Fall is the season where there is plenty of activity as sumac, carob, pomegranate are picked. Tons of olives are harvested and mostly made into olive oil, while some of it is used to make olive pickles. Also it’s the season of vegetables that are main ingredients of many Palestinian dishes, one example is eggplant. I was driving from Amman to Jerash two weeks ago, all I could see by the side of the road were street vendors with boxes and boxes of baby eggplants on display, and this only means one thing, it is time to make Makdous!

Two important things to keep in mind when buying baby eggplants: 1) to taste a sample to make sure the ones that will be used are not bitter, and also, some say it is better to used ones that have been picked before the first rainfall. 2) to follow the simple rule of making makdous; the smaller the eggplants, the better…

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For some time now I have been wanting to post a recipe for a dish which from the Gaza region because I’ve never posted any in the blog before.  So I decided to contact my friend for her recommendation of the most popular Gazan dishes, and of which she nominated three, Rummaneyye, Summaqeyye, and Duqqa. It was strange enough that I haven’t tried any of them.

Since we are already in pomegranate season, Rummaneyye (which means pomegranate-ish) was the obvious choice, I was already familiar with the name but was pleasantly surprised to learn that besides the pomegranate being the main ingredient, the dish also consists of eggplant, lentils and garlic. Pretty interesting combination that you won’t imagine how would it tastes until you try it.

After some further research though, I learned that Rummaneyye is not originally a Gazan dish, but is in fact a dish that was brought to Gaza by natives of Lud and Jaffa who had been displaced following the events of 1948.

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Shulbato is made of coarse bulgur, eggplants, tomato and green pepper cooked all together. It’s usually served as a side dish, but also can be a good main-dish option especially for vegetarians.

Everyone has their own version of shulbato. Some replace eggplants with zucchini, or use rice instead of bulgur, others add cooked chicken or minced beef on the top, so it absolutely depends on one’s taste buds.

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Maqluba (means upside down in Arabic) is a very popular dish among Palestinians and Jordanians alike, they get really excited when it’s served on the table. It’s basically a layered pot of meat, vegetables and rice. Cooked all together and then flipped over a serving big flat platter, making this beautiful cake-like form.

Maqluba has a couple of variations in ingredients ; some make it with chicken and cauliflower, some prefer it with lamb and eggplant, while some others make it with cauliflower and eggplant, and add other vegetables like potatoes, tomatoes, and green peppers. Vegetables can be deep fried or just slightly sautéed. It can be with or without meat.

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There are few ways to cook eggplant for making mutabbal. Some would deep fry it, while others would bake it in the oven. But nothing could beat the unique taste coming from roasting it. Roasting eggplants on stove-top or barbeque grill brings out richness in eggplant and adds smoky flavor and aroma to the dish.

About picking the good eggplants for making mutabbal, I quote Christiane Nasser: “Large and pulpy Jericho eggplants (betinjan rihawi) are ideal or frying and grilling. They are quite sharp when grilled, and intensify the flavor of many salads that accompany meat dishes”.

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