Upside-Down Eggplant Rice

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Fried Vegetables

1. 1
   Sprinkle salt over slice the eggplant and leave 20 minutes, until they release their liquid, then pat dry well with paper towels.

   Paper towels

   💡Salt draws liquid out of the eggplant, and dry slices absorb less oil and brown instead of steaming.
2. 2
   Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and fry slice the eggplant in batches, on both sides, until they are golden.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStoveFrying pan

   💡Fry in batches without crowding: crowded slices cool the oil and turn soft and greasy.

   💡What you brown (meat, patties, schnitzel) goes into hot oil: in lukewarm oil it soaks it up and comes out greasy. For onion and garlic that you soften, oil heated over medium or low heat is enough; do not wait for it to smoke.
3. 3
   Transfer slice the eggplant to paper towels.

   Paper towels

For the Fried onion

1. 4
   Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStovePot
2. 5
   Add the onion and fry for 20 minutes, stirring, until the onion is deeply caramelized.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.

To assemble

1. 6
   Add the rice and the turmeric, cinnamon and baharat and stir 2 minutes, until all the grains are coated in fat.
2. 7
   Add the boiling water, season with salt and bring to a boil.

   Stove
3. 8
   Turn down to low, cover and simmer 18 minutes without opening the lid, until the liquid is absorbed.

   ⚙ SimmeringStoveLid

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
4. 9
   Spread a layer of slice the fried eggplant in the bottom of a second pot, set the rice on top, cover and cook over a very low flame another 10 minutes.

   StovePotLid
5. 10
   Turn the pot out onto a serving plate, sprinkle the almonds and raisins on top and serve.

   Serving platter