Spicy PuréEd Eggplant/Aubergine

The versatility of the eggplant was fully exploited by the medieval cooks of Baghdad, that is, once they learnt how to get rid of its bitterness, which caused many people to be suspicious of it at first and avoid it. It was used in stews, stuffed, fried, pickled, and made into vegetarian bawarid ‘cold side dishes,’ which brings us to the name of the dish musaqqa’a. Msaqqa’a in Iraq is used to designate two dishes:

• A cold appetizer, like the