Sheikh el mehshe recipe usually means stuffed eggplants with tomato sauce. However, stuffed eggplants stuffed with ground meat turn out to be super delicious when served with a yogurt sauce or laban and rice on the side. We do not know the exact origin of this delicious main course, but we know it is prepared in different parts of Lebanon.
Servings: 5
Preparation time: 90 mns
Ingredients:
1 kg of small eggplants
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
200 g of ground lamb
¼ cup of pine nuts
1 tbsp. of tomato paste
1 tbsp. of pomegranate molasses (optional)
1 cup of vegetable oil
½ tsp of salt
¼ tsp of sweet pepper
¼ tsp of cinnamon
¼ tsp of 7 spices
Yogurt sauce
4 cups of plain yogurt
1 ½ tbsp. of corn starch
1 egg
½ cup of water to dissolve the starch
Preparation:
Preparing the eggplants
- Peel the eggplants
- In a skillet, heat the vegetable oil and fry the eggplants until all their sides are wilted
- Remove on a paper towel and leave to dry
- In the remaining oil, brown the pine seeds
- In another skillet, fry the chopped onions with the meat
- Add the tomato paste, the pomegranate, the salt and all spices. Mix well
- With both thumbnails, open each eggplant and stuff with a tbsp. of the meat mixture
Yogurt sauce
- In large pot, add the water with cornstarch, the egg and the minced garlic to the yogurt. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon over medium. Do not stop stirring; otherwise the yogurt sauce will break apart
- Keep stirring until boiling and reduce heat to low then stop stirring
- Pour the yogurt mixture through a sieve into a large skillet over low fire
- Put the stuffed eggplants carefully in the sauce and cook for 5 minutes
- For serving, put some pine seeds on of each eggplant and top with the yogurt sauce. Enjoy with cooked rice on the side