I learned this simple and flavorful recipe for mnazaleh, a vegan eggplant and chickpea stew, in the kitchen of a Druze family in Israel. Pronounced min-ah-zah-lay, this dish is a healthy meatless entree that can be enjoyed alone or served with bread for dipping.
This past summer I had the privilege of visiting with many families in Israel to learn their family recipes. As part of our journey into the north of Israel, we met with Paul Nirens of Galil Eat, who organizes food tours with local families. Paul arranged for Wjee and Amira Basis, a Druze couple, to host us in their home in Daliyat al-Karmel, a Druze village situated on Mount Carmel in Israel. It is the country’s largest and southernmost Druze town with a population of about 17,500.
Wjee and Amira have three sons; two have finished service in the Israel Defense Forces and the youngest is 12 years old. Wjee is a builder who constructed his own home, as well as his sons’ residences. Amira is a devoted home cook who often hosts guests at her home. The couple are non-religious Druze, but they are very much part of the Druze community. They enjoy meeting and cooking with families from around the world through Galil Eat.
While we were visiting, Wjee told us a little bit about Druze history. The Druze faith has approximately 1 million adherents, most of them in Syria, Lebanon and Israel. The religion began in Egypt in the year 1017; it began as a movement within Islam that was influenced by Greek philosophy and Gnosticism. The faith was preached by Hamza ibn Ali ibn Ahmad, who assembled a group of scholars to establish the movement. The Druze do not have a typical house of prayer or worship; they believe you can pray to god directly anywhere.
A person cannot convert to become Druze; you must be born into the faith. Within the community, religiosity is a choice– one Druze might be religious and another not at all. However, only the religious Druze have access to their holy spiritual books. Wjee inherited an ancient holy book from his father, but he has never dared to open it because he is not religious. In the Druze faith, everyone is considered equal- the religious don’t look down on the non-religious.
Wjee and Amira welcomed me with open arms into their kitchen, and we cooked together for an afternoon. With Paul’s guidance, the couple shared a few of their favorite family dishes with me. This mnazaleh is just one of the delicious recipes we cooked together. In addition to being a tasty vegan entree, this would make a nice side dish or mezze for a Mediterranean-style meal.
Before sharing the recipe here, I made some adjustments to the basic dish in order to lighten it up a bit. The eggplant is traditionally fried, which soaks up a lot of the oil. The result is delicious and can be made fully on the stovetop, but the eggplant soaks up oil like a sponge. I opted to roast the eggplant instead, which lightens it considerably but does lengthen the cook time and process. Feel free to fry the eggplant if you prefer, it is very tasty that way!
To book your own food tour in the Galilee with Paul Nirens, check out Galil Eat on their official site, Facebook or Instagram. This is not a sponsored post… I just enjoyed my time in Galilee and wanted to share with all of you!
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Food photography by Tori Avey –Israel travel photography by Yifat Yogev
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Mnazaleh
Ingredients
- 1 eggplant, about 2 pounds
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing baking sheet
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
- 4 tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon baharat seasoning (you may substitute 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/4 tsp cumin and 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg)
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch of dried hot chili flakes (or to taste)
- 1 3/4 cup chickpeas, cooked or canned and drained
- Salt and pepper, to taste
NOTES
Instructions
- Peel the eggplant, leaving a few strips of skin on for texture.
- Slice the eggplant into 1-2 inch chunks.
- Place the eggplant into a colander and sprinkle liberally with salt. Let the salted eggplant sit in the colander for 30-45 minutes until beads of liquid rise to the surface.
- Grate the tomatoes. Grasp each tomato firmly and grate over a bowl, letting the pulp fall into the bowl.
- Grate until all that is left is a strip of tomato skin, which can be discarded. When done grating the tomatoes, preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Rinse eggplant thoroughly to rid it of all excess salt, shake dry. Brush baking sheet liberally with olive oil. Place the eggplant slices on the sheet, drizzle with 2 tbsp olive oil and toss them to coat all slices evenly with oil.
- Roast eggplant in the oven for 10 minutes. Flip slices and roast for another 10-15 minutes longer until tender.
- While eggplant is roasting, heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium heat in a sauté pan. Sauté onion slices for 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently. Cook until the onion is translucent, very tender and starting to caramelize. The longer you cook it the sweeter it will become. Add the garlic, and sauté for another minute.
- Add the tomato paste and seasonings. Continue sautéing for another minute or two until fragrant.
