Mujudarra: Rice and Lentils

There is nothing "pretty" or food porny about Mujudarra, a Middle Eastern rice and lentil dish, but I do hope you'll try it anyway.

I've read numerous posts claiming it be one of the easiest, least expensive, common, humble and yet greatest side dishes ever, and you know what? That's not too far off the mark. I can't find anything negative to say about Mujudarra except that it's the ugly stepsister to a beautiful rice pilaf or cous cous dish. It doesn't make for a pretty presentation.

My version was so simple and fast because I took advantage of some staples from Trader Joe's which I'm never without: Frozen rice and Steamed Lentils. Those bags of frozen or jasmine rice are quite convenient, and while cooking lentils is not difficult, I really enjoy the lentils which are vacuum packaged after being steamed, fully cooked, imported from France. Delicious, and a fast protein source.

You will likely read the list of ingredients and wonder what all the fuss is about. I certainly did, but I'm telling you, all the bloggers are right: This dish is really perfect just as written. There is something wonderful which happens to these humble ingredients when you cook them together.

MUJUDARRA

1 large onion (your favorite type)

2 cups of cooked rice (your favorite type)

2 cups of cooked lentils (your favorite type)

Olive Oil

Chicken or Vegetable Stock

Salt and Pepper

Plain Yogurt (optional)

Coat a very deep skillet with a good amount of olive oil. Thinly slice an onion and add to the oil, slowly sweating and caramelizing until it is very soft, and fully browned. Don't rush this step -- the darker and softer it is, the sweeter it will be -- a key component to this dish. To the oily skillet, add 2 cups of cooked lentils and stir together. Add 2 cups of rice and stir together very gently. Add salt and pepper to taste throughout the process. When thoroughly combined, slowly add chicken or vegetable stock (approx 1/4 to 1/2 cup) until the dish is moistened, but not soupy. Heat the dish through. Serve the mujudarra with a dollop of yogurt, which is traditional.

Notes: I used 1 package of Trader Joe's frozen Jasmin rice, and added it to the warm onions and lentils, stirring just until it was no longer frozen, and then added the stock. For the lentils, I used 1 package of Trader Joe's fully cooked imported French Steamed Lentils. The first night I tried it, I skipped the dollop of yogurt because I forgot about it, but I was so taken with just easting this warm and comforting side dish, that I didn't miss it. A few nights later when I was having leftovers, I remembered the yogurt and tried a dollop of Greek Yogurt. It does add a nice tangy sour cream quality, but I found it just as good without. I also thought it was just as good cold as hot, and as good on day 3 as day 1. I'll make this again, absolutely.

I've seen variations on the spelling of this dish, and even some calling for wheat bulgar instead of rice. This is an excellent side dish, and I hope you'll try it in this traditional method first, and then go search for the types with all sorts of add-ins (proteins, nuts, berries) which are probably very good as well.

Here are some related posts:

The post which got me thinking I had to make this dish:

I take it back about not being pretty. Desert Candy makes her look much nicer:

http://desertcandy.blogspot.com/2009/08/mujadara.html

A version by Orangette, where she cooks the lentils and rice from scratch if you want to go that route:

http://orangette.blogspot.com/2007/03/into-pantry.html

Another version which suggests Mark Bittman has done it before, too!

http://www.shecookshebakes.com/2008/06/dinner-mujadara.html

Vegetable Stock and Shrimp Laksa

I'm officially hopeless. My name is Kate and I can't stop buying cookbooks. Here I am giving them away every week to reduce my collection and bring some sanity to my life, and I stumbled on a cookbook in a Marshall's Department Store, and bought it.

That place is the worst for me.

Problem 1: They tend to have a lot of very inexpensive cookbooks.

Problem 2: They tend to be by Paragon Publishing, which is a problem because

Problem 3: Paragon tends to recycle the same photos and recipes into new volumes and I don't notice until later, like when I'm giving away the cookbooks, how often I buy the same recipe, over and over again.

In my defense, this particular book was one I had not seen before, and even though its by Paragon, it had recipes I'd never seen before, and I loved the concept. It's called "1 Broth, 100 Soups" and in leafing through it, I immediately noted that I'd want to try more than 75% of them. That's a must buy. Plus, I find making stocks really calming and therapeutic, and the stock for each of the 100 recipes is a Vegetable Stock, which I have not made before.

