Lis'an El Qa'thi - Judges' Tongue (Iraqi Stuffed Eggplant)
photo by Sephardi Kitchen
- Ready In:
- 1hr 30mins
- Ingredients:
- 14
- Yields:
-
20 rolls
- Serves:
- 6-8
ingredients
- 2 eggplants (large, the longer the better)
- 2 lbs ground meat (i prefer 1lb beef, 1lb lamb)
- 2 onions (1 medium finely minced, 1 larger diced)
- 2 -3 garlic cloves (finely minced)
- 1 egg
- 2 tomatoes (large, firm)
- 6 ounces tomato paste (can)
- 14 ounces beef (can) or 14 ounces chicken stock (can)
- 1⁄2 cup lemon juice
- salt
- pepper
- turmeric (or curry powder)
- spices (any others you desire, I like CUMIN, CORIANDER, etc.)
- oil (canola, vegetable, or olive)
directions
- peel the eggplant, trim off the top and bottom.
- stand eggplant up, and cut LENGTHWISE into 1/8'' thin strips.
- sprinkle with salt, pepper, and cumin.
- heat a very thin layer of oil on a skillet and fry the eggplant slices in batches, turning once to brown on both sides - do NOT overcook (they will cook to perfection at a later stage) - remember to add a fresh (thin) layer of oil for every batch of eggplant fried - let the eggplant slices try on paper towel.
- in a bowl: mix together the ground meats, the medium onion and garlic (both finely minced), spices to taste (don't overkill), and beaten egg.
- form the ground meat mixture into cylinders (sausage like rods) 1'' thick and 2'' long.
- place a portion of the meat stuffing at one enf othe eggplant slice, and WRAP the eggplant around it - place the rolls in a baking dish.
- Slice up one tomato, and layer on top of eggplant/meat rolls.
- In a saucepan, heat 2 tbsp of oil and saute 1 large diced onion. When soft, add in 1 tomatoe (chopped), salt, pepper, tumeric/curry powder, and any other spices. Stir around until fragrant.
- Add tomato paste, beef/chicken stock, and lemon juice - this is your sauce - bring to boil, then cover and let simmer/thicken for 15 minutes.
- Once the sauce is thickened to your liking, pour it INTO the baking dish (it should cover all the rolls and reach near the top of the dish - this is good (more gravy/sauce for the rice, and ensures a nice even cooking of the meat).
- cover with lid (or aluminum foil), and BAKE at 450 degrees for 1 hour (or until done; one hour is certainly enough).
- take out and ENJOY an exotic taste that I am sure you will love; be proud of yourself, you made an authentic and wonderful Iraqi dish.
Questions & Replies
Got a question?
Share it with the community!
Reviews
-
This was delicious! After creating the eggplant rolls, I decided to cut each one in half, so that they could stand upright and be of a more manageable size. After baking them at 350F for about 45 minutes (I wasn't sure if I trusted the 1 hour at 450F), they came out beautifully, and stayed rolled up on their own. I put parsley, mint, salt/pepper, cinnamon, allspice and a bit of pepper flakes/sugar in with the meat. The tomato sauce had lime juice, cumin, turmeric, bit of sugar, and garlic. The result was very tender, and goes GREAT in pita!
-
I thought this meal was fantastic! DH wasn't as enthused. The sauce was a little caramelized from cooking at such a high temp and he didn't care for that flavor. I thought it gave the sauce a lot of depth.I seasoned the meat with a little cumin, coriander, turmeric and cayenne. Thanks for posting this delicious recipe.
-
You must all be great cooks, because I have huge problems when it comes to spices, if I don't know roughly if I am dealing with a sprinkle, half a teaspoon, teaspoon or tablespoon of something. I definitely would need an example given of 'spices' and change from there, like 'I used 1 teaspoon of ground coriander and cumin and salt'. PLEASE! The seasoning is the most important. I added and tasted, added and tasted and it still did not come out well, at a point I think I have added too much. Please supply us not only with e.g. names of spices, but amount to go from there. TA!
see 1 more reviews
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Iraqi-Israeli Polish Jew. Kosher cooking.