Eggplant and chickpea stew (Mnazaleh) is healthy and hearty. A perfect meal for vegans, this stew can be enjoyed alone or served with bread or with protein. The best part of this eggplant and chickpea stew (Mnazaleh) recipe is just 4 ingredients are required to make it. The eggplant is traditionally fried, which soaks up a lot of oil. You can, however, roast the eggplant instead — keep in mind that roasting the eggplant will lengthen the cooking time. If you are having a meat-free week, then you will also love the delicious eggplant and chickpea rice pilaf.
Step 1.
Peel and dice the eggplants into chunky pieces. Season with salt.
You can do this in two ways:
– Deep Fry – Heat vegetable oil on medium heat. Working in batches, deep-fry the eggplants for 3-5 minutes until golden in colour. Remove them onto a paper towel-lined plate.
Or
– Coat the eggplants with ½ cup olive oil. Bake in a preheated oven (190°) for 35-40 minutes or until golden.
Step 2.
Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat and sauté the onion till soft (approximately 10 minutes). Add the can of tomatoes and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered, stirring every now and then for 5-7 minutes or until the sauce thickens slightly. Add the freshly ground pepper and season with salt.
Step 3.
Rinse the chickpeas from the canning liquid. Add the strained chickpeas and cook for a further 5-10 minutes. Add the eggplants to the sauce and gently mix through. Remove from heat.
Serve warm or at room temperature. Garnish with sesame seeds or finely chopped chives.
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