I made the Basic Veggie Stock first (adapted, my own recipe follows) and then chose Shrimp Laksa for my first soup. I didn't have every ingredient on hand, but made some tasty substitutions and turned a very lovely bowl of soup. This time, I'm actually glad I broke my No New Cookbooks Rule.

MY VEGETABLE STOCK

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 container of Trader Joe's Mirepoix (onions, carrots and celery)
1 large potato, diced
1 leek, thinly sliced
2 bay leaves
1 cup white wine
Fresh Parsley
Sage Leaves
Garlic Clove

In a large stock pot, heat the oil, and add the mirepox, diced potato, and leek. Saute until soft, wilted, and barely beginning to color. Add the bay leaves, 1 crushed garlic clove, fresh parsley (a lot), fresh sage leaves (only a few), and the cup of white wine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until liquid has reduced and all alcohol has burned off. Carry vegetables in stock pot to the tap and fill with cool water (I added at least 10 cups-- up to the handles of the pot). Bring stock to a rapid boil, then reduce to a simmer and simmer for 1-2 hours. Let stock cool, and then strain all vegetables out (at this point, my veggies were still recognizable, very soft, but I couldn't stand throwing them away. I fished out the bay leaves, and then threw the rest in a blender with a bit of stock and made a very pretty mustard yellow veggie puree, which I froze in ice cube trays so I can add the puree to soups and stews as a thickener). Portion the stock into baggies or freezer containers, and freeze for up to six months.

MAKING SOUPS
I'm really a soup alchemist and my Soup Esteem is well intact -- I make GREAT soup. In fact if I were going to open a restaurant, it would be a Soup Kitchen. Problem is, I use ingredient amounts as a suggestion and treat my kitchen like a laB without writing stuff down as I go along, so I often can't remember how to recreate really spectacular pots of soup I've made. Fortunately, I can always make something else just as good. This time, I took notes:

SHRIMP LAKSA

My Shrimp Laksa, adapted heavily from "1 Stock, 100 Soups":

Veggie Stock
Shrimp with tails on
Coconut Milk
Cashews
Trader Joe's Yellow Curry Sauce
Curry Powder
Thai Kitchen Fish Sauce
Siracha Chili Sauce
Rice Noodles
Brown Sugar
Salt and Pepper
Cilantro
Carrots
Scallions

In a large soup pot, bring veggie stock to a boil. Remove shrimp shells and tails. Set the shrimp meat aside, and first throw the shells and tails in the pot of stock and boil rapidly for several minutes to infuse the stock with shrimp flavor. Fish out and discard the shells and tails. Strain stock to be certain no shells remain. Stir in 1/2 to 1 cup of TJ's yellow curry sauce (if you have curry paste, that's preferable). Add curry powder to taste, and several glugs of Fish Sauce. Stir and simmer, stir and simmer. Add several glugs of Siracha Chili Sauce. Stir and simmer, stir and simmer. Grind up a big handful of cashews into a coarse powder (but don't make a paste). Add ground nuts and 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and 1 cup of coconut milk to the stock. Whisk thoroughly to combine and simmer gently. Add the raw shrimp, and with the heat on low, simmer until the shrimp are pink, cooked, but still tender.

Meanwhile, boil water and pour over rice noodles. When saturated and "cooked", drain noodles and portion into bowls. Ladle the soup over each portion of noodles, and dress with slivered carrots, cilantro, and scallions. Dress with more siracha to taste.

Chores, Drawers and More

I had one of those busy kitchen-task oriented days this weekend. I got some energy and tackled many niggling organization problems which were bothering me, and as I was in the kitchen, whipped up some basics for the coming weeks.


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Chiefly, I organized my Bento Lunch supplies. I’m am avid lunch packer and use of several different types of Japanese styled lunch boxes. Some thermal, some not, some large, some small. When I was new to the Bento Hobby, which I adopted after following the wonderful Mr. Bento Group on Flickr (and related Bento Box groups) I naturally went hunting for every type of accessory and cutesy tool I could find. As time has passed, I find I rely on my tried and true boxes, and, as I’m packing for myself and no children, I don’t find I use many of the cutesy decorating or garnishing tools – my lunches are colorful and varied and usually healthy and that’s good enough for me.

