Rummaniyeh was a staple dish in both of my grandmothers’ kitchens. Rumman means pomegranate, so this dish literally means “pomegranatey” – and aptly so. The recipe uses the fruit’s molasses as well as its seeds, which bodes well for a tangy stew with lentils and aubergine.
Pomegranates are integral to Palestinian eating, and are regarded across the Middle East as a symbol of abundance and prosperity. Each pomegranate fruit is said to have an extra seed that comes directly from paradise, so it is a cherished fruit. Street hawkers squeeze fresh juice from them; a fluorescent crimson cupful to sip on the fly.
Cheap, easy and a riot of flavour, rummaniyeh is very popular in the Palestinian community. Brown lentils are gently simmered with peeled aubergines, which melt slowly into the mix as it simmers. Fried garlic, lemon juice, the pomegranate molasses and generous lashings of strong olive oil are added, transforming both the pulse and the vegetable. My paternal grandmother, Huda, succeeded in her campaign to get my father eating aubergine with rummaniyeh. Silken and at one with the rest of the dish, the aubergine takes on a new character, which my dad couldn’t resist. Nowadays, he’s an aubergine devotee and eats them in almost any form.
Rummaniyeh is made mainly in the coastal town of Jaffa, where my grandmother Najla was from. When the Palestinians were displaced from Jaffa and Lydda, they went to Gaza and brought their recipes with them. Rummaniyeh is one such recipe, and is now very popular in Gaza, too.
In the northern areas, such as Safed and Galilee, you will find heartier, heavier foods, such as kibbeh, a cracked wheat and meat dish. In the West Bank you’ll find more bready dishes baked on stones, serving dishes such as musakahn (a spiced chicken and onion dish served on flatbread), as well as “upside-down” rice and meat dish, makloubeh, and mujadara (lentils, rice and sauteed onions). Closer to the coastal areas, such as Gaza and Jaffa, you will find more fish dishes, such as Sultan Ibrahim – red mullet marinated and grilled quickly, then served on a light lentil salad – or sayadieh, cumin marinated fish with caramelised onion rice and tahini sauce. Herbs, spices and chillies abound in the coastal areas, a nod to the trade routes that ensured new flavours from outside kept being introduced. Recognising these little regional distinctions is important; as movement around Palestine becomes more limited, we risk losing the variety of our rich cuisine.
Today’s recipe for rummaniyeh shouldn’t take longer than 20 minutes – surprising, given the dish’s complexity. We eat it with fire-grilled bread, khubez (pitta) or taboon (flatbread). You could eat it at any time, but I especially like it for breakfast.
Rummaniyeh
Bes tenjoyed with taboon: a type of flatbread traditionally baked in a taboon oven. It is soft, slightly chewy and doesn’t tear easily. In the Middle East, it is a staple, sold as street food, stuffed with hummus, falafel or shaved meat.
Serves 4
250g brown lentils
1 tbsp ground cumin
600ml water
1 aubergine, peeled and cubed into small pieces
1 tbsp salt
50ml olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
4–6 large garlic cloves, sliced and crushed
150ml pomegranate molasses
Juice of 2 lemons
1 tbsp plain flour (optional)
1 pomegranate, seeded
Flat-leaf parsley, chopped, to serve
Taboon bread or khubez, to serve
1 Put the lentils, cumin and water in a saucepan, bring to the boil and then continue to boil for 10 minutes. Add the aubergine and salt, then leave to simmer for 25 minutes.
2 Set another pan over a medium heat. Add the olive oil and garlic and cook for a few minutes until they turn golden.
3 When the lentils and aubergine have been cooking for their 25 minutes, add the fried garlic and pomegranate molasses, and stir. Cook for another 5 minutes, then mix in the lemon juice and, if you like, add the optional tbsp of flour to thicken the dish (omit this for a gluten-free version).
4 Place in a serving bowl, drizzle with a little olive oil, scatter the pomegranate seeds over the top and finish with some parsley. Enjoy with hot taboon bread or khubez.
- Joudie Kalla is a food writer and author of Palestine on a Plate (Jacqui Small, 2016) @palestinesplate
