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This past weekend was filled with rain. From Saturday morning until late Sunday afternoon, gray skies and plenty of puddles was mother nature’s mood. If I were to be a glass half full type of person, I’d say the rain forced us to tend to some much needed chores as we prepare ourselves and our home for Christmas this week!

This will be our first time spending Christmas day in our home, and I can’t wait to start making holiday traditions of our own. If nothing else, not having to orchestrate the logistics of Santa’s gifts to and from grandparents’ houses will be much easier.

In the midst of never ending laundry, rain and meal planning for this week, I decided to make  majudarah. This is the way my Lebanese grandmother made it, and it’s a wonderful one pot meal in the winter. It involves five ingredients that I always have as staples in my pantry: olive oil, rice, lentils, chicken stock and onions. 

This meal is naturally gluten-free, and you can easily substitute the chicken stock with water or vegetable stock to make it vegan as well. I like using the chicken stock simply for the flavor, but any of the three options will work.

This recipe makes enough for a crowd, or expect to have left-overs later in the week. If you do have left-overs, just add a little water or chicken stock to the pot as you re-heat the majudarah over low heat. You can store it in an air tight container for up to a week in the refrigerator.

Like most grandmother’s recipes, this one for majudarah is a “watch, taste and adjust” as you go type of dish. The more you make it, the more you will get a feel for how much seasoning to use, when to add more chicken stock, etc. In the meantime, I’ve added a few extra notes within the recipe below to help guide you along the way.

While the rice and lentils are a meal in itself, I’d recommend serving the majudarah with fresh green beans, roasted carrots or a salad.

Bon appétit!