I wanted my extra supplies, many of them new and unused to go to a bento-packing mother who was hopefully new to the hobby and enthused about waste-free lunches for her child. Biggie of Lunch in a Box to the rescue! This Bento Packing Queen, who receives a great deal of press for her lunch packing skills and tips, digitally introduced me to a new bento enthusiast here in my city, who will be the benefactress of my extra supplies.

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Next, I prepared for my year of BYOB. I need to be prepared for bread making as an organized science. This means not hunting for the yeast, the gluten, that little box of cornstarch, and darn it, where is the baking powder? One complete shelf was organized with all baking supplies, including flours, rising agents, and more. Hooray for the 99 Cent Store and its wealth of plastic containers. I have the new Artisan Bread in 5 book, but I wouldn't even open it and enjoy reading it until I’d organized my bread making pantry. Done, except for one thing. I need to head over to Smart and Final and get a food service plastic bin for my fridge for my basic starter dough. I’ve seen those over and over and I want one.

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Next, I dealt with some leftover ham. I made Alton Brown’s City Ham on Saturday because Kat’s version looked so darn good. I am but a solo diner here, so I couldn’t make the whole hog (no pun intended), even though ham (well -- any pork) is my favorite sandwich meat. I just followed the method for making just a small boneless ham (not the canned kind, blecch – just the half-cut shrink wrapped boneless ham you find in the butcher aisle which I typically buy to shave into lunch meat). While I liked the recipe, it didn’t knock my socks off any more than other sweet and salty ham glazes. Good, but not a must-repeat for me. Granted, I suspect this would be much better on your traditional, bone-in baked ham, for the wow factor. So, I have a container of sliced ham for sandwiches, soups and the like, but ended up with a big hunk of ham from the round end after I got tired of slicing. Hmmmm. Let’s make ham salad and talk about mirepoix.

Kate’s Ham Salad

Hunks of baked ham
Handfuls of mirepoix (diced celery, onions and carrot)
Lots of Green Herbs
(I used Thyme, Parsley, Oregano)
Mayonnaise
Salt and Pepper

First I whirled the ham in a bullet blender in short pulses. I did not want ham paste. I just wanted it to shred, so with every few pulses, I opened the cup and emptied the shreds, and repeated until the entire chunk was reduced to nothing but a big bowl of pink shreds about the size of long rice.

Next, I took several handfuls of mirepoix, and added fresh and dried green herbs, salt, and pepper, and mixed thoroughly. I blended the chopped ham and mirepoix, added a few dollops of mayo, and mixed gently. Serve on toasted bread as a sandwich or on crackers.

Let me tell you ... this stuff is good and if you even consider buying Underwood Deviled Ham Paste after trying this (assuming you did beforehand), I’ll personally have you over for lunch and convince you to stop buying that stuff. Unless it’s for your bomb shelter.

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Next, I worked on my expiring mirepoix. It wouldn't keep fresh for much longer, but cooked, I will get another week or so out of it. So, about mirepoix. I use it not just for stews and other entrees, but for sandwiches, so I keep Trader Joe’s finely chopped fresh mirepoix on hand. It’s a 14.5 oz medium size tub in layers – one layer of celery, one of carrot, and one of onion, in a rough chop. Just Jenn has a picture for us. Now, before you judge me for buying a convenience produce item, when you live alone, buying small size bags of produce and fruit is a challenge, unless its Farmers Market Weather. I hate wasting produce and buying smaller bags and pre-chopped mixes is actually more economical and convenient for me.

The tub has neat and pretty layers, and this is nice, but not useful when I want to dip into it. The first thing I do, is empty out the entire contents in a big bowl and mix it up with herbs, and then put it back into the tub and keep it in the fridge.

When I use a handful of mirepoix for sandwiches, I run another rough chop through it, to make it a bit smaller. Don’t overlook chopped carrot as an excellent salad addition in your tuna, egg and chopped meat salads – its just as crunch as celery and lasts a lot longer in the fridge. You get that little burst of color and sweet taste and it really comes in handy when the celery has gone dodgy. To make up for the lack of celery taste, just add celery seed.

