Fried Eggplant Recipe with Vegetables

A chunky fried eggplant dish made with tomatoes, red bell peppers, carrots, and garlic. Think of it as Eggplant salad, but more filling with rice. It's the perfect way to use up vegetables from the garden and cooks all in one pan. In Ukraine, we call this "Baklazanna ikra" (eggplant caviar) or "Ovechne Ragu" (vegetable stew).

📝 Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs eggplants ((3 small eggplants, cut into chunks))
• 1 1/2 lbs tomatoes ((4 medium-sized, diced))
• 1 onion ((diced))
• 1 clove garlic ((crushed))
• 2 large red bell peppers ((cut into chunks))
• 2 carrots ((grated))
• 1 1/2 TBSP white distilled vinegar
• 1 1/2 TBSP salt
• 1 1/2 TBSP granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2/3 cup uncooked white rice ((Jasmine rice or short-grain white rice))
• 2 Jalapeno peppers ((diced))

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1Prep and chop the eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, and vegetables: Prepare The Vegetables: Chop the eggplant into bite-sized pieces, dice the tomatoes, bell peppers, and onion, crush the garlic, and grate the carrots.
2. 2Wash the uncooked rice: Wash and rinse the uncooked rice.
3. 3Saute the eggplant and vegetables: Heat a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the olive oil and all the remaining ingredients (eggplants, tomatoes, onion, garlic, bell peppers, carrots, seasonings, hot pepper, and uncooked rice). Saute the mixture until the vegetables release liquid and the mixture gets bubbly (about 8 minutes, stirring often).
4. 4Braise the eggplant mixture and serve: Then, cover the skillet with a lid and reduce the heat to low. Simmer and braise over low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve this eggplant dish warm out of the skillet, or cool and refrigerate as a salad.