I first made this stew a week ago, when I was looking for something to do with the small Thai Eggplants that were going to waste in my refrigerator. Aromatic and warmly spiced, this Iraqi-inspired recipe was so delectable that I was actually happy that I was going to have to make the whole meal again. You see, I had timing issues. I expected the yellow split peas that had been aging in my freezer for, well, ages to behave like fresher peas, and as a result, a stew I imagined taking two hours to cook took over three. And because I had thrown in the eggplant during hour one, it had completely dissolved and become unrecognizable by the time we ate the stew. It was still delicious, and to be honest, disintegrated eggplant is a plus when you’re feeding an eggplant-hating child (in other words, she didn’t know it was there.) But I wanted to get the timing right and perhaps have tender cubes of eggplant, so less than a week later, I was back in the kitchen making this dish again.
You’ll notice when you read the instructions that I don’t give a specific cooking time for the split peas; that’s because the cooking time varies depending on how old your split peas are, the hardness of your water, and (I think, though I have no proof of this) your elevation. The peas need to be falling-apart soft before you add the other ingredients because they form a sauce around the eggplant and seitan. If your peas are as old as mine, you just need to cook the heck out of them first. I used a pressure cooker, so my second go-round with this recipe took a lot less time.
While I was redoing the recipe, I also decided to tinker with the seitan that goes into it. Previously, I had baked the seitan before tossing it into the stew. This time around, I tried adding the seitan raw to save a step and to see what the resulting texture would be. I’m happy to report that cooking the seitan in the stew worked beautifully; it became more tender and “meaty” than the pre-baked seitan. Which way is better is a matter of taste: I liked the tenderness of the unbaked seitan, while my husband slightly preferred the chewiness of the baked. I’ll leave the choice up to you.
And while I’m talking about seitan, I apologize to my gluten-free readers. I think you still may be able to enjoy this stew with, perhaps, chickpeas or another bean standing in for the seitan. Or maybe you can add an extra half cup of split peas and cook them just until al dente before adding the eggplant. If you try it, please let me know your results.
Iraqi-Inspired Seitan and Eggplant Stew
Cooking the gluten in the stew results in a tender seitan. If you’d like a firmer, more chewy seitan, flatten your gluten and bake it at 400F for 20 minutes before cutting into cubes; add it to the stew with the eggplant. Pre-baked seitan will be spongier and look less like m*e*a*t.
The seasoning in this dish is inspired by Baharat, a spice blend used in the Middle East. You may be able to buy jars of Baharat in Middle Eastern grocery stores; to substitute it for the seasonings in this recipe, start with 2 teaspoons and add it to taste, but be aware that packaged Baharat may be spicier than my seasoning mix.
Ingredients
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 cup yellow split peas, rinsed and picked over
6 cups water
2 dried red chile peppers
Seasoning blend (see below) or baharat
1-2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
1 large eggplant, diced
additional seasonings, to taste
Seitan
1 cup vital wheat gluten
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon mesquite or hickory seasoning (optional)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon tahini or other nut butter
3/4 cup cold water
Seasoning Blend
Combine:
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cardamom
Instructions
Heat a large pot or pressure cooker and add the chopped onion. Cook, stirring, until onion is caramel colored and flecked with brown, 6-10 minutes. (Be careful not to burn.) Add the split peas, water, dried chilies, and seasoning blend. Cover and cook until split peas are dissolving. How long this takes will depend on the age of your split peas but allow at least an hour for regular stove-top cooking. (The peas I used were older, so I used the pressure cooker and cooked at high pressure for 16 minutes then quick-released.) Once cooked, split peas should still be very watery, not thick like soup. Add water as necessary to prevent drying out.
While the split-peas cook, prepare the seitan. Mix the dry ingredients together and add the cold water and tahini (or other nut butter). Mix well. Turn out on a board and knead several times. Flatten out the dough, and using a sharp knife, cut it into rough 1/2-3/4 inch cubes. Set cubes aside. Trim the eggplant and cut it into 1/2-inch pieces.
Once the split peas are completely tender and starting to fall apart, add the salt, pomegranate molasses, seitan, and eggplant to the pot. There should be enough liquid that the ingredients are just covered but are not floating. If necessary, add more water. Check seasonings and add more if necessary (I added about 1/2 teaspoon of cumin and coriander.) Cover loosely and cook at a low simmer, stirring often, for about 45 minutes, until seitan is firm and cooked all the way through and eggplant is tender. (Toward the end, be sure to stir from the bottom to avoid sticking.) Remove the chile peppers and serve in bowls with rice or pita bread.
