Ever since I’d seen this Makhouda D’Aubergine recipe on The Traveler’s Lunchbox, I was interested in trying it. By the way what does ‘Makhouda’ mean? Can anyone tell me? Months after I’d first seen the recipe, I became even more excited about it because I’ve discovered that I really like eggplants/aubergines. Yum!

This recipe of eggplants, eggs, red pepper, onions, garlic, gruyère cheese, and fresh herbs was another hit in my house. I made it with the intention of saving some for lunch the next day. Well, that didn’t happen because they finished in record time.

The instructions were really straightforward and I had all the ingredients except for one – rosewater. I like that the recipe gave suggestions to replace unavailable ingredients – like using black pepper if you didn’t have the Tunisian spice blend bharat, or cayenne pepper as a replacement for North African hot pepper paste, harissa.

I didn’t have bharat or harissa but I did have their substitutes and they worked out well for me.

The photo isn’t too appealing. While the food baked, I worked on the computer and watched The Lord of the Rings (I and II) on T.V. Caught up in multitasking, I left the Makhouda in the oven a tad bit too long. As a result, the top became a little too dark, but it didn’t mar the taste. Served with salad, the Makhouda D’Aubergine was delicious and very filling.

The Flying Apple made this dish as well and like her, I plan on making it again (and again and again.) It was that good. Thanks, Melissa for this recipe. And congrats on your doctorate degree! Yippee!

Paz

Makhouda D’Aubergine
North Africa: The Vegetarian Table

Serves: 4-6 Notes: Serve this as a side dish with sweet or savory tagines, or as a light main course with a fresh green salad. Tunisians also apparently love to stick slices of it inside crusty bread spread with a little harissa and eat it as a sandwich.

1 large globe eggplant
salt for sprinkling
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded, deribbed and diced
8 large eggs
a handful (about 1/2 cup packed) chopped fresh parsley or coriander/cilantro leaves, or a mixture
4 garlic cloves, minced
8 oz (225g) gruyère cheese, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1/2 cup dried bread crumbs
1 teaspoon bharat (Tunisian spice blend; you can substitute 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon rosewater)
3/4 teaspoon salt
harissa (North African hot pepper paste) or cayenne pepper, to taste (optional)
lemon wedges

Peel and cut the eggplant into 1/4-inch dice. Sprinkle lightly with salt and place the cubes in a colander to drain for about 20 minutes. Rinse and pat dry with paper towels.

Preheat the oven to 400F/200C. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil and cook the eggplant, onion, and pepper, stirring occasionally until golden and soft, about 20-25 minutes. Transfer this mixture to a colander to drain off as much of the oil as possible.

In a medium bowl, mix the eggs and add the herbs, garlic, cheese and bread crumbs. Add the eggplant mixture. Season with the bharat, salt, and a small spoonful of the optional harissa or cayenne pepper.

Grease a 2-quart soufflé dish. Pour the egg mixture into the dish and bake in the middle of the oven until golden brown and puffed in the center, 40-45 minutes (a knife inserted into the center should come out clean). Let cool for 10 minutes before unmolding onto a serving platter (you can also just leave it in the dish). Cut into wedges or squares to serve. Serve hot or at room temperature with lemon wedges on the side.

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In my childhood food memories meme, I mentioned a spinach stew that my mother used to make. I set out to see if I could recreate it. In The Butterfly Effect meme, I wrote how my efforts were very successful.

Well, here is the spinach stew. There is no written recipe for it. I jotted down some notes as I prepared it. However, I lost them. To give a somewhat proper recipe, I’d have to make the dish again and write down everything.

So, for now, I just give you the ingredients: Frozen spinach, shrimps, canned salmon, tomatoes, tomato paste (I think), onions, olive oil, salt, pepper, hot pepper. That’s about it.

Paz

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Jollof rice is a common rice dish eaten in West Africa. The main ingredients consist of rice, vegetables, stewed tomatoes, beef or chicken, and seasoning.

Many add their own preferred ingredients to make their dish extra special. Some add chile pepper, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, ginger, cinnamon, curry powder. Others use beef or chicken stock/broth or Maggie cubes, tomato paste. An assortment of vegetables like bell pepper, string beans or green beans, green peas,carrots or cabbage are used. A few add prawns or shrimp (fresh or dried). Cooks can garnish the rice with fresh parsley, cilantro, lettuce, or a hard boiled egg.

