Kare'a wa Betnjan

Kare'a is pumpkins. The green ones used for this dish are usually called "Kare'a baladi" which is loosely translated pumpkins from the town or village. Betnjan are eggplants and the ones used for this dish are usually small. Both the green pumpkins and small eggplants can be found in Arab/Turkish supermarkets.

Time: 3 hours

Servings: 10

Ingredients:

10 green pumpkins

20 small eggplants

Half a kilo of Basmatic rice

Half a kilo of minced beef meat

5 spoons for Baharat (Allspice)

5 spoons of salt

2 spoons of olive oil

200 Gram of tomato puree

Water

Directions:

1. Remove the insides of the pumpkins and the eggplants

2. Mix the rice, meat, oil, Baharat and 3 spoons of salt in a bowl

3. Fill the pumpkins and eggplants with the mixture (fill only halfway through because the rice will expand)

4. Place all of the filled up pumpkins and eggplants in a big pot

5. Spread the tomato puree around in the pot

6. Fill up with water until almost completely covered

7. Add 2 spoons of salt

8. Cook on high heat until it boils and then lower the heat to medium and continue cooking for 2 hours or until soft and colors look like they do in the picture above

Tips and comments:

*Unlike the Zucchinis, the insides of the pumpkins and eggplants cannot be used to make a different dish.

*When you hollow the eggplants and the pumpkins, try to get rid of as much of the white stuff because it might become bitter if not fully cooked.

*The quantities in this recipe are quite high. You can obviously make half of this dish with half of the quantity.

*Some people put less meat in the mixture. There is no correct ratio, it depends on how you like it.

*Taste the tomato sauce before you take the pot off the heat. If it's missing salt, add some and cook for a few more minutes.

*If you cook this dish a few times, you will start noticing that it has a certain smell when it's ready.

*If you have extra time, once the dish is ready, take it off the heat and let it sit for an hour or so. Not only it will cool down a bit and be more easily edible, it will also distribute the tastes better and the sauce would go into the pumpkins and the eggplants a bit.