Seham's Masaah (Eggplant and Tomato) Recipe

Ingredients:
-2 medium sized eggplants
-3 cans of diced tomatoes
-2 green bell peppers
-1 whole garlic
-500ml of oil for frying (vegetable/olive/canola oil)
-1 1/2 tablespoons cumin
-1/4 cup white vinegar
-olive oil
-1 tablespoon salt (add more to taste if desired)
-1 teaspoon pepper
-1 can of chickpeas

Directions:
1. Slice eggplant into 1/4 inch slices and then cut circles into quarters.
2.Use the tip of the knife to poke numerous holes into each piece.
3.Place pieces into a bowl of salt water and let it soak for 10 minutes to remove bitter taste from eggplant.
4.While eggplant is soaking, cut green bell pepper into rectangular chunks and then put aside for later.
5.Crush or chop half a clove of garlic and fry in a saucepan with olive oil over high heat until lightly brown.
6.Add three cans of chopped tomatoes into garlic/oil mixture. Add salt, pepper, cumin, and vinegar and stir. Turn stove to medium/low heat and cover. Let sauce simmer for 30 minutes.
7.Use deep fryer or deep sauce pan to fry the eggplant over high heat. Remove when eggplant is a golden brown color. Then do the same with the green pepper.
8.Place on a plate covered with paper towels to drain some of the oil.
9.Mix sauce with fried eggplant and fried green peppers together in a casserole dish.
10.Chop other half of raw garlic clove and mix in casserole dish.
11.Drain and wash can of chick peas. Add overtop of eggplant dish.
12.Cover casserole dish with aluminum foil and put in oven at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.
13.When ready for serving, sprinkle olive oil over the top

Tips:
-after straining the eggplant from the water, I usually use a paper towel to soak some of the water from each piece. This reduces the amount of oil that splashes when you are frying it.
-it may be easier to start at step 5 first and allow time to simmer while doing the other steps