A popular layered eggplant dish, turned vegan: Fattet Batinjan (Eggplant Fatteh). It’s a warm Middle Eastern dish made with a hearty aromatic tomato eggplant filling, layered over crispy pita chips, then drenched in a tangy tahini sauce. Topped with boiled chickpeas, toasted pine nuts, and a garnish of parsley. The ultimate comfort breakfast!

About The Recipe

• Hearty comforting breakfast
• Easy to make
• Vegan | Dairy-Free

What Is Fatteh?

Fatteh (pronounced ‘Fa-tteh’) means crumbles. It’s derived from bread crumbs (I call them ‘fatafeet khobz’). There are many variations of Fatteh within the Middle Eastern cuisine. All start with a base of crispy pita chips, but each consists of layering different types of ingredients to create a heavenly dish. The name of each dish comes down to the star ingredient that takes over the meal. The word ‘Fattet’ simply relates to the kind of Fatteh made.

Which brings us to today’s recipe!
Fattet Batinjan (pronounced ‘Bat-tin-jan’, or ‘Bet-tin-jan’, depending on the region).
Batinjan being the eggplants!

Fatteh is a great Arabic dish to serve alongside many others to make one fun Mezze! We often enjoy it with a side of homemade falafel, fuul mdammes, tabbouleh, mashawee, hummus, you name it!

This one is dairy-free/vegan, and made with no added meat substitutes. It’s traditionally made by frying the pita chips, eggplants, and any decorative nuts. We air-fried the eggplants and pita chips instead. Feel free to deep fry if you wish!

Ingredients You Need

Vegetables & Herbs

• Eggplants
• Pita Bread
• Tahini
• Chickpeas
• Nuts and Herbs for garnish

For The Eggplant Filling

After frying (or air-frying) the eggplants, they’re cooked with tomatoes, onion, garlic, pomegranate molasses, and a mix of spices (salt, pepper, seven spice, paprika, and chilli flakes). All combined to bring a fusion of flavours!

Other Components Of The Dish

Besides the eggplants, the dish mainly consists of: boiled chickpeas, crispy pita bread, lemony tahini dressing, and a garnish of parsley and pine nuts.

How To Make Fattet Batinjan

It’s a simple process really. It’s all about timing and preparing the components accordingly. Since the eggplants will take the longest (as they’re cooked in two steps), start by preparing them first, while working away on the remaining ingredients. Starting with air-frying the diced eggplants. Followed by boiling chickpeas, preparing the tahini sauce, and toasting pine nuts. Then sauté the onion and garlic with the spices in a pan, and cooking down the tomatoes until the eggplants are ready to be added. In the meantime, we can prepare the pita chips to air-fry.

Layering Fattet Batinjan (Eggplant Fatteh)

Once all components are ready, we’ll begin layering the fatteh.
Starting with the crispy pita chips, followed by the eggplant mixture, drizzled with the tahini sauce, then topped with the boiled chickpeas, and garnished with toasted pine nuts and parsley.

Step-by-Step Video

Watch this quick video to see how we make our vegan Fattet Batinjan (Eggplant Fatteh):

Fattet Batinjan Recipe

If you have any questions about this recipe, or gave it a try, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below. Remember to rate the recipe with ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. This will help us sustain Plant Based Arab.

Snap a photo of your dish, and tag us on Instagram @PlantBasedArab, so we can see and share your remake!

Eggplant Fatteh (Fattet Batinjan)

Recipe by Waseem HijaziCourse: Breakfast, SidesCuisine: Arabic, Middle Eastern, MediterraneanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

35

minutes

Total time

45

minutes

A popular layered eggplant dish, turned vegan: Fattet Batinjan (Eggplant Fatteh). It’s a warm Middle Eastern dish made with a hearty aromatic tomato eggplant filling, layered over crispy pita chips, then drenched in a tangy tahini sauce. Topped with boiled chickpeas, toasted pine nuts, and a garnish of parsley. The ultimate comfort breakfast!

Equipment:
Air-fryer*
Large skillet

Ingredients

• For The Eggplant Mixture

• 2 large eggplants, large cubes

• 4 tbsp olive oil, divided

• 1 onion, finely diced

• 6 garlic cloves, finely minced

• 1 tsp seven spice

• 1/2 tsp paprika

• 1/4 tsp chilli flakes

• 1/2 tsp black pepper

• 1/2 to 1 tsp salt, adjust to taste

• 3 tomatoes, small dice

• 1 cup water

• 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses

• For The Tahini Sauce

• 1/4 cup tahini paste, liquid

• 1 lemon, squeezed

• 3/4 cup water, room temperature

• Pinch of salt

• 1/4 tsp garlic powder, optional

• The Rest

• 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

• 1/8 cup pine nuts, toasted

• 4 tbsp neutral oil

• 1 large pita bread/Lebanese bread, cut into small squares

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• Parsley for garnish

Directions

• Preparing The Eggplants
• Wash and dry. Cut off the ends, and slice vertically.
• Dice into large cubes (1-inch). Coat in 2 tbsp olive oil. Transfer to air-fryer basket(s) – do not overcrowd.
• Air-fry at 375 F (or 190 C) for 15 minutes, shaking every 5 minutes. Once the eggplants are done, remove and set aside for later.
• Preparing Chickpeas / Tahini / Nuts / Pita
• Cover the chickpeas with water in a medium pot over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until softened.
• Whisk the tahini ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Gradually adding the water to thin down the sauce to desired texture.
• Toast the pine nuts with 4 tbsp neutral oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes – stirring frequently until golden. Set aside over a flat plate lined with paper towel to soak excess oil.
• Toss the pita squares with 2 tbsp olive oil in a large bowl. Empty into air-fryer basket (eggplants should be done by now). Air fry at 350 F (or 175 C) for 3 to 5 minutes, shaking halfway.
• Making The Eggplant Mixture
• Add the remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil to a large pan over high heat. Cook the onions and garlic for 5 minutes, until fragrant. Add in the spices and stir to combine.
• Add the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes to soften.
• Add the water, pomegranate molasses, and air-fried eggplants. Stir and cook for about 10 minutes, until eggplants are cooked thoroughly.
• Layering The Fatteh
• Start with the crispy pita chips as a base.
• Add the eggplant mixture over the pita.
• Drizzle with the tahini sauce.
• Top off with boiled chickpeas.
• Garnish with toasted pine nuts and parsley.

Notes

• (1) If an air-fryer is not available, you can fry with neutral oil in a deep fryer/deep pot, over medium-high heat. Make sure not to over cook the eggplants, as they will continue cooking with the tomato mixture. If frying the pita chips in hot oil, continuously stir to avoid burning – do not overcook.