Minced Meat in Broiled Eggplant with Spiced Rice

Fed 4 people

Ingredients

• 2 eggplants
• 1 tsp vegetable or peanut oil
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 red chili, finely chopped
• 14 oz ground meat (I used lamb)
• 1 tsp mahyawa (Arabic fish sauce) can also just use regular fish sauce
• salt and pepper
• (optional) 3 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tsp roasted pine nuts

Rice

• 2 cups basmati or jasmine rice
• 1/3 cup broken-up vermicelli noodles
• 1/3 cup garbanzo beans
• 1/2 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• salt and pepper
• (Optional) 1 tablespoon roasted pine nuts

Cooking

Eggplant and Meat

1. either place the eggplants over an open flame, on the barbecue, or under the broiler in your oven until the skin starts to char crisp. do this to both egg plants. once both eggplants have been charred, wrap them in a dish towel for a few minutes, then set aside.
2. over a plat, peel and remove the skin from the eggplant. discard the skin. hold peeled eggplant over a large bowl by their stems and squeeze and pull down so all the meat falls on and into the bowl. add salt and pepper and whisk together with a fork.
3. heat oil in a large heavy pan and add the shallot, chili, garlic and fry until golden brown. add in the minced meat and fry for 5 minutes. stir in the fish sauce and the eggplant and cook on a low heat for 15 - 20 minutes.

Rice

1. while the eggplant and meat are cooking (step 3) in a pot, add the butter and allow to start bubbling. once butter is bulling, add in the vermicelli and stir together until noodles have slightly browned.
2. add in the garbanzo beans and rice and stir and mix well. add in the spices and (if you chose to use them) pines nuts.
3. pour in the water and stir a bit more. turn heat up to boil and let boil for 30 seconds to a minute. reduce heat to a simmer and cover and allow to simmer for 5 - 10 minutes. once the water has completely evaporated and rice is soft, remove from heat and let sit covered off the heat to help continue a controlled cooking until ready to serve.

• to serve, place the meat/eggplant mixture in a large bowl or on a large plate. (optional) pour over the olive oil and sprinkle the pine nuts over the center. let people serve their own portion from the bowl/plate along side the rice. I also like to serve this with tzatziki or harissa yogurt and hummus with tabouleh or fattoush.

bon appetit