] I don't know about you, but I will not be remembered as a woman who kept her mouth shut. And I'm okay with that. So, you know what? [ __ ] ICE. Cheers to the queers. Protect the dolls. Black lives still matter and free Palestine. Have a good day.