Dish of Eggplant with Rice
(click to enlarge)

Eggplant & Rice Pilav


Turkey   -   Patlicanli Pilav
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 2-1/2 #
***
2-1/4 hrs
Yes		 In Turkey, Pilafs are usually side dishes, or served as the last dish before desert to make sure everyone is stuffed, but this one also makes an excellent vegetarian main dish.

1
1
ar
3
12
7
4
2
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1
1/4
1/2
1
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1/4
2
c
#

T
oz
oz
oz
T
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t
t
T
t
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c
c
Rice, basmati (1)
Eggplant (2)
Salt
Oil
Onion
Tomato
Cubanel Pepper (3)
Dill, fresh
-- Spicing
Allspice
Cinnamon
Salt
Sugar
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Olive Oil ExtV
Water
Prep   -   (1 hr - 40 min work)
  1. Wash RICE well. Mix with water to cover and soak 1/2 hour.
  2. Peel EGGPLANT in stripes so about 1/2 the peel remains. Slice about 3/4 inch thick and cut into 1 inch squares. Sprinkle with plenty of Salt and tumble well. Let sit in a strainer to drain for 45 minutes (Note-2). Rinse and wring out excess water.
  3. Heat 3 T OIL and fry Eggplant until cooked through but not browned, about 8 minutes. Drain on paper towels, set aside.
  4. Peel ONION and chop fine.
  5. Scald TOMATOES one minute in boiling water. Quench in cold water and peel. Chop fine.
  6. Blast PEPPERS black with your Kitchen Torch (see Note-3). Brush the skin off under running water, and cut into strips 1/8 by 1 inches. Mix with Tomatoes.
  7. Chop DILL fairly fine for Garnish.
  8. Grind ALSPICE and CINNAMON, mix all Spicing items
RUN   -   (45 min + 30 min to 1 hr rest)
  1. Heat OLIVE OIL in a 3-1/2 quart sauté pan and fry Onion over moderate heat until translucent.
  2. Stir in Tomato mix and cook about 2 minutes stirring occasionally.
  3. Drain Rice and stir in. Cook over low heat about 4 minutes, then stir in Spice mix until well distribute. Stir in 2 cups Water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat 15 minutes.
  4. Stir in Eggplant pieces and cook another 2 minutes, mixing well.
  5. Remove from heat, stretch a paper towel over the pan and set the lid over it (Note-4). Let sit 15 minutes, then remove the paper towel, stir the rice, stretch a new paper towel, cover and let stand another 15 minutes.
  6. If desired, mold in an oiled bowl and upset onto a plate. This is how it would be served in restaurants.
  7. Sprinkle with dill and serve warm or at room temperature.
NOTES:

  1. Rice:

      All my Turkish cookbooks call for a "long grain" or "extra long grain" rice, or specifically Basmati (an extra long grain rice) or Patna (a long grain rice). The pattern recipe calls for "extra long grain rice", so I have specified Basmati. In actuality, Turks today use various types of rice. Turkish Baldo, a medium grain rice similar to Italian arborio is quite popular for pilavs, and one Turkish lady says Thai Jasmine is the closest to what her family used in Turkey. For Pilavs, the Turks are quite insistent that the rice be washed very well, so the grains stay separate. Easiest way is to place it in a fine sieve and shake it vigorously under warm running water. If using Sella Basmati (par boiled), include an extra 1/4 cup of water in the recipe.

  2. Eggplant:

      Medium size eggplants such as Italian are preferred, but larger can be used. Salting eggplant does not, as so many cookbooks say, "remove bitter juices". The juces are not bitter, but the salting does shrink the eggplant closer to cooked size and greatly reduces the amount of oil it will absorb.

  3. Cubanel Pepper:

      This is a thin skinned, thin walled yellow-green "frying" pepper. We don't have them in Southern California, but we can often find Armenian / Turkish peppers or mild Hungarian peppers, all of which are quite similar. If you have none of these, you can use a Green Anaheim Pepper, or, as a last resort, a Green Bell Pepper, but the torch blasting is more important with these (thicker skins).

  4. Towel:

      The purpose of the paper towel is to absorb excess moisture from the rice, so it doesn't drip back from the lid. The pattern recipe called for 2 30 minute rest periods. I used 2 15 minute rest periods and it seemed plenty to me.

  5. Comments:

      In Turkey, pilavs are often served cold, with just a side of plain Yogurt.
  6. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch tt=to taste ar=as required
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