Rummaniyya

A Gazan autumn stew of brown lentils, aubergine, and tahini, soured with fresh pomegranate juice and molasses

Origin: Gaza and the Palestinian coast

From the journey of Pomegranate.

Rummaniyya takes its name straight from the fruit: rummān, the Arabic for pomegranate, of which it is the purest culinary expression. It is a dish of the Gaza coast and the Palestinian autumn, made in the few weeks when the sour pomegranates ripen, and it gathers the season's poor man's larder, brown lentils and aubergine, into a thick, tart, russet stew bound with tahini and soured almost shockingly with fresh sour-pomegranate juice and dibs rumman, the pomegranate molasses. A little flour or crushed lentil thickens it; chilli, garlic, and dill season it; and the finished stew is eaten warm or, more often, cool, scooped with bread as a meze or a light meal. The dish is a window onto the older, sourer Levantine palate, the one that reached for pomegranate, sumac, and verjuice long before the tomato and the lemon became universal. In Gaza, where the chilli-and-dill seasoning of the local kitchen is at its most assertive, rummaniyya is a beloved seasonal speciality, its arrival a sign that autumn has come; the sourness is meant to be bracing, the tahini smoothing and enriching it, and the whole bowl the colour and the taste of the pomegranate that names it.

Ingredients

Stew

  • 200 g brown or green lentils, rinsed
  • 1.2 litres water
  • 1 large aubergine, peeled and cut into 1.5 cm dice
  • 2 tbsp plain flour
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 5 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 hot green or red chilli, finely chopped (or 1 tsp chilli flakes)
  • 2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped (plus more to finish)

Souring and finishing

  • 200 ml fresh sour-pomegranate juice (or unsweetened pomegranate juice)
  • 3 tbsp pomegranate molasses
  • 3 tbsp tahini
  • salt to taste
  • fresh pomegranate seeds and a drizzle of olive oil, to serve

Method

  1. Put the lentils in a large pot with the water. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 20 minutes until almost tender.
  2. Add the diced aubergine and continue to simmer for 15–20 minutes, until both the lentils and the aubergine are completely soft and the aubergine is beginning to dissolve into the stew.
  3. In a small frying pan, toast the flour in 1 tbsp of the olive oil over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it smells nutty and turns light gold. Whisk in a ladleful of the hot stew liquid to make a smooth paste, then stir this back into the pot to thicken it.
  4. In the same pan, warm the remaining 3 tbsp olive oil and gently fry the garlic and chilli for 1–2 minutes until fragrant but not browned. Stir in the dill, then tip the whole lot into the stew.
  5. Stir in the pomegranate juice and pomegranate molasses. Simmer gently for 8–10 minutes to marry the flavours; the stew should be thick, russet, and pleasantly sharp.
  6. Loosen the tahini with a few spoonfuls of the hot stew, then stir it through off the heat. Taste and balance with salt and a little more molasses if needed; it should be assertively sour.
  7. Serve warm or at room temperature, scattered with fresh pomegranate seeds and extra dill and drizzled with olive oil, with flatbread alongside.

Notes

Rummaniyya is traditionally eaten cool, and many cooks prefer it the next day, when the sourness has mellowed and the flavours deepened. The Gazan version is notably hot with chilli and green with dill; tone down the chilli for a milder stew. If you can find truly sour pomegranates, press them for the juice; otherwise reinforce bottled unsweetened pomegranate juice with extra pomegranate molasses to reach the proper sharpness.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

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Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control
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