Stuffed Eggplant with Baharat and Fresh Yoghurt

A plate with halves of Stuffed Eggplant topped with melted cheese, basil leaves, pine nuts and pomengranate seeds

Stuffing bell peppers, zucchini or eggplant with meat and/or rice or vegetables mixture is a popular cooking technique in many cuisines. This recipe offers a simple way to incorporate Middle Eastern flavours into this dish by spicing the filling up with baharat, a spice blend widely used in the region. Serve it with fresh yoghurt, pine nuts, pomegranate seeds and fresh basil to bring in more of an East Mediterranean character!

Eggplant + Beef + Tomatoes + Onions + Garlic + Baharat + Yoghurt

Eggplant‘s meaty smokiness is a perfect pairing for slow cooked ground beef when you want something hearty, savory and comforting. Garlic and onions impart mild sweet and savory flavours and a soothing warming aroma. Tomatoes liven it up a with their tartness and provide enough liquid for braising.

While this proven combination is great on its own, baharat takes it to a whole new level. Sweet and pungent, it mostly contains the usual pantry suspects: cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, cumin, coriander and black peppercorns. Its warm spiciness blends in with eggplant and beef, while notes of fresh heat brighten the dish up. It is also highly fragrant and fills your kitchen with a wonderful, inviting smell. Learn how to make your very own Baharat Seasoning and enjoy the aromatherapy as you cook!

Plain yoghurt is a fantastic way to round up the flavours by adding a sour element that also tones down the spiciness. Its freshness balances the hearty filling and the creamy texture blends in naturally.

To jazz it up, top with mozarella cheese and put under the broiler for a few minutes. Scatter over fresh pomegranate seeds, toasted pine nuts and fresh basil leaves and enjoy the wonderful fusion or East Med flavours.

To make things super easy, cook the eggplant and the filling separately and then assemble the dish when ready to eat. This way you can also prepare it in advance.

Start with the filling. Quickly brown the mince with garlic and onions, season with salt and baharat, add chopped or strained tomatoes and leave to simmer over low heat for 1-1.30 hours.

Meanwhile, prepare the eggplants. Slice the vegetable in half lengthwise, season with salt and leave in a colander to sweat. Make a few cuts in the flesh, season with a little oil mixed with baharat and roast skin down for 30-40 minutes:

Carefully scoop out the soft juicy flesh and add to the beef mixture to give it a more prominent smoky flavour. Keep the skins.

When ready to eat or feed, stuff the eggplant halves with the beef mixture and top with grated mozarella. Place under broiler for 4-5 minutes until browned to your liking.

Serve over fresh yoghurt topped with roasted pine nuts, pomegranate seeds and basil leaves.

Eggplant topped with melted cheese, basil leaves, pine nuts and pomengranate seeds

Stuffed Eggplant with Baharat and Fresh Yoghurt

3.1 from 41 votes
Smoky, savory, sweet and spicy flavours come together in this warm and comforting dish of roasted eggplant stuffed with a hearty beef filling cooked with the aromatic baharat seasoning.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Equipment

  • 1 large sauce pan
  • 1 Roasting tray

Ingredients
  

For the eggplant:

  • 3 medium fat-ish eggplants
  • Rock salt
  • 1/2 tbsp baharat seasoning see notes
  • 2 tbsp olive oil

For the filling:

  • 400 g ground lean beef
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 onion finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 250 ml chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp baharat seasoning
  • 1 tsp salt
  • Grated mozzarella cheese

For assembling:

  • 200 g fresh yoghurt
  • 1 tbsp pomegranate seeds
  • 1 tbsp roasted pine nuts
  • a few fresh basil leaves

Instructions
 

Prepare the filling:

  • Heat oil in the sauce pan, add the ground beef, onions and garlic and fry until the beef has browned.
  • Stir in 1 tbsp seven spice, chopped tomatoes and salt and bring to boil.
  • Simmer for minimum 45 mins. The longer it cooks, the better it tastes, so leave it for longer on low heat if you have time.

Prepare the eggplant:

  • Season with salt, place into a colander and let sweat for 10-15 minutes.
  • Rinse and make a few cuts.
  • Mix 2 tbsp olive oil with 1/2 tbsp baharat seasoning and brush the eggplant with it.
  • Roast in oven at 200C for about half hour or until soft.
  • Scoop out the flesh and mix with the beef sauce.

When ready to eat or feed:

  • Stuff the empty eggplants “shells” with the mixture.
  • Generously top with mozzarella and send to the oven under broiler for 4-5 minutes until the cheese has melted and browned.

