MUMMA'S RECIPES
TEPSI BAYTINIJAN
A tepsi is a traditional Iraqi dish, which literally means the glass dish in which it’s cooked and baytinijan means aubergine. Bring it all together…
There are so many different variations of this but this one is my favourite. It’s one of the more simple versions, purely as there are fewer components compared to the others.
This one is made with beef koftes wrapped in aubergine and baked in a tomato sauce. I love the tangy taste it has thanks to the pomegranate syrup.
First and foremost, your aubergines need to be slim and long (oi oi). Slice the aubergine at the top and continue slicing all the way round until you come back to the same spot, this way, the rest of the slices have the black skin on the outside of each piece.
Deep fry each piece in any oil you fancy (vegetable, sunflower or olive), sit in a sieve so all the oil is removes and you need to do this the day before.
For the beef kofte:
500g beef (lamb also works or a mix of beef and lamb)
1 x tablespoon of breadcrumbs (my mum dries her own bread, but if you don’t have time then the shop stuff is okay)
3-4 cloves of garlic (minced)
50g cardamon
50g cinnamon
50g cloves
80g black pepper
25g dried rose petals
3 x nutmeg
1 x teaspoon of salt
Splash of water
Mix all the spices, salt and garlic together with a splash of water until it becomes a paste.
Knead the beef with the paste and leave to marinate for at least an hour.
After marinating, roll the mixture with a touch of water in your palm and then deep fry in oil (again, any oil) but don’t cook all the way through. You want the kofte half cooked as it will cook completely when it’s put in the oven later.
Take a single piece of aubergine and make sure the blackened part of the white is on the inside. Roll the kofte inside then place in your deep glass dish.
For the sauce:
Splash of oil
2 x small tins of tomato puree
2 x tablespoon of hot water
Beef stock cube
Pomegranate syrup
Heat the oil in a pan, add tomato puree, hot water and beef stock, then bring the boil. Keep adding more water and tomato puree until the consistency is like gravy (not a watery gravy). THIS IS HOW SPECIFIC IT GETS.
Add this to the dish with the aubergine and kofte, place the dish on your hob and turn the heat up. Obviously, check your dish is suited to do this without cracking.
When the sauce starts bubbling, turn down the heat and add salt if necessary.
Place in the oven at 180°C and once thickened, add pomegranate syrup to suit your taste. I like it really tangy!
Leave in the oven for 20 minutes to make sure it’s all heated through, then serve with white rice.
Get some mates round. Pretend you know about food. The end.
