Mesaqa’a

Ingredients

The aubergines

• 1.2 kgaubergines
• about 3 large
• sliced into 1 cm rounds
• or cut lengthways
• 2 tablespoonssalt, for drawing water
• oil, for frying

The sauce

• 4 tablespoonsoil
• or olive oil
• 2onions, finely chopped
• 6 clovesgarlic, crushed
• 800 gripe tomatoes, chopped
• or 2 tins chopped tomatoes
• 2 tablespoonstomato purée
• 1 teaspoonground cumin
• 1 teaspoonground coriander
• a pinch of chilli, to taste
• 1 teaspoonsugar
• salt and black pepper
• about 150 ml water

The optional meat

• 400 gminced beef
• or lamb
• 1 teaspoonground cinnamon
• half a teaspoon allspice
• or baharat

Sometimes added

• 2green peppers, sliced and fried
• 1potato, sliced and fried
• a handful of parsley, chopped

To serve

• bread, aish baladi
• or rice
• plain yoghurt
• a salad

Directions

1. Slice the aubergine into rounds. Lay them in a colander in layers. Salt each layer generously. Leave them for at least thirty minutes. An hour is better. Rinse the salted slices under cold water. Squeeze them gently between your palms. Then dry them thoroughly with a cloth.
2. Fry in oil that is genuinely hot. Hot oil sears the surface quickly. Cool oil is absorbed before any searing happens.
3. Heat the oil to about one hundred and eighty degrees. It should sizzle immediately and firmly. Use enough to come halfway up the slices. Brush them with oil and roast at two hundred degrees. Give them twenty-five minutes, turning once.
4. Fry the slices in batches. Do not crowd the pan. Lift them onto kitchen paper. Press gently with more paper on top. Heat the oil in a pot. Add the chopped onions. Cook them for about ten minutes until soft. Add the garlic and cook two minutes. Now add the meat if you are using it. Add the mince and break it up. Fry it until it browns.
5. Add the cinnamon and allspice. Add the tomato purée and cook it two minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes. Add the cumin, coriander and chilli. Add the sugar. It should not make the sauce sweet. Add the water and bring it to a simmer.
6. Simmer it for about twenty minutes. It should thicken noticeably. Season with salt and pepper. The sauce should be thick rather than watery. Spread a little sauce in a baking dish. Lay the fried aubergine over it.
7. Spoon more sauce over. Repeat in layers. Finish with sauce on top. Both are done. Bake at one hundred and eighty degrees. Give it about thirty minutes. Let it stand at least twenty minutes. It is far too hot to taste properly straight from the oven. Serve it warm or at room temperature. Serve bread alongside. It keeps four days refrigerated.

Technique

• Aubergine absorbs oil like a sponge, and managing that is the central problem of this dish. Salting the slices for at least thirty minutes draws out water and collapses some of the air pockets that would otherwise fill with oil.
• Fry in genuinely hot oil, around 180 degrees. Hot oil sears the surface and limits absorption; cool oil is soaked up before any searing happens, so a timid heat gives the greasiest result.
• Rinse and dry the salted slices thoroughly. Wet aubergine spits violently in hot oil and steams rather than browning.
• Cook the aubergine until completely soft at the frying stage. Undercooked aubergine is spongy and unpleasant and does not soften further in the sauce.
• Press the fried slices between kitchen paper. It removes a surprising amount of oil.
• Baking the slices at 200 degrees with a brush of oil uses far less oil and gives a genuinely lighter dish — drier and less rich, not the same as fried. Many people prefer it, and the atlas does not pretend the two match.
• Keep the sauce thick. The aubergine releases liquid in the oven, so a thin sauce only gets thinner.
• Do not overbake it. Everything is already cooked and the oven is only marrying the layers — thirty minutes until it bubbles at the edges.
• Rest it at least twenty minutes. It is too hot to taste properly straight from the oven and it settles as it cools.
• Egyptian mesaqa’a is not Greek moussaka. Both names come from the Arabic musaqqa’a, meaning chilled, but this has no béchamel, is not built like a lasagne, and is frequently eaten at room temperature — which is what the name refers to, and is how the dish is often served rather than a compromise.
• The meatless version is entirely standard, not a lesser one. Coptic Orthodox fasting excludes animal products and is extensive and genuinely observed, which is why Egypt has a substantial vegan cooking tradition.
• Cinnamon and allspice in the meat are standard across Egyptian and Levantine cooking and surprise cooks who think of them as sweet spices. A little goes a long way.

Substitutions

• Baking the aubergine slices replaces frying and uses far less oil.
• Lamb replaces beef in the meat version; leaving the meat out entirely is equally standard.
• Tinned chopped tomatoes replace fresh out of season.
• Fried green pepper and potato are common additions layered in with the aubergine.
• Baharat replaces the cinnamon and allspice.
• Courgette can replace some of the aubergine.

Variations

• The meatless version is eaten during Coptic fasting periods and is entirely standard.
• Greek moussaka adds a béchamel topping and is a different dish despite the shared name.
• Musakhan in the Levant is unrelated despite the similar name.
• Mesaqa’a with fried potato layered through is common in Egyptian households.
• Bamia, the okra and tomato stew, is the other great Egyptian vegetable dish.
• Turkish imam bayıldı stuffs whole aubergines with onion and tomato.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mesaqa’a?

Mesaqa’a is a main from Egypt: fried eggplant baked in tomato sauce, with or without minced meat.

How long does Mesaqa’a take to make?

Mesaqa’a takes 40 minutes plus salting of preparation and 1 hour of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Mesaqa’a?

Yes, within limits. Baking the aubergine slices replaces frying and uses far less oil. Lamb replaces beef in the meat version; leaving the meat out entirely is equally standard. Tinned chopped tomatoes replace fresh out of season. Fried green pepper and potato are common additions layered in with the aubergine. Baharat replaces the cinnamon and allspice. Courgette can replace some of the aubergine.

What is the most important thing to get right in Mesaqa’a?

Fry the slices in batches. Do not crowd the pan. Lift them onto kitchen paper. Press gently with more paper on top. Heat the oil in a pot. Add the chopped onions. Cook them for about ten minutes until soft. Add the garlic and cook two minutes. Now add the meat if you are using it. Add the mince and break it up. Fry it until it browns.