- Stir in the grated tomato. Bring to a simmer and let the mixture cook over medium heat for about 5-10 minutes until thick and fragrant. Add salt and black pepper to taste.
- Stir in the roasted eggplant and chickpeas. Continue to cook for another 5 minutes until the mixture is thick and stew-like.
- Garnish with fresh chopped parsley or cilantro. Serve warm or at room temperature, not hot.
judi says
can this dish be made a day in advance?
Tori Avey says
Yes, most definitely.
ruby says
Wow! This is a fabulous recipe. Simple, and incredibly delicious. I finely chopped tomatoes instead of grating, but it worked fine. Thank you (and for the background notes on the Druze tradition).
Tori Avey says
You’re welcome! So happy you enjoyed it.
Caitlin says
Tasted delicious!
Bron says
Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe! I substituted spring onions for onions and also added mushrooms. My family had it for Saturday lunch, and we all agreed it was delicious.
Barb Passo says
Can this be frozen?
Tori Avey says
This should freeze fine. 🙂
Bobby says
I tried this recipe and turned to be a hit!
Instead of grating tomatoes, can tomatoes be blanched, skin peeled and then puréed. Am not a big fan of grating with hand, so was wondering.
I have has this dish at a Persian restaurant and have been wanting to make it at home. Thanks for the awesome recipe.
Tori Avey says
Hi Bobby! I think that would work fine. Glad you enjoyed it!
Chani says
Just made this for dinner and it was delicious! We ate it with pita bread and it was so filling, it didn’t need other side dishes. This cuisine was out of my comfort zone but I love trying new things! Thank you!
Sherri says
if you fry instead of roasting the eggplant, do you do it at the same time as the onion?
Ashley at ToriAvey.com says
Hi Sherri, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. That should work. I would suggest adding the eggplant a few minutes after the onion.
Sherri says
if you choose to fry instead of roast, as you mentioned, can you do it the same time as the onions in the same pan?
Tori Avey says
First fry the eggplant with plenty of olive oil, remove it with a slotted spoon, then cook the onions and add the eggplant back in after the grated tomato cooked down. This will keep the eggplant from becoming overly soft.
Sherri says
jUDI, IT’S CALLED RESEK AGVANIOT…EVEN THOUGH IT SOMETIMES TRANSLATES TO TOMATO SAUCE ITS ACTUALLY PASTE. THEY COME IN FLAT PLASTIC 4 PACKS OR LARGER CANS WITH A CHOICE OF X22 OR X28. HOPE THAT HELPS, EVEN THOUGH IT’S WAY AFTER YOU ASKED.
Natalie says
Can this be made a head of time?
Tori Avey says
Yes no problem. 🙂
Judi says
Hi Tori, I live in Israel and I can’t find tomato paste anywhere! I see only tomato sauce. Can it be used as a substitute?
Tori Avey says
Judi, that is strange! Tomato paste is VERY common in Israel, though perhaps it is known by another name? My husband grew up in Israel and tomato paste was a staple in his kitchen.
Judith says
Tori, I would appreciate a more precise note about the tomatos: would that be round tomatoes or Roma tomatoes? Maybe a weight designation would be clearer. Then whatever tomatoes are available could be used .
I hope to use this for next weekend.
Tori Avey says
Hi Judith, I used vine ripened tomatoes.
Valerie says
This was delicious!
Eden says
Absolutely delicious. This goes in the Tried and Keeping section of my recipe binder! Thanks so much for sharing
Michal says
Absolutely delicious! I couldn’t stop saying how good it was while eating it. Another great recipe from Tori!
Tori Avey says
So glad you enjoyed it Michal!
Jo says
Can you use white beans instead of chickpeas?
Tori Avey says
Yes, that will work. 🙂
Fiona Katz says
Hi Tori,
Could you please clarify the amount of chickpeas required for this delish sounding recipe( thank you).
Tori Avey says
It is 1 and 3/4 cups of chickpeas. Sorry, my recipe software tends to not put enough space between the number and the fraction.
Dina says
Delicious! Roasting the eggplant was genius, I am going to have to do that more in the future. Thanks for the recipe and the story, very interesting!
Mindy says
Looks delisious. Love those spices but alas too high in carbs for me.
Rita Sitron says
Can this recipe be made with any other vegetable than eggplant?
Tori Avey says
Rita– you could substitute roasted potatoes. You might also try roasted carrots, which would be sweeter but I think it would be nice here. 🙂
Lydia says
I would consider trying zucchini or portobello mushrooms here. This sounds delicious, I’m going to make it soon.