Batenjan Makdous (Preserved Eggplants in Olive Oil) Recipe

by ninabaydoun

I’m going to show you how to preserve eggplants, using a recipe I learned from my mother-in-law years ago. It takes about ten days for the Makdous to have been pickled properly. After it has been prepared, the eggplants can be eaten as a appetizer, side dish or can even  be put in a sandwich alone. You will find many ways to enjoy it by playing on your own. Personally, I like to eat it for dinner with labneh (yoghurt) and cheese on the side; it makes for a lovely and easy to prepare dinner.

Ingredients:

1 kg baby eggplant
200 grams whole nut
about 15 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon rock salt
1 teaspoon chili paste (optional)
about 4 cups olive oil

Preparation:

1. Wash the eggplants, remove the stem
2. Place the eggplants in a pot full of water, leave it on fire for about 10 minutes (not more); the skin of the eggplants when tested should be soft
3. When the eggplants are cooked place in a strainer and wash with cold water. Make a small slit lengthwise in the eggplant, sprinkle with salt, put them back in the strainer, slit facing down, place a weight over them and leave it for about two days. This helps any remaining water to come out of the eggplants

4. Meanwhile, prepare the filling by roughly crushing the nuts and mixing it with garlic, salt and chili paste if desired
5. With you thumb widen the slit, fill each eggplant with a spoon from the nut garlic mixture

6. Place the filled eggplants in a jar, turn the jar upside down on a plate at a certain angle to release the remaining water, leave it for 2 days until no more juice comes out from it

7. Return the jar after 2 days to upright position, and fill it with olive oil. After five days the eggplants are ready to be consumed