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.
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.