Fried Zucchini and Eggplant with Egg Free Shakshouka Recipe

Today I felt nostalgic for the good old days, when I was young and my grandmother used to make delicious food for me and my siblings. Maybe because it is Mother Day in many countries (we celebrate in Lebanon on the 21st of March with the beginning of spring). I remembered that I didn’t like the fried zucchini so grandmother dipped them in a batter before frying, which I found made it delicious.

Before posting, I did some research on Google to find  out about the meaning of Shakshouka, and I found that this is a very popular dish in a lot of Mediterranean countries. Many dishes of Lebanese Cuisine have a Turkish source. I assume that during the Ottoman occupation of these countries, some of their plates passed around. Most of these countries make the Shakshouka as a main dish with eggs on top, and that in Syria they call it Jaz Maz. But, in my family we have it as a side dish along with the fried zucchini, eggplants and other fried vegetables, sans egg. Whatever the source of this dish is, it will always be associated with nice memories from my childhood.

Recipe by ninabaydoun

Ingredients for the Shakshouka:

2 green peppers
4 red tomatoes
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon dried coriander
a pinch of chili pepper (if you like it more spicy, you can put more chili)
1 tablespoon olive oil

Preparation:

- Heat the oil in a saucepan and fry the onion for 2 minutes
- Dice the green pepper and fry with the onion for 3 extra minutes
- Peel the tomatoes and dice them very small and add over the green pepper and the onion, reduce the fire and cover the casserole and let it simmer
- In the meantime mix the garlic with salt, dried coriander and the chili and add it over the tomatoes and green pepper, mix well all the ingredients and let it cook for about 5 minutes
- Serve it as a side dish with fried zucchini and eggplants

Ingredients of the batter:

1 cup flour
1 cup water
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt

Preparation of the batter:

- Mix all the ingredients together
- Cut all the vegetable you want to fry: zucchini, eggplant, dip in the batter and deep fry for about 5 minutes until golden