Mujedarra

Mujedt'iL Riz with Caramelized Onions

My Mother's love of family and tradition were never more evident than in one of her "gifts" to me later in her life. When I created our first family cookbook in 2000, I asked her to write down our family history, as she knew it, so that I could put it into that simple spiral-bound cookbook. It was just for us and at that time, I had no idea I would actually go on to create these two published cookbooks.

Mom wrote what she knew and remembered in one simple black and white composition notebook that kids used at one time for school. It is all in cursive, with no paragraphs...just sentence after sentence of her memories. How precious it is to me now! I refer to it, often, especially when I get messages from fans of my cookbooks, asking if we are related. I simply go back to her written history and there are the names and the remembrances. At the end of her writing, she simply wrote: Jan, these are three generations, the rest is up to you. Fill in the 4th."  What a reminder that we need to journal our important family dates and people now!

One of my Mother's favorite dishes is Mujedarra. She had lots of company as that famous Rice and Lentil pilaf is loved by millions of us! Sitto was very particular in her Arabic pronunciation of it. She called it Mujedt' iL Riz, as opposed to her calling it Mujedarra, which, she explained, is the traditional Bulgar Wheat and Lentil Pilaf dish. This has caused some confusion for cookbook fans, as most call the rice-based dish, Mujedarra. So, I want to point out the difference and let people know that both recipes are in both cookbooks, listed as Rice and Lentil Pilaf and Bulgar Wheat and Lentil Pilaf in English. The thing to remember in either dish is the all-important caramelized onions.

It’s an integral topping for this dish that is remembered by all who’ve tasted it. The aroma of those onions was our call into Sitto’s kitchen!