Palestinian · side

Rumaniyya (Lentils, Aubergine and Pomegranate)

Rumaniyya (Lentils, Aubergine and Pomegranate) reads fruity 7.0, sweetness 6.3 and salinity 4.8 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Palestinian side, about 1 hr 51 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

The measured notes (of 18)

Fruity 7.0 · Sweetness 6.3 · Salinity 4.8 · Richness 4.3 · Sourness 4.2 · Allium 3.8 · Floral 3.6 · Umami 3.5 · Earthy 3.1 · Heat 2.5 · Herbaceous 1.7 · Nutty 1.6 · Warm Spice 1.4 · Bitterness 1.3 · Citrus 0.8

What's in it (13)

Time & effort: about 1 hr 51 min (1 hr 1 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 63.5 kcal, 3.1 g protein, 0.8 g fat, 11.2 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (8 steps)

  1. Rumaniyya is made at the end of the pomegranate season with the sour fruit nobody wants to eat, and it tastes of nothing else in the Levantine repertoire. Sour pomegranate juice is the point; if your pomegranates are sweet, lean harder on the molasses and add a squeeze of lemon.
  2. Salt the aubergine cubes with the first teaspoon of salt and leave 20 minutes, then pat dry.
  3. Simmer the lentils in the water for 20 minutes, until they are half-cooked and still firm at the centre. Add the aubergine and cook 15 minutes more, until both are tender and the aubergine has begun to melt into the liquid.
  4. Pound the garlic with the chillies and crushed dill seed to a rough paste in a mortar. In Gaza this is done in the zibdiyya, the clay mortar that also serves the dish.
  5. Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a small pan over medium heat and fry the garlic paste for 2 minutes, until it smells sweet and the chilli has softened, then stir in the flour and cook 90 seconds to a paste.
  6. Whisk the pomegranate juice into the garlic paste off the heat so it stays smooth, then pour the whole lot into the lentils with the pomegranate molasses and the remaining salt.
  7. Simmer 15 minutes, stirring now and then, until it thickens to a soft, coarse purée the colour of wet clay and tastes fiercely sour behind the heat.
  8. Cool to room temperature — 30 minutes — then pour over the remaining olive oil and scatter the pomegranate seeds. It is eaten cool, with bread, and never hot.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.