recipe, for 7 years later

about 7 years ago I ate dinner some evening, alone in some lil eatery behind a produce market in Jerusalem. today when I stared into our fridge vegetable tray, wondering what to cook, and saw these beautiful round eggplants, bought about a week ago but still taut and fresh (eggplants in India are v fresh that way, the tiny ones and the long ones often get worms v quick but the big round ones somehow defy them), I suddenly had this strong sense of recreating that dish. so here goes, what I did with the memory of my tastebuds and the ingredients available in my kitchen and fridge. 

first things first: the dish uses some ground red meat in its original form, but I took out a couple chicken kebabs from our freezer in lieu of that. Let aside to thaw.

Slice eggplants to resemble the pieces of an orange, not too thick, about an inch of skin at its widest on each slice. On a flat pan, cook these in olive oil (eggplants and extra virgin go very well), with some salt and pepper. Each slice on both sides of the bare flesh. I did two eggplants. You can cover the pan on low heat for more even cooking.

Slice some onions, squash and peel some garlic, and slice a tomato or two. Brown the garlic and onions in olive oil on a wok (while the eggplants are cooking on the other burner). By now the meat should have thawed. Chop it up if it's not ground. Throw it in once the onions are brown. Cook a lil, and then throw in the tomatoes. Stir in some salt and pepper, if meat doesn't already have some spice in it. Can add other masala too in that case (I didn't need to, but I'd suggest powdered cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, etc.). Cover on low heat. Throw in a tablespoon or two of coconut milk and stir and cover. When meat is kinda done, and the tomatoes soft, add some tomato puree as well. Stir, cook a bit, add water, bring to boil, and simmer and cover. 

The original had some pinenuts, but I used frozen corn from the freezer instead for similarity of shape, color, crunch, and sweetness. Throw it in and let simmer covered. 

When u feel like the meat gravy is kinda done, taste for salt. Dip the cooked eggplant slices in. Push them in to submerge in the gravy and simmer just a lil bit more. Turn off the gas/heat. You can add chopped cilantro/coriander or some other herb. Can eat with naan/bread/rice/paratha or even some plain noodles if u want. The flesh of eggplants should literally melt in your mouth. Lick your plate clean after.