Jump to Recipe Pin Recipe
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our Privacy Policy for details.
I find fried eggplant so tasty and so satisfying that I feel like I could it every other day. Yesterday, I made fried eggplant with rice and tomatoes for lunch and served it without any meat whatsoever. It was so delicious and, importantly, so satisfying that I didn't feel like I needed any meat.
This fried eggplant dish is typical of Georgia (country) and has that native Mediterranean flavor to it, the flavor of roasted vegetables and olive oil. It has no specific name and is simply called fried eggplant with rice and tomatoes. There are many variations of this dish in Georgia, and typically rice and tomatoes are stuffed inside eggplant, then fried in a pan, or even stewed with some liquid, until fully cooked.
In my recipe, I wanted as much distinct fried flavor as possible so I fried eggplant, then onions and rice, to get as much caramelization and flavor as possible. I then finished cooking in oven. The taste and the flavors were exactly how I wanted them. I might even add that they exceeded my expectations.
Fried Eggplant with Rice and Tomatoes Recipe
5 from 4 votes
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes minutes
Total Time: 1 hour hour
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 323kcal
Author: Victor
Ingredients
- 2 eggplants
- 1 cup cooked rice
- 1 yellow onion (finely chopped)
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- 2 Tbsp fresh parsley (minced)
- 2 tomatoes (sliced into 12 slices)
- Kosher salt (to taste)
- Ground black pepper (to taste)
- 6 Tbsp olive oil (plus more as needed)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400F.
Rinse the eggplants, cut off stems and cut in half lengthwise. Sprinkle with salt liberally and set aside.
In a large non-stick frying pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Fry the eggplant halves, two at a time, on both sides, turning about every 30 seconds, until dark golden brown.
Add more oil as you are frying the eggplant as they tend to soak it in. You want the frying pan to have some oil on the bottom. If you see that it looks dry, it’s a good time to add a little more oil.
Remove the eggplant from the frying pan and transfer to a baking sheet or a baking dish, cut side up. Sprinkle some more salt over the top of the eggplant halves. If you don't they will taste a little under-salted.
In the same frying pan, brown the onion over medium-high heat until golden brown. Add the rice, parsley, tomato paste and stir well. Cook for another minute frequently stirring. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat, transfer the mixture to a bowl and let cool down.
Spread rice and onion mixture over the eggplant pieces, pressing down gently to make it stick.
Top each fried eggplant half with 3 tomato slices. Drizzle with a little bit of olive oil.
Transfer the eggplant into oven and bake for 25 minutes.
Remove from the oven, drizzle with some more olive oil, and sprinkle with a little bit of salt and pepper. Garnish with fresh parsley and/or coriander and serve.
Nutrition
Calories: 323kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 42mg | Potassium: 784mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 785IU | Vitamin C: 19.6mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 1.2mg
Subscribe to Craving Tasty Email Newsletter
Reader Interactions
Comments
Patricia Fischer says
This recipe was great. Very easy and delicious. I made it exactly to instructions. I used leftover risotto fir the rice. It was great.Reply
victor says
Enjoy!
Reply
Jan says
I am always trying new recipes. This was the best of 2019 so far.Reply
Chelsea says
Simple and very tasty! I can also make this when my vegan sister comes over 🙂
Reply
Sophie Weber says
This was delicious!! I subsituted it with cauliflower rice and I will be saving this recipe. Thank you!Reply
victor says
You are very welcome. Cauliflower rice sounds like a great idea for a low carb version. I am going to try it.
Reply
Erica says
There are different ways to prepare eggplant and tomatoes, but this dish is amazing. You can prepare it for both quick weeknight dinners and for special occasions. I loved the deep taste and rich flavors.
Reply
Carmela says
Is the rice going to be cooked thru without liquids?
Reply
victor says
Carmela, you need to start with a cup of cooked rice.
Reply
Melissa says
I loved this recipe so much that I made these fried eggplant twice in a row in one day;) Thank you for sharing.
Reply
victor says
You are very welcome.
Reply
joan says
I love eggplant and this recipe is great. Highly recommend!Reply
victor says
Thanks for the feedback, Joan. Glad you liked it.
Reply