Preparation time: 30 minute(s) | Cooking time: 70 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 6
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 271 calories, 23 calories from fat, 2.7g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 607.5mg sodium, 610.7mg potassium, 37.8g carbohydrates, 12.6g fiber, 8.5g sugar, 27.1g protein.
{ 78 comments… read them below or add one }
This looks like the perfect dish to make when the weather starts to turn. I bet it would be delicious over rice!
Oh wow! This looks so comforting and warming and ohhhh so yummy. I love all the spices and flavors you've got going on in there. Very beautiful.
The photo is just gorgeous! I have some eggplant, so can't wait to try this and taste the seasonings! I love dragonfly pie's suggestion of serving over rice. Yum!
I made split pea soup yesterday. I never think the peas are as tender as I would like, so since I knew in the morning that I was going to use them I decided to soak them until–probalby 3-4 hours. Pour off the water and use in in your recipe. They took much less time to cook than previously, and were very yummy.
I'm anxious to try making seitan. I've never even had it. This will be an new adventure for my year old vegan lifestyle.
This sounds delicious…how many of the asian eggplants would you use?
I can vouch for the fact that elevation matters, though I don't remember cooking split peas…or using a pressure cooker.
We noticed while living in Albuquerque, approx. 1mile high, that large beans, like red beans, would take forever to cook, and rarely got really cooked all the way through. You really had to soak them overnight to be successful–an 8 hour soak didn't do the job.
(The issue is that water boils at a lower temperature, so water never reaches 212 degrees, the temperature of boiling water at sea level.)
Anonymous, use between 1 and 1 1/2 pounds of whatever kind of eggplant you use.
KathyF, thanks for verifying that for me. I suspected as much but didn't take the time to do the research.
Hi there, can you use regular molasses? I don't know if I can find it here. Thanks, this looks amazing!
MMmmm, looks yummy! Never heard of pomegranate molasses before. Found a recipe by searching the internet.
Amanda, the pom molasses adds more tart than sweet, so if you don't have it, I suggest adding a teaspoon of lemon juice near the end of cooking. No need to add molasses.
Ooooo! Beautiful! Could I just substitute ready-made seitan? If so, roughly how much would you recommend? I think I don't have the nerve to tackle homemade seitan just yet! Oh, and in my experience, pomegranate molasses is easily available in alot of Middle-Eastern stores.
Marilou, I'm guessing that you will need at least a pound of pre-cooked seitan. I suggest you use less water–maybe start off with 4 cups–because pre-made seitan will not absorb it as much. But truly, homemade seitan is SO easy to make. There's really no trick to it–just mix, cut, and toss into the stew. Plus, it's a lot less expensive. You should give it a try someday!
You are so amazing. How do you not have a cookbook yet??
That spice mixture sounds incredible. It must have taken a lot f tinkering to get it just right. I'd love to make this with chickpeas once the weather cools a bit.
This is *so* perfect! It reminds me of some of the Iranian stews I loved but can't eat anymore because there is always meat in there with the beans or peas. You gave me the perfect simple solution with this awesome recipe, and I'm really thankful for that! I suspect this will become a staple around here…
Thank you, Susan!
Sounds absolutely delectable. I used to love seitan, but sadly can't have it any more. May have to try this with chickpeas or bean balls!
Timing issues are the worst, but I am so glad you re-did it and shared the recipe! However, you *clearly* have AC if you are cooking on the stove for 3 hours! I, unfortunately, do not have AC, so this will have to go on the (imaginary) back burner til the heat and humidity dies down a bit (okay, a LOT!)…it sounds SO good, though!
Courtney
This looks so delicious, i know this will be a staple this winter when it gets chilly out 🙂
I too have eggplant wasting away in my fridge. This might be dinner tomorrow. Thanks, as always!
Whenever I have an eggplant on hand, I always come to your blog first to look for recipes; and it always amazes me how many new ones you come up with!
I've got eggplant in my garden just ready, some old split peas of every color, and a 50 pound bag of vital wheat gluten in my pantry. Thanks for the inspiration.
Susan, can I mix all of the ingredients for the seitan in the food processor? I've never tried to make seitan, but this one looks good, esp. since we all love eggplant so much. Also, the spice mix looks similar to garam masala, so I might start with that as a base and add nutmeg, paprika, cumin and coriander. What do you think?
Garam masala will be fine, Anonymous. As for the food processor, I don't think it will hurt, but it's kind of overkill. The amounts here are small and very easy to stir together, and all the kneading that's necessary is maybe 10 quick strokes. I wouldn't dirty the food processor to do it, but if you want to, I can't see that it would hurt.
Beautiful,yummy site-love the pictures and great info,thank you- Betty
This sounds right up my alley, thanks! It's winter here in New Zealand, so eggplants aren't in season – but I'm going to make a winter variant of this recipe tonight.
Best wishes, Alice
hey susan,
This looks great. You are really an inspiration for trying out exotic things. I loved your berbere mix and use it a lot. I am sure this new seasoning will also be great.
Yes, water boils later at heights, so elevation definitely plays a role.
I am not sure what you mean by yellow split peas though..you do mean a kind of lentil? do you store raw lentils in the freezer and why..
Seitan is unknown to me..dont know when I am going to try it..
Thanks!!
Yellow split peas look a lot like chana dal, though the are actually seeds of different plants. You could use either one, or you could even use red lentils or masoor dal, which will cook much more quickly.
I started storing all my grains and legumes in the freezer a few years ago when I had an infestation of insects. I read that grain sometimes comes from the store containing insect eggs and that storing in the freezer will kill them. Disgusting, I know, but it worked, so I got in the habit of keeping them there. I have a large upright freezer so I actually have more space in it than I do in my cabinets.
Susan, this looks amazing! I have some eggplants languishing in my fridge, so I think I'll make it tonight, ladled over brown basmati. I can't digest seitan very well so I'll try your suggestion of garbanzo beans. Thanks for posting such a lovely recipe!
Oh, Susan, now you have challenged me–again! I detest big purple egglants, make my own seitan, and have a lot of split yellow beans and red lentils to mess with. I always love your spicing. Do I dare try to make this? Anyone wanting an easy-peasy way to make seitan should email me at elessar@ntlworld.com.
I get a new refrigerator on this coming monday, and the dying one well be taken away to the old folk's burial site. So, time for me to try asian egglant? Heck, yeah!
Thank you all commenters, for giving me ideas, and special thank yous to the most amazing inventor in food I've ever met besides me: Susan V.The space I clear by using up yellow split peas will allow a great shit in my pantry. Yum yum Yum!
Thanks Susan! We made this for dinner last night and served it with bulgur and baked pita…..so delicious. I love, love, love the spicing and the pom molas. in it. Excellent!
Okay, I made this tonight, with some changes.
http://wholefoodwholefamily.blogspot.com/2009/08/susan-inspired-eggplant-red-lentil-stew.html
(I also said some nice things about your blog, because of a post somewhere else that made me indignant.)
Thanks so much for a great idea to keep my eggplant from ending up in the trash! It was DELICIOUS.
Hello Susan, You have a wonderful website and excellent theme. Way to go girl! I have something waiting for you at my blog http://swethabhatta.blogspot.com/
… please come and pick it up.
~Swetha
looks really delicious!
I made this recipe with a few changes–not enough time for the split peas, so I used red lentils. Only takes 20 minutes of cooking with no soaking, and they were delicious. Also, I already had make a "chicken" stlye seitan, so I pan fried that with some of the spice mix. That worked out well. I made it without the molasses, but have since found it at a lebanese market. I was wondering if tamarind would be a decend sub? Anyway, it was delicious with all the changes, but I'm excited to make it as printed. It's a wonderful, flexible recipe!
Just found you and I love your recipes!! I've been a Vegan for about 6 years now and am always looking for some new yummy fixins.
Greaaat job – I will certainly be a regular to your fabulous blog 🙂
I'm going to be make seitan soon, so I'll be bookmarking this recipe 😀 It sounds delicious.
This looks delicious! I'm wondering if you can put the raw seitan in with the yellow peas to speed up the cooking process, then just adding the eggplant later since it will cook pretty fast? I'm excited to see what the seitan will taste like being cooked in the dish itself.
Well, I'd say that the seitan IS cooked in the dish itself. You could start it in with the split peas, but I don't think it will shorten the cooking time much. It takes 30-45 minutes for the eggplant to cook through and absorb the seasonings. I'm also worried that the texture of the seitan would be wrong; if you boil it high enough to cook the split peas, you risk making the seitan go all fluffy and "brainy."
Thank you Susan! This was delicious! I confess I skipped the pomegranate molasses and the cardamom, even though both ingredients sound wonderful, simply because I'm trying to keep my pantry size and grocery bill reasonable and I could cook the recipe without going to the store this way. I substituted a scant teaspoon of tamarind concentrate, a drizzle of agave, and a swirl of lime. It still came out delicious.
I made this the other night and it was SO amazing! What a great way to cook seitan!
I made this for a potluck and it turned out so good! I'm not a great cook and this was the first time that I successfully made seitan. It was so easy and userfriendly (no using 8 cups of broth or worrying about boiling the liquid) and turned out delicious.
Because it took so long to cook, I doubled the quantities and had yummy stew for several days. I can highly recommend this dish!!!
