Meat and Eggplant Stew
- 2 onions, chopped
- Vegetable oil
- 2 or 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1½ pounds lamb, beef, or veal, cut into cubes
- 3 tomatoes, skinned and quartered Salt and pepper
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- 3 medium eggplants
- 3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
Instructions:
Lahma bi Betingan-  Also called buraniya, this is one dish where I prefer to broil or grill the eggplants instead of frying them, before putting them in the stew. Serve with rice or bulgur or with bread.
- Fry the onions in about 2 tablespoons oil until soft and golden. Add the garlic, then add the meat and brown it well. Add the tomatoes and seasonings: salt, pepper, lemon juice, cinnamon, and allspice.
- Cover with water, stir well, and bring to the boil. Simmer gently, covered, for about 1½ hours, until the meat is very tender, adding water to keep it covered.
- Cut the eggplants into ½-inch-thick slices and brush them generously with oil. (You do not need to peel the eggplants, because the peels will soften later, in the stew.)
- Cook them under the broiler or in a grill pan, turning them over once until lightly colored. Cut them in half and add them to the stew. Simmer, covered, for ½ hour, adding the parsley towards the end.