Zucchini and Eggplant Sheikh El Mahshi with Three Tablespoons of Oil

Ingredients

• 1 kg small eggplants
• 1 kg small zucchini
• 400 g lean ground meat, fat-free
• 3 medium dried onions, chopped
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil (1 tablespoon for frying the onion and meat, 1 tablespoon for frying the zucchini, and 1 tablespoon for the eggplant)
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• About 2 cups water
• Salt
• A pinch of ground cinnamon
• A pinch of black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground sumac

Method

1. Put the meat in a pan without oil with a pinch of salt and stir to dry completely from its water
2. Set the meat aside
3. In the same pan put one tablespoon of vegetable oil and sauté the chopped onion until golden and softened, then add the meat we set aside over the onion, stir, add the spices with one teaspoon of tomato paste, mix and turn off the heat
4. Add the sumac, mix and leave the filling aside to cool before stuffing
5. Trim the zucchini, wash and drain them, then stuff the vegetables
6. Put one tablespoon of vegetable oil in a pan and fry the zucchini over medium heat, covering the pot and turning occasionally until the zucchini are cooked on all sides
7. Put one tablespoon of vegetable oil in the same pan and fry the eggplant the same way but without stuffing it
8. When the eggplant is cooked, place the pieces in a tray, slit them from the top and stuff them, arrange the zucchini alongside them in the tray as well
9. In the pan in which you fried the vegetables, add water and the remaining amount of tomato paste, adjust salt to taste and let the mixture boil to thicken
10. Pour the mixture over the zucchini and eggplant in the tray and put it in a preheated oven at 180°C on the middle rack to complete cooking and allow the sauce to thicken; you can add some fried carrots and tomato slices to the tray before baking if desired