EGGPLANT WITH RICE AND YOGURT DRESSING
This simple and delicious recipe will possibly become the ultimate home cooked Arabic meal. It is light, full of flavor and very easy to make. I made this up one day using leftovers I had and fell in love. I didn't know what to call it, so it became 'ma'aloubeh kezabeh', referring to the greatest Arabic dish of all time.
INGREDIENTS
2 large eggplants (peeled and cut into cubes or lengthwise)
2 cups of cooked rice
1/2 kg yogurt
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt, to taste
Fresh coriander, roughly chopped
1 tomato, chopped
PREPARATION
1. Season the eggplants with salt and leave them for about 20 to 30 minutes to release their own juices.
2. Once enough time has passed, pat the eggplants dry with a paper towel, squeezing gently to release any extra juice.
3. In a large saucepan, deep-fry the eggplants until browned and soft, and then remove with a slotted spatula and set aside in a dish lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil.
4. In a bowl, combine the yogurt, lemon, minced garlic and stir until smooth and all the ingredients are well-incorporated. Add salt to taste.
5. To assemble, mix the rice with the eggplants. I like to use a fork, to slightly mash up the eggplants into the rice while mixing, incorporating it more thoroughly and allowing the flavor of the eggplants to run through the rice.
6. Then drizzle with the yogurt dressing and top with chopped coriander and tomatoes.
Notes:
The original ma’aloubeh, which literally translates to upside down, has a slightly longer cooking process in which you cook all the ingredients together in one pot.
The reason I called this “ma’aloubeh kezabeh (i.e. a fraud or a liar)” is because it’s sort of a ma’aloubeh in that it has the same ingredients, but it is nothing like a ma’aloubeh. Perhaps you could call it "fatteh" or find a completely new name that I hadn't thought of.
You can choose to add toasted pine nuts or minced meat as well.
The quantities of the ingredients will change according to the size of your dish, so feel free to use more or less eggplants, rice or yogurt.
For a healthier option, you could bake the eggplants rather than deep frying them.
