KEBAB Wrapped In Eggplant Baked in Tomato Sauce

I saw this delicious eggplant recipe at Nihal's blog, and love it right away. If you like Turkey's food, this is the place to borrow the recipes. This eggplant parcels are pretty easy to make, they are delicious and full of flavor. Is not a quick recipe, but it really worth the effort. This recipe particularly good when you are going to have friends coming over for dinner. Everything can be made ahead, then assemble just before you are going to serve it.

For the KEBAB:

1 lb ground lamb

¼ cup chopped parsley

¼ cup chopped cilantro

¼ cup chopped mint

5 cloves garlic, finely chopped

¼ cup finely chopped onion

1 tbs ground cumin

1 tbs ground coriander

½ tbs ground ginger

½ tsp limu omani powder, optional (scroll all the way down on the link)

salt and pepper

• Mix everything together until well combine in a bowl. Cover the bowl with cling wrap, refrigerate while you preparing the eggplant.

For the Eggplant Wrap:

Depending how large your eggplant is, you will need about 3 or 4 large eggplants

Enough salt to purge the eggplant slices

2 green bell pepper, slice about an inch wide

2 red bell pepper, slice about an inch wide

olive oil for frying

• Slice the eggplant lengthwise, about a ¼ inch to a ³⁄₈ inch in thickness. Sprinkle with salt, place them on a colander, soak for an hour to let the water drain from the eggplant, and this minimize the bitter.
• After soaked for an hour, rinse the eggplant under cold running water, to get rid of the salt. Pat dry with paper towel, make sure to pat them well.
• In a large skillet, fry the eggplant lightly just enough to soften them. Drain on a paper towel to get rid the excess oil.

For Tomato Sauce:

1 (28 oz) can fire roasted whole tomatoes, roughly chopped, reserve the juice

¼ cup finely chopped onion

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

½ cup chicken stock, or chicken broth, or water

1 tbs olive oil

salt and pepper

• Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat, add onion, and fry until soft, add garlic and fry for another minute. Add the tomatoes including the juice, stir, pour the chicken broth or the chicken stock, season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Turn of the heat.

To Assemble:

• Preheat oven to 375⁰F.
• Transfer the sauce on a deep baking dish. Set aside.
• Follow this step by step on how to make the eggplant parcels.
• Arrange the eggplant parcels on top of the tomato sauce neatly. Place the green and red bell pepper slices in between the parcels. Sprinkle with parsley if you wish.
• Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until the bell pepper are soft and the lamb are cooked.
• Serve with plain rice, or plain couscous.