Stuffed Eggplant (Dolma) A lunch staple in Egypt, stuffed eggplant can be found on any dining table in the country. It is easy to make and is a very delicious addition to your day. Ingredients: 1 kg small eggplants (black) –betengan a'swad 400 g ground meat –lahma mafrooma 2 onion, finely chopped –basal 4 cloves garlic, chopped –tom 1/2 green peppers, finely chopped –felfel a'ghdar 3 tablespoons tomato paste –salset tamatem Vegetable oil –zeit nabaty Salt and pepper –malah we felfel directions: *Preparing the meat stuffing: 1- In a medium pan, heat 2 tbsp oil. Stir in onions and fry until yellow. Add minced meat, salt, pepper, all the spices, and stir. 2-Cover the pan, reduce the heat and leave for 15 minutes until meat is cooked. *Preparing the eggplant: 1- Wash the eggplant and cut off the tops, then scrape out the insides (keep the insides for later). To make scraping out the insides easier, place the eggplant on a flat surface and roll it with your hand back and forth while applying a little pressure. When the eggplant is soft, remove the inside by holding firmly it in your hand and pressing the tip of a sharp knife into the center until you reach the other end without puncturing it. Then, with the knife inside, revolve the eggplant around it. *Stuffing eggplant and cooking the dish: 1-Stuff the eggplants with the minced meat mixture. In a baking dish, arrange the eggplants vertically, making sure the tops are facing upwards. 2-To prepare the sauce, sauté the onion, garlic and green pepper in the vegetable oil until soft. Then add in the tomato paste and the insides of the eggplants, along with half a cup of water and stir for a while. 3-Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce heat, and let simmer for 15 minutes. Pour the tomato sauce over the eggplants in the baking dish. 4-Heat oven to 190-200 C. Put baking dish in oven and leave for 20-30 minutes until the eggplants are done. Add more water if needed. 5-Serve with rice or with other stuffed vegetables.
