Moroccan Eggplant With Garbanzo Beans

Submitted by wirkwoman1

"This vegetarian dish is full of flavor, substantial, and makes a complete nutritious meal high in protein. The blended spices of garam masala make this dish rich tasting without being high in fat, and can be easily found in the spice section of your favorite market. From The World's Healthiest Foods website."

 

• Ready In: 35mins
• Ingredients: 15
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable broth
• 1 large onion, sliced thin
• 5 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1 medium red bell pepper, cut in 1-inch squares
• 1 medium eggplant, cubed
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes
• 2 teaspoons turmeric
• 1⁄2 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can lentils, drained
• 1⁄2 cup tomato sauce
• 1 1⁄4 cups vegetable broth
• 1⁄2 cup raisins
• salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped

directions

1. Heat 1 TBS broth in a 10-12 inch skillet. Sauté onion in broth over medium heat for 5 minutes stirring frequently.
2. Add garlic, red bell pepper, eggplant, garam masala, and turmeric.
3. Stir to mix well for a minute, and add broth and tomato sauce.
4. Stir again to mix.
5. Cover, and cook over medium low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until peppers and eggplant are tender.
6. Add garbanzo beans, lentils, red chili flakes, and raisins.
7. Simmer for another 5 minutes.
8. Season with salt and pepper.
9. Serve sprinkled with chopped cilantro.

Reviews

[Cookin-jo]

A wonderful vegetarian recipe! The flavour was great, just the right amount of garam masala, and the raisins add a bit of sweetness. I must admit I used chicken broth but this would be just as good with vegetable I'm sure. Thank you, wirkwoman, for an excellent recipe.

 

[hillvegetables]

Wonderful flavor. Love that it had no oil.

 

[shannasn]

We found this to be very tasty! I did make a few alterations - First, I sautéed the onion, then other veggies, in olive oil rather than the suggested vegetable broth. I didn’t have tomato sauce, so finely diced 1/2 of a tomato and threw in a few Ts of red pepper paste (which I think really adds to the flavor). I had no lentils, but found the recipe perfectly hearty without them. I also didn’t want it too soupy, so used only a 1/2 C of broth. My husband isn’t a fan of sweet with savory, so I reserved the raisins to just sprinkle on my own serving at the table. We served this with fresh-made flatbread and Mountain High Whole Milk yogurt and really loved it! Thank you for the recipe! I’ll be making it again!

 

[simonperry7]

TL;DR: If you're planning on making this, I recommend finding a different recipe for this dish. This recipe is good in concept... but in reality it is hilariously underseasoned. I cannot comprehend in which world someone would find this dish anything other than flavourless when made according to the listed ingredient ratios. I was dubious about the ratios to begin with, so I started with about 400% the amount of garam masala (2 tsp.) and 1/4 cup extra tomato sauce. As I cooked, and taste-tested throughout, I kept finding it lacking and adding more of the flavourful ingredients. By the time it was done cooking, I had added a total of 3 tsp. garam masala, 2 extra cloves of garlic (total of 7), and an extra 1/4 cup of raisins (total of 3/4 cup), plus 6 pinches of salt and a good amount of fresh ground pepper. After all that, it was pretty good. It still was not very exciting flavour-wise, but it made for a satisfying meal. If I were to make it again, I would completely rethink the ingredient ratios from the start, and possibly even omit either the lentils or chickpeas entirely in order to better concentrate the seasoning.

 

[LindaS0422]

Thank you for this enticing veggie recipe! Can't wait to try it!