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Musakkaa is a popular dish in the Mediterranean countries. I have listed a basic vegetarian version of this recipe here although there are different variations such as adding cooked ground beef or lamb, or mix cooked chickpeas, add green peppers, garlic or hot spicy peppers, depending on what you like in your dish. Ingredients: - 2 big eggplants sliced into ½ inch thickness- I do not peel mine, I leave them with the skin on. -Canola oil for frying -1 to 2 medium diced onion - 4 medium size fresh or canned diced tomatoes - Small can of tomato paste - Salt and black pepper to taste -1/2 to 1 cup water Directions: -Slice eggplants into 1 cm (1/2 inch) thick slices -Sprinkle the eggplants slices with salt to draw the moisture out -Deep fry in canola oil until golden brown in color. -Remove from pan, drain from oil over paper towels. -Sauté the diced onions, I microwave it sometimes until golden brown color- I use a Pyrex baking dish -Add tomato paste, water, salt and pepper and mix with the onions. This will be your sauce -Layer the fried eggplants in the baking dish over the sauce -Top with diced or sliced tomato - Cover the baking pan with plastic wrap, I double the cover -Microwave the pan for at least 20 minutes -Broil the top for a desired baked color if you want to use the conventional way of cooking, you may do this: In a separate pot, sauté diced onions. Add tomato paste, water, salt and pepper. This will be your sauce that you will add to the layered eggplant in the baking pan. Boil the sauce for about five minutes. It will continue cooking when you bake it with the eggplants. Pour the sauce mixture over the layered eggplants in the baking dish and spread evenly. Top with diced or sliced tomato. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for about 45 minutes in a 350-400 Fahrenheit degree oven (depending on your oven temperature) until the edges are turning brown and the tomato sauce looks and smells cooked! Remove the foil the last 5-10 minutes to brown the top. Serve hot or at room temperature with white rice on the side.
Summer…........there’s microwavable plastic wrap???????? Dude, where have I been when this invention came out? I do alot of cooking and I never knew they have that lol. I think I might go to the grocery store in a bit to check that out :)
Mimi, Canola oil is made from sunflower seeds and corn oil is made from corn
:)
Canola oil is healthier oil than most oils especially when it is heated at high temperatures.
what is the difference between canola oil and corn oil?
Rehab, you never fail to amaze me with your comments, and i mean that in a good way!!
You may know this dish cooked in different way or different ingredients and your mom/aunts call it a different name than mine, but this is the same basic recipe for all mussaka cooked in the middle east and Mediterranean countries. some people add different type of veggies, such as bell pepper, chickpeas and garlic others add ground lamb or beef to it…you also may bread your eggplants before frying and add Parmesan cheese too, but then it will be called “Eggplant Parmesan” the famous italian dish….cooking is all about personal taste and creativity, so when i cook i use my own way , according to my taste and what my family likes.
as for microwave cooking, i almost microwave anything that is vegetable and bean, but not meat or chicken. NO, plastic wrap won’t melt of course, if you use the one that is microwaveable!!
Thanks for coming by, watching and leaving a comment. have a great day too.
George, looking forward to your cooking video!! but no compition with me, right??
:)
Happy Holiday season to you and your family!
wow I never knew Onions could be cooked in a microwave, I never knew a whole casserole could be cooked in a microwave :) But doesn’t the plastic wrap melt? Is this dish typical among Palestinians? I never had it until I went to Jordan recently, My mom/ aunts never make it:). But it looks good it reminds me of Eggplant Parmigiana (but that was is fried in breadcrumbs and layers of mozzarella are added. Thanks Summer for the clip.
Well i love cooking, but i’m not cooking lately, simply no time. But i plan to do a cooking video some time! Maybe over the holiday :)
Neddal, Thanks for coming by!!
I do not eat eggplants too in any way ,shape or form, but every one swears that my my mussaka is the best!
thanks for your comment.
Ohhhh No Summer , Very Big eggplant
If i will die from hunger I will not eat Mussaka
I don’t like eggplant at all
Thanks for watching and commenting George!
i never tried to add raisins to it but i think the taste of sweet and sour would be good. thanks for the tip!
by the way, the word “Mussaka” is taken from the arabic word المسقعه and it means “Chilled”, i guess some people eat it cold! :)
i alway use canola oil in my cooking, never corn oil!
looking forward to your recipe videos or your cooking photos at least, maybe?
Thanks for the video, it has been a long time since i last ate musaka3a. The Greeks claim it’s a Greek dish, although the word has no meaning in Greek. I prefer canola oil more than corn oil :)
Anyway, did you ever try to add raisins to the dish? I know it sounds weird, but it tastes great.
