Lebanon -- Mujadara (Rice & Lentils dish)

BM# 44: A-Z Cooking Series -- Around the World in 30 days
Country: L for Lebanon

Dish: Mujadara (Rice & Lentils dish)

We are going to Lebanon, a country that is located in Western Asia. I think my first experience with Lebanese cuisine was at the local Mediterranean restaurant near my office. It was run by a super active mother-daughter team. They would memorize the orders in their heads and never wrote them down -- no matter how big the order was. They used to have the usual Mediterranean dishes like hummus, baba ghanoush, pita etc., but what I really wanted to order was their Lebanese Moussaka which they said was vegetarian. But unfortunately I never did and now that I'm not working there, I wish I had ordered that dish.

Well today, I didn't make the moussaka, but I made another really filling and comforting Rice & Lentil dish called Mujadara. Mujadara is a humble and comforting dish made with pantry staples, rice and lentils. There is nothing fancy about it, but it is a very flavorful dish with the grown cumin and the crispy fried onions on top. It is also quick dish to make and is usually served with a dollop of yogurt.

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Capsicum Coconut Masala Curry (Peppers in Spicy Coconut Gravy)

It has been a strange week so far. When the weather was bright and sunny, I was in no mood to cook and click. But when I cooked to click, the weather turned gloomy and dull, which means not much cooking or clicking was done this week :-( But I made sure I had a dish ready for 'Cooking from Cookbook Challenge'. I actually made it last week along with the mixed dal sambar.

Today's dish is from a Telugu cooking show. The combination of pepper and coconut sounded interesting and so I tried it right away. It is definitely a different and delicious combination.

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Korean Vegetarian Joomuk Bap (Korean Style Rice & Veggie Fist Balls)

To go with the Korean Miso Soup, I made these Korean style Rice & Veggie Fist balls called Joomuk Bap. I landed on this recipe while I was looking for Korean recipes and really liked everything that went into this dish. My broccoli loving daughter really liked these rice balls.

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Korea -- Miso Soup & Joomuk Bap (Vegetarian/ Vegan Recipes)

BM# 44: A-Z Cooking Series -- Around the World in 30 days
Country: K for Korea

Dish: Korean Miso Soup & Joomuk Bap
We are staying in Asia and visiting Korea today. I knew from day 1 that I would be doing Korea for K, since I live in a town that has a very high Korean population. We have a Korean grocery store in town and most of the stores have signs in Korean.
I hardly cook Korean food at home even though I have full access to all the Korean veggies, spices and other ingredients. I don't have much knowledge of Korean cuisine and I thought this is a good opportunity to give some Korean dishes a try.
I was under the impression that all of the Korean dishes have meat in them. But there are a lot of Korean dishes that are actually vegan. Buddhist temple food is completely vegetarian and/ or vegan. I found an amazing Vegan Korean blog called Vegan 8 Korean and they have some awesome Korean dishes. I have tried a few Korean dishes already, check those out here.

I made Korean Miso Soup that uses Korean Miso paste called Doenjang. But a good substitute would be red or brown miso paste. I found quite a few recipes that used anchovies and fish sauce, but I skipped them and used some vegetarian options instead. Most of the ingredients were bought specially for this recipe.

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