Stuffed Eggplant Mahshi Batenjan (Syrian-Style Stuffed Eggplants)

La storia di questo piatto

In the Levant, mahshi simply means 'stuffed', and this is the dish that many cooks call the mother of them all: small eggplants holding raw rice, spiced lamb or beef and a tart tomato broth. One recipe source ties it to Aleppo, yet the same source admits that versions live on across the Middle East, and no reliable date marks this one's birth.

Ingredienti

• 8 piece Small, long and slender eggplants
• 200 g Long-grain rice
• 300 g Ground lamb or beef
• 1 piece Onion
• 800 g Peeled tomatoes
• 2 tablespoon Tomato paste
• 6 clove Garlic
• 1 teaspoon Ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon Ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon Ground allspice
• 1 tablespoon Dried mint
• 2 tablespoon Lemon juice
• 4 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoon Fine salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Ground black pepper
• 1/2 bunch Fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 800 ml Warm water
• 1 l Cold water for soaking
• 1 teaspoon Salt for the soaking water

Preparazione

1. Start with the eggplants: wash them, remove the stem and, using an apple corer or a thin knife, gently scoop out the interior by turning, leaving a wall about 1 cm thick. Take care not to puncture the skin, as it is the vessel that holds everything together. As you empty them, immediately place them in a bowl with 1 litre of cold water and 1 teaspoon of salt: exposed flesh browns quickly, and the water protects it. Leave them soaking while you prepare the filling.
2. Finely chop the onion and 2 garlic cloves. In a large bowl, rinse the rice under cold water until the water runs almost clear, drain well and add it to the meat, onion and garlic. Add the cumin, coriander, cinnamon, allspice, 1 teaspoon of salt and the pepper, and knead with your hands into a smooth, fragrant mixture. The rice stays raw: it will cook in the sauce, and the filling should be soft, not compacted.
3. Drain the eggplants and pat them dry inside and out with a cloth. Fill them with the stuffing to about three-quarters of their height, without pressing, leaving space at the top: the rice swells and, if packed too tightly, will split the skin. No browning or frying is needed: the skin cooks gently in the sauce and stays whole and glossy.
4. Crush the remaining 4 garlic cloves. In a wide, shallow pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat, add the garlic and sauté for 20-30 seconds without letting it darken. Stir in the tomato paste and toast it for 1 minute over medium-low heat, stirring, until it deepens slightly and smells sweet and tangy. Pour in the hand-crushed peeled tomatoes, 800 ml of warm water and 1 teaspoon of salt, and bring to the boil. Arrange the stuffed eggplants upright, snugly next to each other, with the opening facing up: the liquid should reach about three-quarters of their height; if needed, add a splash of warm water. From now on, do not stir the sauce again, or they will break apart.
5. Lower the heat to the minimum, cover and simmer very gently for 50 minutes. The sauce should barely tremble, with a few lazy bubbles on the surface; if it boils vigorously, lower the heat further. Halfway through cooking, check the liquid level and, if it has dropped too much, add a little warm water around the edges. They are ready when a wooden skewer slides into an eggplant without resistance and the rice, tested from one at the top, is tender and soft.
6. Crumble the dried mint between your fingers directly into the sauce and simmer uncovered for another 10 minutes over medium-low heat. The sauce will reduce until it coats the spoon, glossy and thick rather than watery. To move the eggplants, gently shake the pot instead of stirring.
7. Turn off the heat and drizzle the lemon juice slowly into the sauce: its acidity gives this dish its characteristic tang and brightens the tomato and spices. For a more traditional note, you may replace half the lemon with 1 tablespoon of pomegranate molasses. Taste the sauce and adjust the salt and acidity until it sings, neither flat nor overly sour. Serve the eggplants warm, coated with the sauce and topped with chopped parsley.