Patlicanli Pilav

Patlicanli Pilav is a common dish in Turkey and is cooked similar to the Spanish food paella.

Serves 3

What you need:

1 large eggplant
2 medium tomatoes
1/2 yellow onion
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup dry basmati rice
3 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp fresh mint
salt
pepper

Cut the eggplant into bite size cubes and sprinkle them with salt to remove the bitter taste. Let the eggplant sit in a colander for 15 minutes to drain out.

While waiting for the eggplant, dice the onion and tomatoes.

In a large skillet on medium heat, sauté the eggplant in 1 tbsp of olive oil for around 10-15 minutes (or until brown and soft). Remove from skillet and set aside.

In the same skillet, sauté the onion in 1 tbsp of olive oil until golden. Add the diced tomatoes and sauté for another five minutes. Add the eggplant back into the pan. Sprinkle in the 1 tsp of parsley, 1/2 teaspoon mint, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper.

After stirring in the spices, add the 1 cup of uncooked basmati rice to the mixture. Stir the rice around to get it well integrated into the vegetables. Add the 3 1/2 cups vegetable broth and simmer on medium heat for 30-35 minutes or until the rice is cooked. You may need to add more broth depending on how hot your burner is. If you see that the broth is disappearing too quick, top it off with a little more broth and let cook.

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