Here's a great Middle Eastern recipe I grew up eating. It's a delicious eggplant and beef stew that is served on a bed of turmeric rice.
Growing up we always ate dinner at my Lebanese Grandmother's house on Wednesday. One of my favorite dishes was this simple eggplant stew with beef.
Be the first to receive new posts and get access to our Subscribers Only Page.
It's very similar to Lubee but it uses eggplant instead of green beans.
How to Make a Middle Eastern Style Eggplant and Beef Stew
The eggplant should be peeled to remove the bitter skin. I have never made this with Asian eggplant that is smaller with thinner skin, but I bet it would be good.
First, you brown the beef. My mother always used round steak so that's what I use. However, stewing meat or lamb is fine too. In true middle eastern fashion, a little cinnamon is sprinkled on the beef.
She also used an old fashioned pressure cooker for meals like this. However, I use a heavy dutch oven and cook it on the stove. This would be a good recipe to try in an instant pot. Maybe one day I'll get one.
The eggplant is then cooked with the beef and some tomato paste that has been thinned with water. You could use a can of tomato sauce but again this is how I was taught so I always buy the small can of paste and thin it with water.
Simmer until the eggplant is soft and the beef is tender. If you decide to try it with stewing meat this will probably take longer.
This dish is always served with turmeric rice. Traditionally it would have been saffron rice but since saffron is so expensive somewhere along the way they used turmeric instead of saffron.
The rice is a long-grain rice that doesn't stick together like the rice you might find at a Chinese restaurant. Just as the water begins to boil toss in a dash or two of turmeric and stir for a lovely golden rice. The perfect bed for your eggplant and beef stew.
Other Delicious Middle Eastern Dishes
Lubee - Green Beans and Beef Stew
Top Rice - Cauliflower and Beef Rice Dish
Stuff Kusa - Zucchini Stuffed with Beef
Eggplant and Beef Stew with Turmeric Rice
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound round steak - cut into 1/2 -1 inch cubes
- 2 large eggplants - peeled and diced
- 4 cloves of garlic - crushed
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 6- ounce can of tomato paste
Turmeric Rice
- 1 1/2 cups Uncle Ben's long grain converted rice.
- 1 teaspoon butter
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 3 cups of water
Instructions
- Spoon the tomato paste into a medium bowl and add water to make it into a sauce. Approx. 1-2 cups of water.
- Saute the beef until browned in the olive oil on med-high heat. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and cinnamon.
- Add garlic stir quickly to avoid burning for 30 seconds.
- Add eggplant and tomato paste water. Mix well.
- Add more water to just cover the eggplant if necessary.
- Bring to a boil then reduce to low heat and simmer for approximately 1 hour checking at 30 minutes to stir.
- Serve with turmeric rice.
Turmeric Rice- Heat butter in a saucepan.
- Add rice and stir well.
- Add water and turmeric. Stir well
- Bring to a boil then cover and reduce to low for 20 minutes.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although attempts have been made to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
CAROL j KHATIB
i like this
Patti Estep
Glad to hear it Carol. Thanks for letting me know.