To assemble:

  • Smear fresh yoghurt over a serving plate. Arrange the stuffed eggplants and scatter around pine nuts, pomegranate seeds and basil leaves.

Notes

  • You can make baharat seasoning yourself or buy a store version.
  • You can also swap baharat for seven spice or garam masala.

40 Responses

  1. Hello! This post couldn’t be written any better! Reading this post reminds me of my good old room mate! He always kept talking about this. I will forward this write-up to him. Fairly certain he will have a good read. Thank you for sharing!

  2. My brother recommended I might like this web site. He was entirely right. This post actually made my day. You cann’t imagine just how much time I had spent for this info! Thanks!

  3. There are some fascinating points in time on this article however I don’t know if I see all of them heart to heart. There may be some validity but I will take maintain opinion until I look into it further. Good article , thanks and we would like more! Added to FeedBurner as nicely

  4. Im now not sure where you are getting your info, however great topic. I needs to spend some time studying more or figuring out more. Thanks for excellent info I was in search of this information for my mission.

  5. Great blog you have here but I was wondering if you knew of any user discussion forums that cover the same topics talked about here? I’d really love to be a part of community where I can get feed-back from other experienced individuals that share the same interest. If you have any suggestions, please let me know. Appreciate it!

  6. Unquestionably believe that which you said. Your favorite reason appeared to be at the web the simplest thing to consider of. I say to you, I definitely get annoyed whilst folks think about issues that they plainly do not know about. You controlled to hit the nail upon the top and outlined out the entire thing with no need side effect , other people could take a signal. Will likely be again to get more. Thanks

  7. I like what you guys are up too. Such smart work and reporting! Carry on the superb works guys I’ve incorporated you guys to my blogroll. I think it will improve the value of my site 🙂

  8. Does your website have a contact page? I’m having a tough time locating it but, I’d like to send you an e-mail. I’ve got some recommendations for your blog you might be interested in hearing. Either way, great site and I look forward to seeing it expand over time.

  9. Definitely believe that which you said. Your favourite justification appeared to be on the net the simplest thing to bear in mind of. I say to you, I certainly get annoyed while folks think about concerns that they plainly do not recognise about. You managed to hit the nail upon the highest as well as outlined out the whole thing without having side-effects , other folks can take a signal. Will likely be back to get more. Thank you

  10. An impressive share, I just given this onto a colleague who was doing a bit of analysis on this. And he in actual fact purchased me breakfast because I discovered it for him.. smile. So let me reword that: Thnx for the deal with! But yeah Thnkx for spending the time to debate this, I feel strongly about it and love reading extra on this topic. If attainable, as you turn out to be expertise, would you thoughts updating your blog with extra details? It’s extremely helpful for me. Big thumb up for this blog post!

  11. This is really attention-grabbing, You are an excessively skilled blogger. I’ve joined your feed and look ahead to searching for extra of your excellent post. Additionally, I’ve shared your site in my social networks!

  12. I’m no longer sure where you’re getting your information, but good topic. I must spend some time studying much more or working out more. Thanks for great info I used to be on the lookout for this information for my mission.

  13. It is really a great and useful piece of info. I’m glad that you shared this useful info with us. Please keep us informed like this. Thank you for sharing.

  14. There are some fascinating time limits on this article however I don’t know if I see all of them center to heart. There’s some validity however I will take maintain opinion until I look into it further. Good article , thanks and we want more! Added to FeedBurner as properly

  15. I’ve been exploring for a little bit for any high-quality articles or weblog posts on this kind of house . Exploring in Yahoo I finally stumbled upon this site. Reading this information So i am glad to exhibit that I have an incredibly good uncanny feeling I discovered exactly what I needed. I most indubitably will make certain to do not disregard this website and provides it a look on a constant basis.

  16. We’re a bunch of volunteers and opening a brand new scheme in our community. Your site offered us with valuable info to paintings on. You have done an impressive process and our entire group will probably be grateful to you.

  17. Its fantastic as your other articles : D, regards for putting up. “To be at peace with ourselves we need to know ourselves.” by Caitlin Matthews.

  18. Does your site have a contact page? I’m having trouble locating it but, I’d like to send you an e-mail. I’ve got some ideas for your blog you might be interested in hearing. Either way, great site and I look forward to seeing it develop over time.

  19. Hello there! Do you know if they make any plugins to assist with Search Engine Optimization? I’m trying to get my blog to rank for some targeted keywords but I’m not seeing very good gains. If you know of any please share. Cheers!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating