Lentil and eggplant stew – Rummaniyeh
Lentil eggplant stew is an aromatic and spicy dish that you can easily recreate. Have you already stocked your spice rack with the standard Levant spices? If not and you still need to do some quick shopping, then pack yourself a really good pomegranate syrup. Because that’s what you need for this simple stew.
What is Rummaniyeh?
Rummaniyeh is a traditional Palestinian dish that is eaten in several regions of the Levant in a slightly modified form.
Rumman means pomegranate in Arabic. For this reason, it is essential that you use a good pomegranate syrup and fresh pomegranate seeds to prepare the lentil and eggplant stew.
But it’s not just the pomegranate, but also the spices and fresh herbs that soak into the lentils and pieces of eggplant as they simmer that give the dish its extraordinary flavor.
Lentil eggplant stew – quick to prepare and healthy
The lentil dish is vegan, very healthy and keeps you full for a long time. This dish is good for you because it is full of protein, fiber and antioxidants. If you would like to find out more about lentils or legumes in general, take a look at the article on legumes.
It is best eaten with flatbread – you tear off a large piece, hold it between your thumb and forefinger and dip it into the lentil eggplant stew. You try to squeeze as much as possible into the hollow and then pass it quickly into your mouth.
And if there are any leftovers, you can simply eat them the next day. Because you can enjoy this lentil dish warm or cold.
Ingredients for Rummaniyeh
For the lentil eggplant stew, you need a few standard ingredients from Levantine cuisine:
- Spices: Cumin, salt and optionally some pepper
- Herbs: fresh parsley and mint (washed and roughly chopped)
- Lentils: plate lentils (well washed) for cooking until firm to the bite
- Vegetables: garlic (peeled and chopped/pressed), eggplant (washed and cut into cubes), chili pepper (deseeded and cut into strips)
- Liquids: Olive oil (for frying), lemon juice and pomegranate syrup (for deglazing)
How do you prepare the lentil eggplant stew?
Super important: you need to rinse the lentils under running water before cooking to remove any remaining skins.
- Peel, press and chop the garlic.
- Simmer the lentils with garlic, lemon juice, pomegranate syrup, salt and cumin.
- Dice the eggplant and cut the chili into strips.
- Heat the oil and fry the eggplant, remaining garlic and chili in it.
- Deglaze the eggplant mixture with the remaining lemon juice and pomegranate syrup and season with the remaining cumin and a little salt.
- Add everything to the lentils and simmer together.
- Chop the herbs and mix into the stew.
- Garnish the stew with pomegranate seeds and pomegranate syrup and enjoy.
What can you serve with it?
Classic flatbread. But you can also make a simple salad, some butter rice or butter bulgur to go with it.
How long does the lentil dish keep?
If you haven’t eaten it all, you can keep the leftovers in the fridge for 2-3 days and reheat them. Or simply eat it cold – it also tastes very good.
For whom is the dish suitable?
The lentil and eggplant stew can be eaten by anyone who likes lentils. And as you can adjust the spiciness of the chili yourself, this meal is also very child-friendly. It is also vegan, gluten-free, very high in protein and ideal for meal prep.
Have I managed to convince you of Rummaniyeh? Then give this quick and easy recipe a try! Have fun and enjoy your meal.
Recipe for lentil eggplant stew – Rummaniyeh
Ingredients
For the stew
- 3 Cloves of garlic
- 250 g Brown lentils
- 500 ml Water
- 4 Tablespoon Lemon juice
- 4 Tablespoon Pomegranate syrup
- 1,5 Teaspoon Cumin
- Salt
- 1 Eggplant
- 1 Red chili
- 6 Tablespoon Olive oil
- 10 g Fresh parsley
- 10 g Mint
To garnish
- 4 Teaspoon Pomegranate syrup
- 4 Tablespoon Pomegranate seeds
Zubereitung
- Peel the garlic, finely chop two cloves, just press one clove.
- Place the lentils in a pan with the water, crushed garlic clove, half the lemon juice, half the pomegranate syrup, salt and half the cumin and bring to the boil briefly.
- Place the lentils in a pan with the water, crushed garlic clove, half the lemon juice, half the pomegranate syrup, salt and half the cumin and bring to the boil briefly.
- Wash the eggplant and cut into cubes.
- Wash the chili, halve lengthwise, deseed and cut into strips.
- Heat the oil in a pan and fry the garlic, chilli and eggplant briefly.
- Deglaze with the remaining lemon juice and pomegranate syrup and season with salt and the remaining cumin. Add everything to the lentils and simmer for about 10 minutes until the lentils are soft but not falling apart.
- Pluck the parsley and mint from the stalks, wash and roughly chop.
- Mix the lentil and eggplant stew with the parsley and mint, garnish with pomegranate syrup and pomegranate seeds and serve.
Notes
Nährwerte
Can’t get enough of stews? Then try the vegetable stew with chickpeas, Makhloota legume stew or Adas bil Hamod lentil and chard stew.
Please leave me a comment telling me whether you liked the stew or which stew recipe you would like to try.
