Today’s recipe is one of the basics of the Lebanese cuisine. I doubt you would find any Lebanese family who doesn’t have their own special “Fattet Battenjen” recipe.
Fattet Battenjen is the Arabic name of what you can call Eggplant crumble. It is a game of layers between eggplant, yogurt, tahini sauce and toasted Arabic bread. With various twists in spices, way of cutting and cooking the eggplant and garnish from pine nuts to pomegranates.
Each Lebanese family have their own touch to this recipe but the basic layers are the same.and today I wanted to present to you my own twist of this recipe !
A savory breakfast Eggplant Fatteh Jar! Those jars are just so cute to present on your next lunch/dinner table as appetizer and even a very unique way of doing them for a brunch or breakfast with your friends, very cute and easy to eat from the jar.
The three main layers of any fatteh are:
1- the crunch layer made from the toasted Arabic bread
2- the refreshing sauce made from yogurt as a base and the adding vary from region to region but I personally like it with tahini it add so much earthy flavors.
3- the texture layer made from eggplant or aubergine with various seasoning and many ways of cooking it but I’m going to show my way for a crispy with a spongy inside eggplant cubes with no need to deep fry and to keep this delicious recipe fresh and light on your stomach !
So let’s start! Don’t forget to snap a picture and tag me #annacookingconcept when you try my recipe.
I would love to hear your feedback always!
Fattet Batenjen (eggplant crumble) Jars
Ingredients
eggplant layer:
- 250 g eggplants cut into 2 cm cubes
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp sweet pepper
- 200 g cooked chickpeas
- 2 tbsp fresh coriander see notes for substitution
- 1/4 cup tomato cut into small cubes
- 1 tbsp virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
yogurt&tahini sauce:
- 3 cups fresh Lebanese plain yogurt laban
- 5 tbsp tahini
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
Crunch Layer:
- 1 medium Arabic brown pitta bread
- 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts or almonds
garnish:
- chopped parsley
- toasted pine nuts or almonds
- cumin powder
- pomegranate seeds optional
Instructions
eggplant layer:
- start by cutting the eggplants into cubes , wash and drain well!
- season the cubes with salt and let it sit for around 30 min , this will help the eggplant get rid of the extra bitter taste . after the 30 minutes wash them thoroughly and with a clean kitchen towel pat them to dry.
- in a large bowl , mix the eggplant with the chickpeas,cumin powder, sweet pepper, fresh coriander, tomato cubes and olive oil. mix gently with a spatula everything together until all the chickpeas and eggplants cubes are coated with the oil and seasoning.
- I prepared my eggplant mixture in the air-fryer but you can totally prepare it in oven: Pour the eggplant mixture in the air-fryer pan and cook on high-heat (level 4) for 15 minutes flipping each 5 minutes so they crisp evenly. timing depend on the air-fryer you are using it is always better to cook 5 minutes at the time and check and add time accordingly , you should have a golden brown crispy little cubes at the end . (for oven version see notes)
- after the eggplant mixture is done , put in a glass bowl add the pomegranate molasses and mix it thoroughly until everything is coated and set aside for assembly later .
yogurt&tahini sauce:
- in a deep bowl add all the yogurt ingredients and whisk together till you have a smooth yogurt dressing.(check notes for extra adding and flavors)
Crunch Layer:
- I usually cut my bread into cubes same size as the eggplant and toast in a 200 C ° preheated oven for 10 minutes turning mid-way. I use the oven so I can toasted them while cooking the eggplant and preparing the dressing so everything is cooking at the same time (time management hack 😛 ) but you can totally use the air-fryer also to toast (check notes for detail.)
- toast the pin nuts : at the same time while the bread is toasting in the oven( 200 C ° ) , spread the pine nuts on another baking tray or in the same tray as the bread , and toast for 10 minutes , flipping mid-way, until they have a golden brown color. if you are using almonds instead of pine nuts check on them each 4 minutes they can easily get burned.
- mix the bread with the toasted nuts saving 1/4 cup of the nuts for garnish
Assembly and garnish:
- in your serving glass jars or glass bowl, start with a layer of crunchy bread&nuts than a layer of eggplant mixture than layer of the dressing , using 2 tbsp. approx for each layer , and keep repeating until you fill the jar.
- garnish with some nuts and chopped parsley with a sprinkle of cumin powder and some pomegranate seeds (optional if you like.)
- it is better to be served immediate , you can prepare all the layer in advance the night before or even 2 days in advance and assemble 15 min before eating so you can enjoy the texture and the crunchiness.
- if you are preparing this recipe for you week meals , you can layer-up the eggplant mixture and the yogurt dressing and set the crunchy bread&nuts aside , and when you want to eat just sprinkle the bread and nuts on the top and enjoy !
Notes
- you can substitute the fresh coriander with coriander powder: 1 tbsp fresh coriander = 1 tsp coriander powder
- for the oven version to bake eggplant mixture: spread eggplant mixture in a single layer on a baking tray and bake in a 200 C ° preheated oven for 30 minutes flipping mid-way until they have a golden brown color with a crispy texture , you may need an extra 15 minutes depending on your oven, keep an eye on them while baking.
- you can add a little bit of cumin powder or freshly chopped coriander or freshly chopped parsley or dry mint for a more colorful yogurt dressing. I tried it all and all complement the recipe quite well! for the fresh parsley or coriander start with 1 tbsp and build up from there to you liking. and for the dry mint and cumin powder start with 1 tsp and build-up from there . I recommend using one or two of the adding at the same time so you don’t overwhelm the recipe overall flavors . I usual use parsley/dry mint or cumin/coriander combo.
- After you finish the eggplant in the same pan without washing , dump those pita cubes and try to lay them in a single layer and toast for 4 minutes in high-heat (level 4) . you can add the pine nuts with the bread for extra time saving and let them roast all together in the air-fryer but it is not my favorite way to roast nuts because they can get easily burned and not evenly roasted to perfection in this way .