Eggplant-Chickpea Tagine

I made this for JFI-Eggplant, but couldn’t get around posting it on time. Recipe is from my "Vegetarian" cookbook (Edited by Valerie Ferguson). Recipe takes almost an hour from start to finish, but it is worth every bit of the time and effort you put into it. Spices used make this Moroccan style stew make it taste almost like an Indian dish.

Ingredients:
Eggplant – 1 medium, chopped into bite size pieces
Zucchini – 1 medium, thicky sliced
Chickpeas – 1 16oz. can, rinsed and drained
Potatoes - 2 medium, chopped
Onions – 1 large, sliced
Garlic Cloves - 2, chopped
Dry apricots - 8 (I substituted with a tablespoon sugar)
Ground Coriander - 1tbsp
Ground cinnamon – 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 2 tsp
Turmeric - 2 tsp
Chili Sauce - 1 tbsp
Tomato paste – 1 tbsp
Passata* – 2 ½ cups (I used tomato puree instead)
Water – 2/3 cup
Salt & Pepper– to taste

Method:

• Put the eggplant and zucchini in a colander, sprinkling salt over each layer. Let stand for ½ hour. Rinse very well and pat dry with paper towels.
• Preheat the broiler. Arrange the zucchini and eggplant on a baking sheet and toss in 1 tbsp of olive oil. Broil for 20 minutes, turning occasionally, until tender and golden.
• Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large heavy pan and cook the onion and garlic until softened. Add the spices and stir over the heat for 1 minute.
• Add the potatoes and cook for 3 minutes, stirring. Pour in the passata, tomato paste and water and cook for 10 minutes or until the sauce begins to thicken.
• Add the eggplant, zucchini, chili sauce and chickpeas. Season to taste with salt and pepper and cook, partially covered for 10-15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.

Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve with rice.
Note:

• Passata is a cooked tomato concentrate and you can find the recipe for making it here.
• Recipe also uses 2 cups Brown mushrooms. The dish turned out delicious even without the mushrooms.
• Also this recipe makes a big pot of stew, you can refrigerate it for upto a week without any problem.