The path of life Mujadara — rice and lentils with greens
‘‘Food is the currency for life’’ says Vandana Shiva, a worldrenowned environmental activist and physicist (check out her books such as Earth Democracy and the documentary The Seeds of Vandana Shiva).
‘‘Across the world, especially in times of the pandemic, there is a growing consciousness that the multiple energies we are living through have their roots in an unjust, nonsustainable industrialglobalised food system. And solutions to all the crises lie in creating local, biodiverse, poisonfree, chemicalfree food systems that increase nourishment for all beings while reducing our ecological footprint . . . Avoid processed food, eat fresh. Avoid anonymous foods where you do not know what went into the manufacture . . . Food and culture are the currency of life. And while we are overwhelmed by disease and death, a living food culture can show the light to the path of life.’’ she says.
Eating locally grown food is a good idea to lessen our impact on the planet and improves all aspects of health — physically, socially, culturally and economically.
This demonstrates our interconnectedness to our mother earth — what is good for us is also good for the planet.
No matter how small we think the impact of our actions taking action in the way we eat helps! As the African proverb says: ‘‘Little by little, a little makes a lot.’’
Serves 4
Because our past generations cooked at home, digging out old family recipes will get us back in the kitchen — we can add our own produce from the garden or from the local market.
In the Middle East, mujadara is the essence of comfort food, a humble dish made from pantry staples. It is very easy to make. Here I added greens to the traditional recipe.
Ingredients
1 cup lentils
2 large onions, sliced
cup extravirgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
cup longgrain rice
1 tsp ground cumin tsp ground allspice tsp cayenne
1 bay leaf
1 cinnamon stick
2 tsp salt, more as needed
4 cups trimmed and chopped greens (chard leaves, spinach, kale, mustard or a combination)
Method
1. Place lentils in a large bowl and add warm tap water to cover by 1 inch. Let soak.
2. Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large pot over mediumhigh heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and crispy, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer half the onions to a bowl to use for garnish and sprinkle with tsp salt.
3. Stir garlic into the pot with the remaining leeks and cook for 15 seconds until fragrant. Stir in rice and saute for 2 minutes. Stir in cumin, allspice and cayenne; saute 30 seconds.
4. Drain lentils and stir into pot. Add 4 cups water, 2 tsp salt, bay leaf and cinnamon stick. Bring to a simmer. Cover and cook over low heat for 15 minutes. Rinse greens in a colander and spread damp leaves over the lentil mixture. Cover and cook 5 minutes more, until rice and lentils are tender and greens are wilted. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Serve sprinkled with reserved crispy onions.