Gaza Mom

As many of you know, I am a foodie of sorts-some (*ahem* Yassine) would call me a slow-food activist. I am particularly interested in the connections between food, culture, and politics and have written a lot about the foods of Gaza in specific and Palestine in general. Here is a short video I made using my flip of my mom (who is still visiting us in the US) demonstrating how to cook Rummaniya, an unusual Gazan vegetarian dish made from the unlikely combination of sour pomegranates, eggplants and lentils. In the process, she gets a little homesick and emotional. FYI: the poem she recites in the end is attributed to a Imam Shafi’i, a Muslim jurist whose teaching eventually led to the Shafi’i school of fiqh named after him. It is said he was born and raised in Gaza and missed it so much after leaving that he wrote this poem.

Rummaniya is a seasonal dish, made just before pomegranates are fully ripe in the fall. It is traditionally considered a “poor man’s food” because it is meatless and consists of cheap legumes and vegetables. You would be hard-pressed to find it in any restaurant (but hey-maybe one day at cafe Laila’s! .

The finished product

Here is the recipe for those interested:

Rummaniya

1 cup brown lentils
3 small eggplants (if they are big, one really big one, or two medium ones, or 1/2 kg)
3 sour pomegranates if you really can’t find them anywhere, you can use a few Tablespoons of pomegranate molasses, found at most Middle Eastern grocers.
1/2 cup flour
1 small onion, diced
2 T. Tahini
3 cloves garlic
2 whole dried red chili (or dried chili flakes)
1 teaspoon caraway seed
¼ tsp ground cumin
1 T. dried dill seed
1-2 tsps salt

1. Boil lentils in water until cooked.
2. Remove pomegranate seeds, put them in a blender; puree and strain, reserving juice. Set aside.
3. Cut unpeeled eggplant into cubes.
4. In a mortar and pestle (we call them zibdiya in Gaza, basically an unglazed clay/earthen bowl; if you can’t find them, use a mini-food processor), crush salt, dill seed, garlic, and chili. Set aside.
5. Saute chopped onion in some olive oil until golden brown; add eggplant until wilted and soft; add lentils; boil for a few minutes until well-mixed.
6. Mix pomegranate juice (or pomegranate molasses diluted in a few T. water) with flour until well-mixed, then slowly add to stew on stove-top while mixing.
7. Add crushed spices to stew and mix well until thickened.
8. When thickened, add Tahini, mix through for 5 minutes, and turn off heat. Pour into bowls and allow to cool before putting in fridge.

Top with extra-virgin olive oil, and garnish with pomegranate seeds if available. Serve with Kmaj/Arabic bread.

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