So that brings me to this weekend, after the Ham Salad. I could tell the last of the mirepoix wasn't going to last much longer as it was past its prime. I didn’t want to waste it, so I melted some butter in a pan, and flash fried several thyme stalks. I removed the stems, kept the leaves in the pan, threw in the last of my mirepoix, and sauteed the heck out of it until it was deeply browned and caramelized (even the celery). I then added the last knob of Roasted Garlic Meyer Lemon Compound butter I had in the fridge -- perhaps 2 tablespoons from a container -- and browned it all to a liquid. When I had nothing but a pile of buttery brown veggie goodness, I emptied it from the pan into a sealed container for the fridge. As soon as it chilled, the butter sealed the veggies. Now, a quick scoop into my precooked, buttered, roasted veggies will help me spruce up any number of quick entrees –

– A spoonful in a pan, with an egg for a fast omelet
– A spoonful in any lackluster soup or stew
– A spoonful in any rice or pasta for a fast side dish
– A quick bit of intense veggie flavor to any pan-fried fish or chicken
– Or heated in a pan with other meats and then folded in tortilla for a quick wrap.

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Finally, I handled a nagging Drawer Organizing task. I found all my plastic containers, their lids, and organized those into an easy to reach spot. I then took an empty box and took out every extra fork, spatula, unused ice cube tray, salt shaker missing its mate, unused ugly coffee mugs, a glass candy dish I never use, a plastic thermos that I dislike, and, finally, that awful Tupperware container that gives me so much grief by refusing to cooperate with its lid. Yes, it was costly, but the grief it gives me wasn’t worth it, I can’t be bothered to exchange it, so why am I burdening myself with this?! NO more! I boxed up all my kitchen orphans (32 items! Hooray), posted the box on Craigs List in the "free" column and 1 hour later, it was all gone to a happy bachelor for his apartment. As my mother puts it "Look at how much real estate you just cleared." It feels wonderful.

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So there you have it! How I spent my Sunday in the kitchen! I was so busy working I didn’t photograph my efforts, not that you’d find it interesting to see. Except that ham salad, I’m going to make a sandwich and photograph that tomorrow.

I deserve a cake or pie or something, don't I? I have a vintage cake recipe on the menu for this week, for just that reason.

The Bread Box

I love bread in all forms. The saying "Don't fill up on bread" was coined with me in mind. "Bread is the staff of life" has personal meaning to me. I usually answer "bread" when memed with the question "What one food would you never want to be without?"

I purchase and have more on hand than I'll ever possibly use or eat in a week. I live alone, and have a boyfriend who doesn't eat much bread. It's one of his faults. As a result, my freezer is always jammed pack with a variety of bakery products and flavored butters.

I compound by the problem by wanting to bake rolls and breads on my days off, because it's pure comfort, relaxing, and tasty. I end up with bags of rolls after I eat the first few hot out of the oven, so I developed my "personal bread basket" out of necessity.

Most of my bread ends up in the freezer and it can be irritating to pry off a few frozen pieces of bread and toast it in order to use it right away, or to over-nuke a roll to serve with dinner or pack a bento lunch.

Plus, I'm fickle in my taste. What do I want today? Brioche? Rye? Wheat? Corn? Hmm. Decisions, decisions.

Enter the Food Container. I starting using this plastic vegetable and fruit container which is intended to keep your produce fresher for a longer period of time in your refrigerator (and they do work). I keep a few rolls and a few slices of each variety of bread on hand in my Bread Box, and keep that in my fridge (I realize bread should be stored at room temperature, but I simply can't use it up quickly enough to prevent staleness or mold). The remainder of each variety stays in the freezer until it's time to remove a few slices to replenish the bread box.

This week's selections are (top to bottom, left to right) Brioche, Raisin, Slider buns, Rye, Sesame Knots. Each day I can select whatever suits my fancy from my bread box. It's a simple idea, really, but it's those simple ideas that often make us the happiest.

This makes me happy.

(Pssst. I have two more and I do the same thing with sliced deli meats in one and cheeses in the other.)

Taste of Home Bonanza!

Earlier this summer, a "Taste of Home" swap was set up by Megan at Megan's Cooking, and I was paired with the best partner, Leslie of Mit, Mitter, Mittany (I don't know what that means... I keep forgetting to ask) of North Carolina.

