Eggplant fatteh – Fattet betinjanfeatured

Here’s my version of eggplant fatteh- eggplant with ground beef or lamb, cooked in a tangy tomato and pomegranate sauce, served on a bed of crispy pita and topped with garlic tahini yogurt. 

What is fatteh?

Fatteh, meaning “crumbs” in Arabic, refers to a class of dishes that contain crispy bread pieces, with other ingredients layered on top, and usually topped with a sauce.

The Egyptian fatteh dishes I grew up with also contain rice. Levantine versions usually do not.

Popular Levantine fatteh dishes include chick pea fatteh “fattet hummus”, chicken fatteh “fattet djaj”, and eggplant fatteh- fattet betinjan.

There are so many ways to make fattet betingan. There are vegetarian versions, some of which add chickpeas for texture and protein.

Others contain meat but the meat layer is kept as a separate layer from the eggplant. Others do not use tomato sauce. The variations are endless.

My version here, contains meat, and the eggplant and meat are tossed together in a tangy tomato-pomegranate sauce, before being layered between crispy pita pieces and a creamy, nutty yogurt-tahini sauce.

I’m a huge fan of eggplant and pomegranate together. For another recipe highlighting this duo, check out my smoky, tangy baba ghanouj recipe!

Making eggplant fatteh

One thing I really love about preparing this is that the components can all be made ahead of time and thrown together at dinner time. So, its great for busy weeknights or when entertaining.

A note on ingredients: if you find it hard to obtain some of the Middle Eastern staples in this recipe locally, many are available online. I use Cortas brand pomegranate molasses, Al-Kanater tahina, and Sahadi Aleppo pepper, all available on Amazon (affiliate links).

Once you’ve got those key ingredients, you’re ready to go…

First, cut your eggplant into large cubes and roast on a sheet pan. You could fry them if you’d like.

Then, saute ground meat with onions and spices in a tomato sauce. Near the end of this step, add pomegranate molasses to give it a tart and tangy flavour.

After tasting to ensure the pomegranate is assertive enough, toss in your roasted or fried eggplant and simmer a few more minutes to ensure that the flavours meld.

Then, mix up your yogurt sauce. and begin composing the layers.

Assembling your fatteh

First, in a casserole dish or on a platter, lay down a bed of fried or baked pita chips (or store bought, like I did!).

Then, layer on your eggplant and meat, and top with copious amounts of the yogurt sauce.

Garnish with nuts fried in oil (pine nuts or sliced almonds work great), fresh chopped parsley, and pomegranate arils if available.

Bel hana wel shefa! Enjoy!

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Eggplant Fatteh (Fattet betingan/betinjan)

Eggplant cooked with meat in a tomato and pomegranate sauce, served over crispy pita and topped with garlic tahina yogurt and fried nuts.

Course: Dinner, lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: Middle Eastern

Keyword: eggplant, fatta, fatteh, meat sauce, pita

Servings: 4 as a main course.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs eggplant
• olive oil
• 1 lb ground lamb or beef
• allspice
• cinnamon
• cardamom
• Aleppo pepper
• 1 onion, small chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 3 tbsp pomegranate molasses
• 2 cups yogurt regular, whole milk
• 2 tbsp tahina
• 1 clove garlic large
• thin pita or good quality pita chips

Instructions

For the eggplant

• Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees F.
  
• Chop eggplant into chunks.
  
  
  
• Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and spread out on a parchment-lined sheet pan.
  
• Bake until cooked through and golden, approximately 35 minutes.

For the meat

• Heat a couple tablespoons olive oil in pan.
  
  
• Add ground beef and sear on high heat, breaking up chunks.
• Add your spices and salt and pepper to taste (approximately 1t sp allspice, 1/2 tsp each cinnamon and Aleppo pepper, and a small pinch of cardamom).
• Once meat is browning, toss in onion and let it soften a few minutes. 
• Add tomato paste, mix and let it cook another few minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups water, bring to boil, cover and turn down to simmer for at least twenty minutes.
• Add pomegranate molasses and taste, it should be slightly tart, add more if needed.
• Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Once you’re happy with the seasoning, toss in your eggplant chunks and summer 5 more minutes.

Yogurt sauce

• Mix yogurt, tahini, finely minced clove garlic and a pinch of salt.
  
  

Pita chips

• Cut or tear pita into bite-size pieces, toss with olive oil and bake at 350F until golden, or substitute store-bought pita chips.

Assembly

• In a casserole dish or on a platter, lay out pita chips. Add your layer of eggplant and meat, then yogurt. Garnish with fried nuts, parsley and pomegranate arils if available.

Notes

Components can made ahead of time and assembled before serving. Simply reheat the eggplant and meat mixture before assembly.