Name: Mnazaleh batinjan (Baked Eggplant and Minced Beef in Tomato Sauce)
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: Syrian
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons of olive oil; Steamed rice; Salt and pepper; 25 g (1 oz) of pine nuts (toasted), plus extra as a garnish; 400 g (14 oz) of minced beef; 1 onion (finely chopped); 150 ml (5 fl oz) of tomato passata (puréed tomatoes); 350 ml (12 fl oz) of boiling water; 1 tablespoon of 7 spices blend; 3 tablespoons of tomato paste (concentrated purée); 2 tomatoes (sliced); 2 green peppers (capsicums) (sliced into rings); 1 large onion (sliced into rings); 2 eggplants (aubergines) (cut into slices approximately 1.5 cm [⅝ inch] thick)

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Sumac

By Anas Atassi

Published 2021

About

Eggplant is traditionally cut into strips for this dish so that you can see the mix of white flesh and purple skin. It reminds me of the ablaq architecture so typical of Syria, of which precious little now remains.