Why It Works
- Salting the eggplant draws out excess moisture, helping it cook and brown more evenly.
- Frying the eggplant gives it a lusciously creamy texture.
- This dish is a celebration of contrasts: sweet, velvety eggplant shines alongside tangy yogurt, crunchy pita, fresh herbs, and juicy pomegranate seeds.
- Adding tahini to the yogurt sauce gives it an intensely nutty and savory flavor.
I find few flavor combinations as delicious as silky eggplant with garlicky yogurt. Add crispy bread, fried nuts, some pomegranate seeds, and the phrase “greater than the sum of its parts” is not a cliché but an accurate description. I may be biased, but I’m not alone. When you say the word fatteh to someone from the Levant (Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, or Jordan), the first version that comes to mind is usually eggplant fatteh, followed closely by chickpea fatteh.
As with most Arabic meals, everyone has their own way of making it (and naturally, theirs is always “the best way”). Some differences are subtle: how much tahini goes into the yogurt sauce, whether the eggplant is peeled, what it’s garnished with, and the ratio of bread to sauce to eggplant. Others are more pronounced, such as whether it should include tomato sauce, whether it should be vegetarian, or whether you’re using baby eggplants that are cored and stuffed vs. a deconstructed version with cubed eggplant and everything layered.
The recipe here is for the most basic vegetarian version of eggplant fatteh, and I recommend you start with it. It’s a version that allows you to really taste each component—there is no tomato sauce to compete with the eggplant or meat to overpower the creamy components—and understand how they all come together to create a celebration on your palate. Once you’ve learned how to make this basic version, there are plenty of directions to go. Some add the fried eggplant to a tomato sauce that’s often spiked with pomegranate molasses and flavored with garlic and sometimes onion. In non-vegetarian versions, cooks simmer ground lamb or beef in a tomato sauce before layering it with pita, fried eggplant, yogurt, and a garnish of toasted pine nuts, pomegranates, and fresh herbs such as parsley. That, in turn, is a shortcut version of an older, more traditional dish in which baby eggplants are stuffed with fried meat, onions, and pine nuts, simmered in tomato sauce, and finished with yogurt and crisp bread.
Serious Eats / Mai Kakish
But back to the specifics of our recipe here. I recommend cutting the eggplant into two-inch cubes, as they shrink when fried, and this yields the perfect bite-size pieces. Roasted or air-fried eggplant is a perfectly decent substitute, but if you have the time or energy, frying will provide you with the most delicious results: It turns the eggplant lush and creamy, a contrast to the crisp bread beneath it. Just make sure to salt the eggplant cubes first, as this pulls out excess moisture and helps them brown quickly and evenly. The variety of the eggplant matters less than its quality. Use whatever looks best at the market, whether globe, Italian, or long Japanese-style eggplants. You want smooth, firm fruit; avoid mature eggplants that are beginning to soften or develop bruised spots, as they can be unpleasantly bitter and seedy.
As for the bread, I go back and forth between toasting it in the oven (which you can do days ahead) and frying. Since I’m already deep-frying the eggplant, I usually just toss the cut-up pita into the same oil once the eggplant is done. The result is dangerously good: Crisp, golden, and faintly flavored with the rich earthiness of the eggplant.
Once you’ve fried the eggplant and bread, all that’s left to do is assemble. The beauty of this dish lies in both its adaptability and forgiving nature: There’s almost nothing you can do that will mess up the timeless, delicious combination of silky smooth fried eggplant with creamy, tangy yogurt, crunchy fried pita, and toasted pine nuts.
