One Hundred and One Mezze: 19. Fried Aubergine


Before I posted my fried cauliflower recipe I was sure if I should post it or not. I didn't think people will be that interested in some fried vegetables recipe. Because I liked that dish so much I decided to go ahead and post it. I will have to say I was pleasantly surprised with the response. Nineteen comments in total, some loved it, some never heard of it, it was taste of home to some and some put links to the way they make their cauliflower.

Some times the simplest things in life give us most joy!

This positive response encouraged me to share with you another favorite of mine, Fried Aubergine. As with its cauliflower counterpart it usually forms part of nice summery Ma'ali (fry up) lunch. Served along a bowl of fattoush, some mutabal and chips. Alternativly it could be served as part of mezze spread.

Here is my recipe:

One large aubergine
One tomato
Garlic 5-6 cloves
Parsley
Salt 1tsp

Slice the aubergine into thin slices, 8 - 10 mm roughly. Deep fry in hot vegetable oil. When nice and light brown remove to kitchen towel to absorb the extra oil.

Slice the tomato and chop the parsley.

In a mortar and pestle, crush the garlic cloves with the salt till you get a white smooth paste.

To eat, spread a tiny amount of the garlic paste on a piece of Arabic bread with a slice of aubergine and some parsley. Wrap and enjoy with the tomato slice.

12 comments:

Unknown said...

O beautiful. It is a hot day here and this is just what I would like for lunch.

مترجم سوري said...

with cummon please,
my mum usually lick it with salt before frying it. maybe coz it discrease the amount of oil while frying?, not quite sure .

nice quato by the way.
good morning:)

Diana said...

Fried cauliflower and fried eggplant are easily two of the most delicious foods ever. Their natural sweetness comes out in the frying. Mmmmm...
The only problem is, especially in the case of the eggplant, that they absorb a ton of oil. I'm going to experiment with baked versions to see if I can come up with something that is close enough in taste and texture.

Thanks for posting this! Love your blog! :)

Unknown said...

Hi Kano, just letting you know there is a blog award for you over on my blog! Cheers.

Kano said...

@Joy
Thank you very much. You have been my most loyal reader. Much appreciated.

@Omnia
And cumin as well! I personally like cumin with cauliflower but not with the aubergine.

@Diana
Welcome to my blog. I am glad you like it.
You are right, aubergine absorbs loads of oil. It depends on the type of the aubergine though. Unfortunately the only most widely available here in London is the large one which is not perfect for frying.
The best way to reduce the amount of oil absorbed is to get the oil really hot. It will work better as the vegetables will be in the oil for shorter period of time.

Anonymous said...

@kano

Sometimes the simple things are the best....
What kind of oil do you usually use for frying?
I didn't know this garlic/salt thing, will definitely try it out soon. Thanks for sharing your great recipies, as usual.

Sarah

tasteofbeirut said...

Love fried aubergine, great idea to serve it with garlic and tomatoes and parsley in a sandwich form! YUM! I would add a dip of yogurt too!

Arlette said...

love fried eggplant, and I like to serve it with yogurt and garlic ...
sahtein...

Kano said...

@tasteofbeirut
And some yogurt for you :) My wife likes it with a drizzle of tahini sauce.

@Arlette
My wife had a random discussion the other day in the shopping centre with a Lebanese lady called Arlette who was there for some cooking demonstration. I thought it must be you but after investigation it turned out to be another Arlette

Anonymous said...

This fried eggplant looks so incredibly crispy and not greasy. The presentations is beautiful. How do you get them to be so crisp. It is how long you leave them in the oil, or the heat of the oil? Thanks for all your hard work!

http://foodjihad.wordpress.com/

Kano said...

@foodjihad

Welcome to my blog. I think the secret apart from the type of the aubergine is the temperature of the oil. You need to get nice and hot so the aubergines fry quickly without absorbing much oil.

Jazzi said...

Looking for recipes for our church to host a Syrian dinner as a fundraiser to help Syrian refugees who will be settling in our area. My grandparents came from Syria and I know how to make fatayer, kibbi, baklawa and yabrak. Thank you for your blog.

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