Musa’ah
Musa‘ah
So, what is Musa’ah?
Musa’ah is a really good, rich, tomatoey, vegetable dish which can be served as a side-dish or on its own with lots of good, warm, flat bread to scoop it up.
And what does Musa’ah taste like?
The flavours of Musa’ah are deep and strong. You initialy have the rich sweetness of tomatoe. This is complemented by the fresh tang from the green peppers. The cooked aubergine is soft and absorbs the flavours, acting almost like a soft buttery, flavour sponge. The dish is laced with garlic which fills the air as the Musa’ah cooks.
Vinegar is an important ingredient in this recipe, only a small quantity is added but it makes all the difference. It’s frequently used in place of wine in Islamic countries to raise the acidity of a dish and it brings the flavours to life wonderfully.
It’s best to allow your Musa’ah to cool after cooking, to make the most of the flavours.
You can eat musa’ah as soon as it’s finished cooking but it’s much better just warm or at room temperature as you can appreciate the flavours better. If you can leave it until the next day the flavours develop further and it becomes even tastier. It can be served warm or at room temperature.
Here’s the Musa’ah secret
The secret to this dish is to fry each vegetable separately so that the flavours remain separate and distinguishable rather than totally amalgamated.
Ingredients
- 1 red pepper
- 2 green peppers
- 2 large aubergine
- 6 cloves garlic – finely chopped
- 4 large tomatoes finely chopped or a tin of chopped tomatoes
- 1 tsp sugar
- ¼ pint water
- 3 tbsp white vinegar
- a good pinch of chilli flakes (optional)
- a good pinch of both salt and freshly ground black pepper to season
- 1 tsp of ground cumin
- handful of fresh coriander leaves – chopped (optional)
- juice of half a lemon
- olive oil for frying
Method
First cut the vegetables
Wash and de-seed the peppers and remove the stem, then cut them into long strips, the full length of the pepper (top to bottom) and 1cm wide.
Wash and cut the aubergine in half – top to bottom. Cut each half in half again – top to bottom. Now each quarter into slices 1cm thick.
Start by frying the peppers
Drizzle oil into a large frying pan and fry the peppers until they soften. When cooked transfer to a plate.
Then the aubergine
Add a little more oil to the frying pan and fry the aubergine until they become really soft and browned – remember to brown both sides. Add the garlic to the pan and allow to cook for just a minute before putting these on the plate with the peppers.
Now, for the delicious tomato sauce
Next, add a little more oil to your frying pan and fry the tomatoes with the sugar. Add the vinegar, water, chilli (if you are using it) and cumin and season well. Cook this until it reduces slightly to become a good rich sauce, about the same consistency as that most famous cream of tomato soup.
Bring the vegetables back
Add the peppers and aubergine back into the frying pan.
Add a splash of water to the pan to prevent it from becoming too dry. Then cover with a tightly fitting lid.
Simmer for 10 minutes
Reduce the heat down to the lowest setting and simmer gently for 10 minutes. This will allow the flavours to develop and the vegetables soften a little. But they should still have a little bite.
Do a taste test
Adjust the seasoning before serving if necessary.
Before serving your Musa’ah …
Stir in the coriander leaves and squeeze the lemon juice over to boost the flavours just before serving.
Musa’ah’s great to share
Serve on a low, flat, sharing dish, with warm pita bread.
Double up & pop some in the freezer for another day
Musa’ah freezes really well so I tend to make double the quantities and freeze half as it makes a great stand-by for supper or lunch.
Although this is actually a vegan recipe, it’s loved by everyone. I hope you’ll try it.
Let me know how you get on.