Makdous, Stuffed Pickled Eggplant

Makdous, Stuffed Pickled Eggplant

Syrian makdous is prepared by boiling small eggplants, then slitting, salting, and weighing them down until they drain well. A filling is then made from sweet red peppers with a little hot pepper, walnuts, garlic, and salt. The eggplants are stuffed, packed into jars, covered with olive oil, and left to mature before serving cold.

A preserved eggplant dish stuffed or mixed with peppers, walnuts, and garlic, then served cold.

This classic Levantine preserve is usually oily, garlicky, and spicy. Serve it with bread as part of a mezze spread.

Ingredients

  • 3 kg eggplant
  • 2 kg sweet red peppers
  • 200 g hot red peppers
  • 600 g walnuts
  • 6 tablespoons crushed garlic
  • 3 tablespoons salt

Instructions

  1. Wash the eggplants and arrange them in the pot.
  2. Boil the eggplants in the pot, placing a weight on top so they remain under the water.
  3. Leave the eggplants over the heat until they boil and are cooked through. Test for doneness by taking out one eggplant and placing it in cold water to make sure it has become tender and is not firm.
  4. Cool the eggplants immediately in cold water, then leave them until cooled.
  5. Slit each eggplant along the side without cutting all the way through, then open it gently and sprinkle a little salt inside.
  6. Arrange the eggplants sideways in a colander, then place a plate or weight on top so they drain for two to three days.
  7. Remove the seeds from the sweet red peppers, then wash and dry them thoroughly.
  8. Grind the peppers using the coarse blade of a grinder until they are coarse rather than smooth.
  9. Drain the peppers well in a colander, cheesecloth, or a strained-yogurt bag until their liquids are released.
  10. Add the walnuts to the drained peppers.
  11. Add the crushed garlic to the filling.
  12. Add the salt to the filling and mix it well by hand while wearing gloves.
  13. Stuff the inside of each eggplant with the filling, then gently close it.
  14. Wipe the surface of each eggplant with a damp piece of cheesecloth before packing it.
  15. Pack the stuffed eggplants into jars with the slit side facing inward.
  16. Pour olive oil over the stuffed eggplants without filling the jar all the way to the top immediately.
  17. Leave the jars for three to four hours or overnight until the oil level drops, then add additional oil if needed until the last eggplant is submerged.
  18. Leave the makdous for one week in moderate weather to mature before serving.

Browse the Syrian recipes catalog