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.
