Recipe Aubergines, Tomatoes and Rice

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Aubergines, Tomatoes & Rice

• SatNavSaysStraightOn
• 23 Mar 2023

This is one of those dishes that very definitely improves with cooling and reheating. I'd suggest serving it with a flatbread and some yoghurt plus some protein.

Aubergines, Tomatoes & Rice

• SatNavSaysStraightOn
• 23 Mar 2023

Ingredients
100g uncooked basmati rice, rinsed
3 aubergines (roughly 1¼kg)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, finely sliced
6 garlic cloves, minced
300g small tomatoes, (cherry or solanto), halved
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground pepper + extra for the aubergines
Generous handful fresh coriander, finely chopped
Small bunch of flat leafed parsley, finely chopped

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400F, gas mask 6). Cut the aubergine into 2cm cubes, toss in a bowl with the olive oil, season with salt and extra ground pepper and place in a baking sheet in the oven for 20 minutes until the edges start to blacken. Then remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
2. Meanwhile, rinse and soak the basmati rice until the water runs clear. Parboil the rice in a minimum of water. You want to be able to have about 5 minutes of cooking time left, so if your rice says it takes 15 minutes to cook, boil it for 10 minutes and drain, setting aside.
3. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and fry the onion slices until golden, add the ground cumin, ground coriander, ground pepper and garlic and gently fry for another 2-3 minutes before adding the tomatoes. Cover the skillet with a lid and cook until the tomatoes soften. Add the rice and just enough water to almost cover the bottom of the skillet and simmer, covered, until the rice is cooked adding more water if needed. Stir in the aubergine, fresh coriander and fresh parsley, mix well, cover with a Iid and allow the dish to cool down.
4. It is best served with a flatbread and a touch of yoghurt after reheating.

Based on a recipe from The Middle Eastern Vegetarian Cookbook by Salma Hage

 

[karadekoolaid]

Interesting recipe - I love anything with aubergines.
Just a question: apart from salting the aubergines, is salt added to the rice or the final dish, or is it a low-salt recipe?

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Interesting recipe - I love anything with aubergines.
Just a question: apart from salting the aubergines, is salt added to the rice or the final dish, or is it a low-salt recipe?

I only added seasoning that included salt with the aubergines. For me and my husband, we didn't need an extra salt in this recipe.

It isn't deliberately low salt, I just genuinely didn't find the need to add any with this dish. Tbh, I was very stingey with even the spices in this one, which is really unlike me! Lol.

I don't use much salt at all. Never really have done because as a child I had to use salt to wash my teeth and thus hate the taste of it!

My tomatoes were almost all home grown, so were pretty sweet and flavourful. Bland supermarkets ones may benefit from a tablespoon or two of tomato concentrate, but their flavour is meant to be from them, rather than through the entire dish, so I like to be able to taste the onions, and the aubergine as well. I also love aubergines and this recipe keeps the oil quantity down without compromising their flavour.

I served it with yoghurt tonight and it was delicious and quite filling (again as always my yoghurt was homemade soy yoghurt, plain and totally unsweetened). And I threw a few sliced apricots on it (out of barberries and died sour cherries, so went with the first thing that came to hand).

 

[JAS_OH1]

I adore basmati rice and all of the ingredients (especially garlic) except the aubergine. I wonder if mushrooms would be a good substitution?