I grew up eating a lot of jollof rice. I’d eat it at home, a friend or relative’s home. I eat it for lunch, dinner, or at a party on celebretory occasions. My aunt Toshie used to make the best jollof rice I’ve ever remembered tasting. She was an excellent cook and baker . If you ask anyone in my family about her, they always mention her food, including her jollof rice.

Despite my lifetime-jollof-rice-eating experiences, I’ve never prepared it before. You see, I’m a jollof rice-making newbie. Now that I’m into cooking, I would have loved to learn my aunt’s secret to making the best jollof rice. Unfortunately, she’s no longer around.

I found a number of recipes on the internet and finally chose one from epicurean.com. I adapted the ingredients to the ones commonly used in my household (and other Ghanaian households). For example, the epicurean ingredients called for using cooked smoked ham. However, we’ve never used ham in the jollof rice we eat. Instead, we use corned beef. It’s either some kind of meat or corned beef. No one I know (or no Ghanaian I know) prepares jollof rice with ham. It’s rarely eaten and definitely not made with jollof rice.

In place of cabbage and green beans as the epicurean recipe calls for, I used frozen mixed vegetables. I know a lady who only uses green peas in her jollof rice.

Lastly, this recipe calls for using cinnamon. I’ve never heard of using that in jollof rice. But I used it and it worked. It didn’t take away from the authentic taste of the food. Later, I asked my mother about the use of cinnamon and she gave me a look as if I was crazy and where did I get that idea? I didn’t tell her I’d added the cinnamon.

My jollof rice-making adventure went well. I encountered a slight problem when I used more water than the recipe instructions. This caused my rice to come out softer than I would have liked. However, my rice still tasted very good. Next time, I will use one cup of water instead of two. And I will put the chicken aside while the rice cooks and add it back to rice later.

While I cooked, the rice set off a wonderful aroma in the kitchen that prompted me to do my happy-cooking-kitchen dance (also known as the Snoopy dance.) Yes, the rice turned out well indeed. Not bad for a newbie!

I plan on making more jollof rice from now on and experimenting with the recipe till I get it just right!

This post is my contribution to the 6th From My Rasoi Food Event. The food theme is rice and the deadline falls on June 30. If you’re interested in participating, there’s still time. You can read more about it here.

Paz

Jollof Rice

Ingredients:
2 cup Water I would use 1 cup instead or 1 -1/2C
3 lb chicken — cut into 8 Pieces
2 16oz cans stewed tomatoes
2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Black pepper
3/4 cup Cooked smoked ham — cubed I used a can of corned beef, instead
1 cup Uncooked rice
1 large Onion — sliced
3 cup Cabbage — shredded I used frozed mixed vegetables, instead
1/2 lb Fresh green beans — Quartered And stems removed OR 10oz pack frozen beans
1/4 tsp Ground cinnamon (unheard of ingredient in jollof rice but it worked for me)
1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper

Directions:
Pour water into a large pot. Add the chicken, tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Cover; bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in the ham, rice, onion, cabbage, green beans, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer until the chicken is fork-tender and the rice is cooked, 25-30 minutes.
Yield: 8 servings

Note: I would remove the chicken before adding the rice and cooking it. I think the chicken added more water to the dish and made the rice too soft. I would return the chicken to the rice when it’s almost cooked.

There are many foods I never cared for until I started cooking. Soups are one of them. Now, I enjoy the different soups that I make (like the one here). My latest soup comes from a recipe of Chef Farid — Algerian Spicy Tripe.The ingredients were easy to obtain and prepare — tripe, tomatoes, onions, hot green chilies, garlic, caraway seeds, paprika, spice blend, salt and pepper. For my spice blend, I put together 1 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, and 1 tsp coriander. It wasn’t bad at all. The tripe turned out soft and almost buttery tasting. I added chick peas to the soup and when it was ready, topped it off with cilantro. What a good soup to have on a cold day.

Sauteed onions with the rest of the vegetables Ingredients covered with water and seasoned with salt and pepper Boiled tripe You can find the recipe for this body warming soup here. Best, Paz

I finally made one of Farid Zadi’s Algerian dishes – Lamb with Herbs. First, I went grocery shopping for lamb, onions, cilantro, parsley, green pepper, and lemon. The recipe calls for marinating all the ingredients along with olive oil, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Then everything is cooked in a Dutch oven over medium heat for 1 ½ – 2 hours.

I’m not sure what the Lamb with Herbs is served with in an Algerian household, but I served it with rice. No one complained.

Paz