Cooking instructions

Cut the stalks of the eggplant to approximately 1.5 cm, and then trim the husk that caps the eggplant. Peel the eggplant lengthways leaving 1 cm wide strips of skin, to create a striped effect. If you are using large eggplant, peel these in wider strips and cut them in quarters lengthways.

Fill a wide frying pan with enough vegetable oil to deep fry the eggplant and place over medium heat. When the oil is hot - to test the heat, dip in one end of an Eggplant; if the oil bubbles around it, it is ready - fry the eggplant until golden on all sides. With a slotted spoon, remove the eggplant onto several layers of kitchen paper to drain off the excess oil.

Put the olive oil, sliced onion and garlic in a saucepan that is sufficiently wide for the eggplant to fit in one layer. Place over medium heat and saute until golden. Add the chickpeas and saute for a couple of minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes. Season with salt to taste. Cover the pan and boil gently for 15 minutes. Then, carefully arrange the eggplant in one layer in the tomato sauce. Add more salt if necessary. Cover the pan and boil gently for another 20 minutes or until the tomato sauce has thickened. If the sauce is still too runny, uncover the pan and boil for a few more minutes until all excess liquid has evaporated. Cover with a clean kitchen cloth and let cool. Transfer carefully onto a serving platter. Serve at room temperature.