Moussaka

Moussaka is a word of Arabic origin. It means “chilled” as the dish is served at room temperature.

The common theme between all the different versions of Moussaka around the world is the two main ingredients: aubergine and tomatoes. In Damascus Moussaka is served as a side dish or as part of mezze and strictly vegetarian. In some other parts of Syria ground meat is added and the dish is served as a main. In Lebanon chickpeas are a common extra. The Turkish and Egyptian versions call for ground meat and the Greek one is with the traditional layers and white sauce topping.

Ingredients:

1- One large aubergine

2- Two tomatoes

3- One onion

4- One red pepper

5- Garlic 3-4 cloves

6- Coriander leaves chopped 1 tbsp (optional)

7- Vegetable oil

8- Olive oil 3 tbsp

Salt

Directions:

1- Heat the vegetable oil to fry the aubergine.

2- Peel the aubergine in stripes and cut into 1.5 cm thick slices. Fry until fully cooked and golden brown in color.

3- Slice the onions and the peppers, roughly chop the tomatoes and try to slice the garlic as thin as you can. In a pan, heat the olive oil and fry the onion on medium heat till soft. Add the garlic, tomato and red peppers and cook for 10 minutes or till fully cooked. Add the chopped coriander leaves and season with salt.

4- Add the fried aubergine and mix gently so you don’t break the aubergine slices. Cook for another 5 minutes.

Let cool down and serve with flat Arabic bread.

Lara Khouli