Arabic recipes

Salatat Bathinjan (Eggplant Appetizer)


Eggplant, often called "the poor man's meat" or "the poor man's caviar," is one of the staple foods of the Middle East, valued for it's great versatility.
<DL><DT><DD>1 large eggplant, peeled and thickly sliced ( like we do for bajji)<DD>salt <DD>8 tablespoons olive oil <DD>4 cloves garlic <DD>1 medium hot pepper, finely chopped <DD>3 tablespoons lemon juice </DD></DL>
Sprinkle the eggplant slices with salt. Place in a strainer or colander, top with a weight, and allow to drain for 45 minutes.

Heat the oil in a frying pan, then add the eggplant slices and fry on both sides until they are golden brown. Remove the eggplant slices, dice them, then set aside in a bowl. (shallow fry) you can do it in a tava also.

Mash the garlic cloves with salt. Add to the diced eggplant along with the hot pepper and lemon juice. Chill slightly and serve.

 

Fried Tomatoes with Garlic

<DL><DT></DT></DL>Ingredients
<DL><DD>4 cloves garlic, crushed <DD>Salt and pepper to taste <DD>1/2 small hot pepper, very finely chopped <DD>2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley <DD>2 tablespoons oil <DD>2 large, firm tomatoes, thickly sliced </DD></DL>Thoroughly mix the garlic with the pepper, salt, and hot pepper; then stir in the parsley and set aside. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the tomato slices and cook for about a minute on one side; then turn and sprinkle slices with the garlic, hot pepper, and parsley mixture. Continue to cook for another minute, shaking the pan occasionally; then turn the slices again and cook until they are done, but not mushy. Slide the tomato slices onto a plate, and serve immediately.

Note: Do not try to cook more than two servings at a time or the tomatoes will end up overcooked.

 

Baba Ghannouj

(Eggplant Dip)

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<DL><DT><DD>1 large round eggplant (aubergine) <DD>2 or 3 cloves of garlic <DD>60 milliliters (3 oz., 4 Tbs.) tahina <DD>60 milliliters (2 oz., 4 Tbs.) lemon juice <DD>salt, red pepper <DD>olive oil <DD>chopped parsley <DD>slices of red bell pepper to garnish </DD></DL>

• Cook the eggplant in a hot oven or on a fork over the flame of a gas stove.
• When it is well cooked through and the skin is blackened, douse with cold water, peel and chop into small pieces.
• Mash two or three cloves of garlic to a paste with about the same volume of salt. Add eggplant, mash to a smooth consistency and blend the tahina and lemon juice to make the Arab version of this dish; omit the tahina for the Turkish version.
• Serve in a bowl with little olive oil on top and garnish chopped parsley, red pepper slices and a dusting of red pepper.
• Serves five.