The idea was to swap foods from our home towns or regions that the other may not have access to. The deadline to swap was wayyyy back in July, and when I say I had the best partner, I mean it. I think we were on the same schedule all summer. She was gone, then I was gone, then we gave ourselves an extension, and finally this past week, we swapped our packages.

I was SO delighted because due to the passage of the summer and a hectic schedule, I'd forgotten some of the things I mentioned to her, that "spoke of Southern Soul Food" to me. For that reason, some of my goodies were just a complete surprise, and most appreciated.

At the top of that list is White Lily Flour from soft winter wheat. SCORE!!! I recall reading a Gourmet magazine a few months back and the topic was biscuits. How to make them. How not to make them. The fact that White Lily Flour makes the only "true Southern biscuit." Almost a "don't bother if you don't have this flour" kind of throw-down. I even considered ordering the flour via mail order, but should I be that crazy? I do love a good bread, biscuit, waffle, and pancake ... and then life took over, I bought a hundred new cookbooks, and forgot about the flour.

And then the heavens opened -- Mit sent me the flour. There was much rejoicing in the household.

Not only did I receive the flour, I received ...

A copy of Culinary Kudzu, with a handwritten inscription from the author, Keetha DePriest Reed.

A jar of Kudzu blossom jam.

A tin of Old Bay Seasoning (I've actually never had any of this classic spice! Terrific!)

A bag of cornmeal -- water ground style (very important to Southerners)

A bag of cornmeal -- buttermilk style (ditto above)

A bag of Sweet Heat Pecans.

My friends, very soon you will have blog posts of the following ...

A cake made with White Lily flour and cornstarch, from my Southern Baking cookbook;

Biscuits, and then, some more biscuits. With butter. On the biscuits. With Kudzu Jam.

Cornbread (I want to try a yeast raised cornbread now)

Cornmeal Sweet Heat Pecan Waffles. With butter. and Kudzu Jam.

More biscuits.

More butter.

More jam.

And biscuits. With butter.

Thanks, Mit!

Rotisserie Chicken Stock

I am mighty pleased with myself, with just a very basic chicken stock! I was reading a cookbook this week which pointed out something so obvious, it really never occurred to me:

"Every time you buy a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, eat the chicken and throw away the carcass, you've just thrown away a pot of chicken stock."

I've never made my own stock even though I know it isn't terribly complicated just because I didn't feel like playing with an entire chicken. But I've thrown away plenty of rotisserie chicken carcasses before, and the recipe was dead bang simple. It never occurred to me to use one, other than a turkey carcass every November.

So, with a Safeway grocery store rotisserie chicken sacrificed for the cause, here is my pot of stock waiting to cool, and be divided into one quart freezer bags.

ROTISSERIE CHICKEN STOCK

1 rotisserie chicken
1 onion
1 handful of carrots
1 handful of celery
1 garlic glove
Handful of herbs as you like
Whole Peppercorns

Strip the chicken of all the meat you wish to eat, leaving the skin, bones, and meat you don't want (I don't like dark meat, for instance), intact.

Put the entire carcass into a large stock pot and fill up with as much water as the pot will hold, and covering the carcass.

Throw in a handful of celery stalks with leaves intact, a handful of carrots (I only had shredded, so I added a cup of shredded), a whole onion cut in half, several tablespoons of various herbs, whatever is complimentary or you have on hand, 1 large elephant garlic clove, and about 10 peppercorns.

Bring to a rapid boil, then reduce heat, keep the pot covered, and simmer for 2 hours. As the liquid reduces during that 2 hours, replace with more water to keep the level up. For the second two hours, remove the lid, and let the stock reduce by half or until it reached a rich, dark golden color. Remove any fat or scum which floats to the surface (I had none, really).

Strain the whole pot into a large pan to remove bones, skin, veggies, meat. Then strain again through a smaller mesh strainer, as many times as you like, to get the broth clear.

I picked out a lot of meat from that pile you see and just nibbled on it, but most of the meat had been removed prior to the stock making.

It was really easy, really rich, really delicious, and so much better than ANY canned stock I've ever purchased.

Now I just need to make room for a bunch of bags of stock in my freezer. I think I'll be eating sugar free popsicles all night.