Salata Aswad be Zabadi- Sudan Eggplant dish

It is has been a very busy week and so many great things have been happening that I want to write about... I am going to start this post with last Friday. We have been putting a garden cookbook together from our 2011 garden year. The garden is a project of the Food Bank of WNY, this is the about the 7th year that I have been running it with my very good friend Judy. She is a really great person to work with. Anyhow we have this cookbook where we have everyone contribute to it. We have two families from Sudan who have been gardening with is for the last three years. Last Friday I went to their house to learn to make an eggplant dish and to write the recipe down for our cookbook. The dish is called Salata Aswad be Zabadi. It was pretty good. I did really enjoying watching the ladies make the dish. This dish as many other of their dishes have peanut butter in it. I really enjoyed spending time with the girls learning about their life . They are best friends and their friendship is so special and so nice to be around. They met in Buffalo. Aquil came to the States with her parents and siblings about 8 or so years ago. A church adopted their family on North Carolina. Abok came to Buffalo with her husband about 7 years or so ago. They want to learn about to make potato salad so next time I am going to visit them and teach them about to make it. Cooking , Teaching and Food are great ways to share and learn and I just love being part of it all. The ladies are in their late 20's one has three children and the other has four. They are very inspirational, kind and giving. They are involved in so many different activities... The children play soccer have swim lessons, the moms take zumba classes- they are very active and passionate about learning new things for themselves and their children.

The dish really didn't taste to much like eggplant I think because of all the different flavors in it

Salata Aswad be Zabadi

By Abok Ngorvg and Aquil Dut

Sudan Eggplant dish

3 eggplant

6 garlic gloves

1 tsp salt

1 Tb Pepper

3 Tb. Lemon juice

1 cup or half a jar 16oz. peanut butter

2 cups of canola oil

2 chicken bouillon cubes

1 can tomato paste (6oz)

2 cups of sour cream

1 tsp. cumin

Peel eggplant and cut into 2 inch chucks. Put about 2 cups of oil in a pan- when oil is hot add the eggplant. Cook for about 10 minutes where the eggplant looks golden brown. Once the eggplant is brown take and put in a new pot with water, cook until the eggplant is soft- this should take about 15 minutes. The water should be mostly gone and the eggplant should be soft. While you are cooking the eggplant in the water you can start the sauce. Take 6 garlic cloves and pepper mash with a mortar and pestle. Add this mixture to a pot and add tomato paste add a little oil to thin out, and then add peanut butter and cumin. Keep stirring and add two bouillon cubes. Then add two cups of sour cream. Add sauce to eggplant and add lemon juice. This can be a side dish you can eat it with bread.