Grilled Moussaka (msa2a3a mashweya) Egyptian style

A hearty and warming dish for these cold cold days!

Why grilled? Because it’s a lot lighter for one thing! Aubergines are like sponges and when fried in oil they really soak up a lot! So the grilled Moussaka doesn’t leave you feeling heavy and doesn’t need to be pushed to the side as an occasional meal. The taste, the critical component is still lovely nonetheless.

Below is the nutrition profile including 140gms of steamed basmati rice. I know the 18gms of fat per serving looks much but that assumes you will use up all the oil in the recipe for the grilling. Using a pastry brush to lightly brush the aubergines & peppers usually means you won’t use it all. I also think it’s not too bad given its a main meal and overall calories are still low. In general the adult body needs between 20 to 35% of daily calories as fat translating to 44 to 78gms based on a 2000 cal/day diet or 25 to 43gms on a 1100 cal/day diet (mine 🙂 ).

Some notes:

I use thin fleshed mild or medium hot Egyptian Green peppers (Baladi peppers). They are very different from regular bell peppers. I don’t think you’ll find them outside Egypt so opt for the substitutes below or another mild thin fleshed green pepper.
Please use a middle eastern mixed spice blend. It really does make a difference!
Pick the firmest, shiniest and smooth skinned aubergines you can find! It makes life a whole lot easier!
You can make your meat sauce in advance and use when needed. Saves on effort and the sauce freezes well.

Hope you enjoy!

Grilled Moussaka Egyptian Style

Servings: 6
Time: 2 hours prep & grilling, 30min final cooking
Difficulty: Medium
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Ingredients:

The veg:

1.7 kg aubergine (about 5 good size ones, pick them with dark purple and tight smooth skin)
4 baladi green peppers (the peppers with thin fleshed skin, not the thick flesh big bell peppers). If you can’t find baladi peppers, use cubanelle or banana peppers. Deseeded, sliced in half lengthwise.
4 long red chilli peppers, deseeded, sliced in half lengthwise.
45 ml oil in a small bowl (about 3.5 tbsps)

The meat sauce:

500gm minced beef, 10% fat
2 medium onions, finely chopped
5 garlic cloves, bashed then chopped
1 to 2 tsp Middle Eastern Mixed spice (that means Doha & similar not Schwartz!)
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsps tomato paste
1 400gm can chopped tomato or 500gm tomatoes pulsed in a blender
1.1 litre water

Equipment needed:

2 or 3 Baking trays (1 will do also, it just will take a bit of time to wait till the first batch is cooked)
A medium sized deep rectangular baking dish ( I used a 21x29x6 cm dish for the quantities here)
Pastry brush

Preheat a regular oven to 220° C/200° convection oven

Method:
Start off with the meat sauce:

Heat a big deep non-stick pot on a high heat till white smoke appears.
Add the mince beef and just break it into big chunks. Don’t stir for the first 5 min. We are searing off the beef and letting it release its fat.
Searing mince in its own fat.
Now turn over the chunks and brown the other side for a few min.
Searing mince in its own fat.
Add the onions and take the heat to medium and start stirring to break up the meat and brown the onions in the fat released.
Now add the garlic and stir for a min or two.
Add 1 tsp of mixed spice, a little salt and a tsp of pepper. Stir in well.
Add the tomato paste and stir in for a few minutes to cook out the sourness.
Add 1.1 litres of water and the chopped & blended tomato or canned tomato.
Stir well, bring to the boil over a high heat then take the heat down to low and let simmer for 1 hour.
Now on with the veg 🙂
Wash and dry all the veg.
Deseed and half the peppers & chilli peppers lengthwise, arrange on a baking tray.
Dip the pastry brush in the oil and lightly brush both sides of the peppers. Set aside.
Peel the Aubergines and take each one and slice thickly.
Lightly oil another baking tray and place the aubergine slices. If your oven can fit 2 baking trays then place the extra slices prepared in the same way on the other tray.
Lightly brush the side towards you with oil.
Place the tray(s) in your preheated oven on the middle shelf and set the timer to 20min.
Check after 20 min and if the undersides are browned turn them over and place again in the oven for a further 20min. If not, give an extra 10 min before flipping over.
Once done, set aside to cool and place your prepared peppers in to grill. 10 min on each side. So 20min in total.
Once your 1 hour for the meat sauce is up, stir it. If its too liquidy give it an extra 30min simmer to evaporate the excess liquid. But please don’t take it too far, you don’t want a thick sauce.
Once you’re happy with the consistency, taste to adjust salt and pepper. If the mixed spice is a bit weak for your liking add the 2nd tsp now (1/2 tsp first, taste then 1/2 tsp again if you still need more).
The assembly:
In a deep rectangular baking dish (mine is W21xH29xD6 cm) place a layer of aubergine tightly packed side by side.
Place on top a few of the grilled peppers and chilli peppers
Add a good layer of the meat sauce (about half the quantity)
Repeat another layer of the aubergines, peppers and chilli peppers.
Follow with the remaining meat sauce to create a covering layer (you may not need all of it).
Place back in the oven for 30min.