Middle Eastern Eggplant with Coconut Rice

I’ve been making this dish for years but found myself excited to revisit it after my trip to Dubai/Doha.

All these flavors (especially the yogurt sauce, which reminded me of labneh) made me excited to get home and hit the kitchen.

I honestly don’t measure when I make the sauce, so I recommend starting with the suggested measurements below and then adjusting to your taste. This dish is always a huge crowd pleaser!

Ingredients

Make it happen

Rinse your rice and set aside.

Bring your coconut water/milk mixture to a boil and add your rice, oil, coriander and salt.

Stir well, reduce heat to low and cover.

Cook for about 20 minutes or until rice is moist and fluffy!

In a large sauce pan, saute garlic in olive oil for 1 minute then add your tomatoes. Stir in curry, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, cardamon and smoked salt. Keep on medium-low heat for about 20-30 minutes stirring often.

Brush both sides of sliced eggplant pieces with olive oil and salt and pepper one side. Place on a hot grill pan (or outdoor grill) for about 2-3 minutes per side or until nice grill lines are happening. Add all eggplant to your sauce and stir in well.

Let the pieces break up and simmer in the sauce for another 5-10 minutes.

Using a mortar pestle, mush your garlic cloves into a fine pulp. Add yogurt, salt and mint leaves and stir well.

To plate

Place your rice in the center of the plate and rim the rice with the yogurt sauce. Place your eggplant/tomato mixture on top of the rice and garnish with friend onions.

This way you get a nice scoop of yogurt in every bite!