Beans Stewed in Tomato with Eggplant (Beğendi Style)
Ingredients
2 servings
For the beans in tomato
- Beans 1 cup (170 g)
- Ripe tomatoes 3-4
- Onion 2-3
- Olive oil 2 tbsp
- Sugar a pinch
- Salt, black pepper, hot pepper, coriander, cumin to taste
- Water for soaking and boiling the beans, plus a little hot water for the sauce
For the eggplant side
- Young eggplants 4-5
- Butter 50 g
- Flour 1 tbsp (scant) (10 g)
- Milk or light cream 1 cup (200 ml)
- Lemon a little juice
- Salt, black pepper to taste
To serve
- Herbs (parsley or basil) a sprig
- Fresh white bread, hot pepper in oil for serving
Step-by-step recipe
How to prepare the beans
It is best to take small, speckled beans.
Soak the beans in cold water ahead of time for 3–4 hours, or better overnight. Then boil the beans until almost done, so that they stay whole. As my mother says, “5 more minutes and that’s enough.” Cook at a gentle simmer with the pot uncovered, which makes it less likely that the bean skins will burst. Drain the boiled beans and transfer them to a container with a lid.
Preparing the eggplant side-sauce
The eggplants should be young, without developed seeds. Beans with eggplant get an exceptional flavor if you bake the eggplants on the grill or in a special pepper and vegetable roaster, the Bulgarian chushkopek.
Bake the eggplants until the flesh is soft: on the grill, in a chushkopek or in the oven. Alternatively, you can bake the vegetables over an open flame if you have the option.
Let the eggplants cool, then peel off the skin. Be careful, as they can be very hot inside. Remove the stem and cut the fruits in half lengthwise. If needed, scrape out the seeds with a knife or spoon. Finely chop the flesh with a knife and sprinkle it with lemon juice, so it darkens less.
Make the sauce. Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat and add a scant 1 tbsp of wheat flour (10 g). Mix the fat with the flour and fry it briefly, stirring. In fact, the process is no different from making béchamel sauce.
Gradually pour in cold milk or light cream, stirring so there are no lumps. The sauce should be thick, but still spread across the pan.
Add the chopped eggplant flesh to the sauce, season with salt and pepper, and stir thoroughly. Simmer covered over the lowest heat for 10 mins. If the eggplant purée is too thick, add a little milk. The side should be thick, like eggplant risotto.
Cooking the beans in tomato
Make the tomato purée. Scald the ripe, meaty tomatoes with boiling water, then remove the seeds and skin. Put the flesh in a blender, add salt, a pinch of sugar and hot pepper, and blend into a spicy, slightly hot purée. Season all the spices to taste.
Peel the onion and cut it into thick strips. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat and fry the onion until soft. Lower the heat and simmer the onion covered for about 10 mins.
Pour all the prepared tomato purée over the onion. Add ground cumin and coriander to taste, add pepper, and simmer the mixture covered over low heat until the sauce thickens. Taste the tomato sauce and add more spices as you like. The sauce should be slightly hot and aromatic.
Add all the boiled beans to the sauce. If the sauce is too thick, add a little hot water. Simmer the beans in tomato at the gentlest simmer for 15 mins, stirring from time to time.
Serving
Prepare a large plate. With a spoon, spread the hot eggplant sauce-side near the edge of the plate in a ring, so the center of the plate stays free. Put the hot beans in tomato sauce into the hollow. Garnish the beans with eggplant with a sprig of herbs, parsley or basil.
Serve the dish while it is hot. I recommend adding fresh white bread and a few pods of hot pepper in oil. Don’t let the sauce cool down.
Calories and macros
910 kcal
Serving ≈ 1020 g
- Protein34 g17% of kcal
- Fat40 g46% of kcal
- Carbs72 g37% of kcal
100 g90 kcalProtein 3.3 gFat 3.9 gCarbs 7.1 g
Calculated from the recipe ingredients, excluding salt and spices. Data: USDA and Matvaretabellen.