Fattet Batenjen "Eggplant casserole"

Fatteh is a traditional middle eastern dish and very famous in Tripoli Lebanon as breakfast or brunch.

Fattet batenjein means eggplant crumbles or crushed after the toasted pita bread including a variety of ingredients.

As I mentioned in my previous post fatteh differs from place to place. It could be vegetarian or including meat but this dish always includes the amazing taste of yogurt, the crunchy toasted bread and the roasted pine nuts. It can be modified according to what you prefer, some recipes include tahini in it you can add it to the yogurt mixture after mixing it with salt, lemon juice and water. Today I am presenting it with eggplants which is one of my favourite vegetables. It gives this dish a distinctive and amazing taste.

Prep. time: 35 mins

Serves: 3

INGREDIENTS:

2 medium eggplants

2 cups cooked chickpeas

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp allspice

1/4 heaped tsp cumin

4 small pita bread toasted

3 tbsp pine nuts

1/4 cup of pomegranate seeds

The sauce:

3 cups yogurt

2 small cloves of garlic crushed

3 tbsp tahini if desired, 1 to 2 tbsp lemon juice and 2 tbsp of water mixed

PREPARATION:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Peel the eggplants leaving 4 lines of skin separated from each other then cut into 3 cm cube pieces. This method of leaving part of the skin helps to keep the eggplant pieces steady. Grease an oven pan and bake for 20 mins or until dark golden. you can grill it in a pan over medium to low heat and you get the same results. Wash the chickpeas first if canned then simmer over low heat adding a bit of water, and the spices for few mins. In a bowl mix the yogurt, the crushed garlic, one tsp salt, 1/2 cup of water and the tahine blend then mix all the ingredients together using a whisk and the sauce is ready now. I enjoy the taste of the yogurt and tahini mixture in this recipe because I am a fan of all distinctive tahini sauces. To serve fattet batenjein, scatter the chickpeas first on a serving platter then put the aubergine pieces on top. Break the toasted bread to pieces then distribute them on top, finally pour the yogurt mixture all over all the ingredients. Stir fry the pine nuts with butter over low heat until golden colour then scatter them on top. Then give your dish a beautiful presentation with the pomegranate seeds.

Imagine all these amazing and nutritious ingredients in one taste. Give it a try and you won’t regret, easy, simple and delicious.