Mjeddrah - Palastinian Street Food

This is one of my all time favorite side dishes to make...and bonus..it's completely vegetarian.  I'm dedicating this post to my friend from St. Louis, Kay Yoon who lived in the Middle East for several years, and brought this recipe home with her.  If you research this dish, you will find many variations, and her's is a bit different as well, but oh so Yummy!

You can do this without a pressure cooker, and most versions of this recipe don't call for one.  Kay however, taught me that it give a great texture to the dish and is done in 1/2 the time.


INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup olive oil
2-3 ONIONS MED DICED
1 CUP OF ORANGE LENTILS
2 CUPS OF BASMATI RICE
6 CUPS OF WATER
TABLESPOON OF SALT AND PEPPER

1.  In your pressure cooker, add the oil and caramelize the onions.  This step takes some time, but is critical for the taste of the dish.  Do this on a med heat so you don't burn the onions.  Caramelization is good, burnt is yucky!

2.  While this is going on, rinse your lentils.  Many recipes call for brown lentils, but kay insisted on using the tiny orange / red lentils.  They really break down into nothing, giving this dish a very dense outcome.

3.  Once the onions look as they do in the picture, add the rice, lentils, salt, pepper and water to the pressure cooker.  Seal the cooker, and when it begins to steam, pressure cook for 17 minutes.

After the 17 minutes have passed, let your cooker cool, and open it up.  At this point, you need to determine taste and consistency.  If it's too soupy, then continue to cook on the stove until it tightens up.  If it's too think, simply add water and stir until it loosens up.  Taste it as well...it will most likely need some additional salt.

Kay explained to me that this was a very basic street food in Palestine.  Most of the recipes call for fried onions on the top, though I never add that step to the dish.  Kay always served this dish along side a salad with a garlic acidy dressing.

In this version, the consistency will be thick like mashed potatoes...the rice and lentils really break down.  I LOVE that about this version...and the simplicity of the flavors are amazing.  It re-heats well, and again...if it sets up too thick...just add some water and it comes right back to life.  ENJOY!