Mujaddara Family Chef: A taste of home (from Palestine)

by Samar, Gaza City, Palestine

Difficulty: medium Ingredients: Mint leaves Preparation time: 10 minutes 1 cup of brown lentils 1 teaspoon of salt Cooking time: 40 minutes 1 cup of bulgur 1 teaspoon of black pepper 2 whole onions 1 teaspoon of cumin

2 tomatoes 3 to 4 teaspoons of Vegetable oil

Add the lentils to a pot and boil in While the lentils and the bulgur Chop the tomatoes and wash the 1 litre of water on a medium heat are simmering, start chopping the mint; this will be served on top for 20 minutes. After 15 minutes, onion and add it to the pot. The of the Mujaddara add the bulgur (which is healthy original recipe calls for frying the and rich in fibre), salt, cumin and onions, but it is better to add the black pepper. Let all simmer for onions while the lentils and bulgur 20 minutes. are boiling to keep its nutritional value.

After about 40 minutes, taste to Serve the dish on large plates Enjoy the delicious and healthy check whether the mujaddara is with tomatoes and mint leaves on meal! fully cooked. If not, add some top – do not add yoghurt to the water and let it simmer on a low dish, as it prevents the absorption heat until it is cooked and ready of iron. to be served.

wfp.org/familychef Meet the Chef Falafel

Welcome to The World Food The conflict has worsened an already difficult Programme’s (WFP) Family Chef situation in Gaza; Samar’s family had been series. Explore the culinary treasures trying to make ends meet long before the and cooking abilities of refugees who latest round of violence. Her husband has benefit from WFP’s cash-based transfers, been unemployed for years – not unusual in an initiative that allows individuals to Gaza, where 43 percent of people have no buy the food they need to cook their jobs, the highest unemployment rate in the traditional dishes. world.

Samar, 27, lives with her husband and four “For years, I didn’t have any reason or will children in their small, basic flat in Gaza’s al- to leave the house other than for chores or Tufah neighbourhood. The area came under family errands. The first time I left the house heavy attack during the 2014 conflict, which to do something for myself was when I went left many people in Gaza in need of food and to attend WFP’s nutrition awareness sessions other humanitarian assistance. for people who receive the food vouchers,” she says. WFP’s Colin Kampschoer accompanies her to a voucher shop close to her house, where Samar says the six months of sessions taught she uses her electronic voucher card to buy her a lot about healthy diets, cooking, buying ingredients for the dish she is about to healthy ingredients using the vouchers and prepare. even caring for infants. “I was pregnant with my fourth child when I was attending the Samar’s family, like many others, had to flee classes, and I was back in class only a week their house and stay in a UN-run school and after I gave birth; the baby was everyone’s then with relatives. Even after the ceasefire, favourite.” they could not return to their home because the sewage system in their area had been She also learnt cooking tips that make destroyed. The 51 days of violence and traditional dishes a healthier choice by making countless sleepless nights took their toll on the simple changes. family.

wfp.org/familychef