This Beloved Levantine Vegetable Dish Is Creamy, Crunchy, and Comforting
Cook Mode
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For the Bread:
4 ounces (113 g) pita, homemade or store-bought, cut into 3/4-inch squares (2 cups), see notes
For the Yogurt Sauce:
1 1/2 cups strained (Greek-style) whole-milk yogurt (14 ounces; 396 g)
1 tablespoon (15 ml) tahini
2 tablespoons (30 ml) lemon juice from 1 medium lemon
2 medium cloves garlic (10 g), finely grated
1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume
For the Eggplant:
2 large eggplants (about 40 ounces; 2 1/2 pounds)
Kosher salt
6 cups (1.4 L) neutral oil, such as vegetable or canola, for frying
For the Garnish:
3 tablespoons pine nuts or slivered almonds (about 1/2 ounce; 16 g)
2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra-virgin olive oil, for frying
Red pepper flakes, for garnish (optional)
Pomegranate seeds, for garnish (optional)
Chopped flat-leaf parsley, for garnish (optional)
Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
Arrange pita on a 13- by 18-inch rimmed baking sheet and bake, stirring occasionally, until crisp and beginning to darken, about 15 minutes.
Serious Eats / Mai Kakish
Slice each eggplant in half lengthwise. Slice each portion of eggplant in half lengthwise again, then cut each strip into 2-inch cubes. Set cubed eggplant in a large colander set over a bowl or the sink, sprinkle generously with salt, and let stand until eggplant is dewy with water, about 1 hour.
Serious Eats / Mai Kakish
Meanwhile, Prepare the Yogurt Sauce: In a medium bowl, whisk yogurt, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and salt to combine. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Serious Eats / Mai Kakish
Prepare the Garnish: Line a plate with paper towels; set aside. In a small stainless steel, carbon steel, cast iron, or nonstick skillet, combine 2 tablespoons olive oil and pine nuts over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until just lightly golden, 1 minute. Immediately remove nuts onto prepared paper towel–lined plate; set aside.
Serious Eats / Mai Kakish
For the Eggplant: In a large wok, Dutch oven, or pot, heat 2 to 3 inches of oil until it registers 350°F (175°C) on an instant-read or clip-on thermometer.
Line a 13- by 18-inch rimmed baking sheet with paper towels. Place drained eggplant cubes onto paper towel-lined baking sheet and blot dry with paper towels.
Serious Eats / Mai Kakish
Line a large plate with paper towels; set aside. Working in batches to avoid overcrowding, fry eggplant until deep golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Adjust heat as necessary to maintain oil temperature. Using a slotted spoon or spider skimmer, remove eggplant to paper towel–lined plate and let drain. Return oil to 350°F (175°C) and repeat with remaining eggplant.
Serious Eats / Mai Kakish
To Assemble: Arrange toasted bread on a large serving platter. Top with fried eggplant, followed by a thin layer of yogurt sauce. Garnish with toasted pine nuts, red pepper flakes, or pomegranate seeds, if using, and parsley. Serve immediately.
Serious Eats / Mai Kakish
Special Equipment
13- by 18-inch rimmed baking sheet; colander; whisk; small stainless steel, carbon steel, or cast iron skillet; large wok, Dutch oven, or pot; instant-read thermometer; slotted spoon or spider skimmer
Notes
If using thick pita, split the bread apart before cutting into squares.
To fry pita after you fry the eggplant, line a large plate with paper towels; set aside. Using a spider skimmer or slotted spoon, carefully lower cut pita into hot oil. Working in batches as necessary, fry, using a spider skimmer or slotted spoo to flip and stir as needed, until golden brown on all sides, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer pita to paper–towel lined plate; repeat with remaining pita as needed.
This dish is traditionally made with deep-fried eggplant. As mentioned above, however, you can easily air fry or roast the eggplants at 375°F (190°C). If air frying or roasting, there is no need to salt the eggplant. Toss the eggplant cubes with enough olive oil to coat, season generously with salt, and air fry or roast, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 20 minutes.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Bread can be toasted or fried up to 3 days in advance. Once cooled, bread can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
The yogurt sauce can be prepared up to 1 day in advance and refrigerated in an airtight container.
Once fried and cooled, the eggplants can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days and reheated in a 350°F (175°C) oven, air fryer, or microwave until warm. Alternatively, eggplants can sit at room temperature for up to 3 hours once fried.
Pine nuts can also be fried a day in advance and stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
Once assembled, however, the dish is best consumed straight away. Leftovers do not keep well as the bread becomes extremely soggy.