I'm soaking split peas so I can make it for dinner. I'll go get baharat later. Finally something that's easy to find here 🙂
I just wanted to let you know how excited I am that you are giving a nod to those of us who shun gluten! I was a strict vegan for almost two years, and I've been seriously contemplating a return to the cleaner, more vegetarian life-style. Unfortunately, I've developed a high intolerance for gluten and have been at a loss for how to eat sans meat, dairy, eggs, AND grains (how much worse could it really get?!).
Your website was my vegan sourcebook a year and a half ago, and here you've done it again! You always come up with the most inventive ways of preparing delicious foods that aren't loaded in sugar and other unhealthy ingredients. I can't wait to try out some of your ideas and suggestions! You give me hope.
Best,
Riss
I've made this twice now and I love love love it! Thank you so much for sharing all of your wonderful meal ideas! Without you I'd be stuck with stir fry every night!!!!
I made this last night, and it was fantastic! In fact, it was one of my favorite recipes ever from you, and I'm a huge devotee of your blog. (I'd say 50 percent of the meals I make any given week come from your blog. So thank you!)
I didn't feel like running to the Middle Eastern grocery in addition to the health foods store, so I grabbed some pomegranate juice at the HFS and made my own pom molasses from a recipe I found online. (You just simmer pom juice with lemon juice and sugar until it reduces by 1/3.) If you do this, you need to check the label on the pom juice, because many of them have a bunch of other juices mixed in – Knudsen (I think) makes Just Pomegranate Juice.
I also used regular paprika instead of smoked because I didn't want to run to the spice store, so I'm not sure how much that affected the taste. But it was wonderful – a perfect hearty, warming fall meal!
This looks amazing! I can not wait to try it out. One question, though..I am not a huge fan of eggplant. Is there anything you feel would be a acceptable substitute for it? Thanks ahead of time!
Margaret, you may be surprised at how good the eggplant tastes in this recipe, but if you just can't stand it, you should be able to substitute zucchini or mushrooms(add near the end) or maybe green beans.
If I don’t have yellow split peas, would it be best to substitute green split peas or toor dal?
I think you could use either one. Toor dal would probably be the best match in color but may take less time than split peas. Green split peas would probably take the same time as yellow, but the color would be a little different.
I just made it and served it with basmati rice: delicious!
This recipe has now become a favourite of mine and so I have been searching for similar ones: I have found many recipes for persian stews (such as http://turmericsaffron.blogspot.com/2010/03/khoresh-ghaymeh-traditional-iranian.html ) calling for some meat. Do you think I could substitute pre-made seitan? And what amount should I use?
I think you could use pre-made seitan in any amount up to the amount of meat called for in the recipe. In a recipe like the one you mention, you should also use vegetable broth instead of water to replace the flavor the meat would have given.
OMG…this is insane. the most flavorful dish I think I have ever made. It will be a staple. I shared with my Vegan friends and they all agree. So delish. Looks complicated, but not at all, and making the seitan was key!
I can’t wait to try this – haven’t seen it on your site before. YUM!!!
Do you think this will do well in a crock pot?
I haven’t tried it, but I think it would. I would probably cook everything except the eggplant all together and then add the eggplant later, if possible. Or put it all in at once and see what happens! 🙂 If you try, could you please leave a comment telling what happened? I’d love to know and it may help future readers.
I have no knowledge of Seitan but do you think a firm tofu, tempeh or even paneer might stand in as a suitable substitute? The dish looks amazing so would like to try it.
I think both tofu and tempeh would be good, but it’s been a lifetime since I had paneer, so I don’t know how it would turn out. I would think the chewier texture of tempeh would be the best substitute.
Hi Susan,
I went to bed late last night so I decided to make this in my crock pot to cook throughout the night.
I woke up to a wonderful aroma and a delicious pot of stew. One thing though is that the split peas are al dente’. But that’s okay, I don’t mind. I’m guessing it’s because of their age. I don’t cook with them that often.
I love this dish, and your right, the seiten was easy to make. So easy! 🙂 I can’t believe how much it feels and tastes like your eating it’s alternative. *smile*
I used eggplant from my garden and wow, what a difference from store bought. I didn’t have pom molasses, but I do have concentrated pom juice at all times to add a small amount to my smoothie. I used 4 TB and it gave it a nice flavor.
I used 5 cups of water and that seems just about right. I slow-cooked for about 8.5 hours hoping to cook the lentils a little more. I would normally have stopped at 8 hrs. Maybe soaking them beforehand might help.
I used all your spices except coriander. For some reason I don’t like its flavor nor do I like the cilantro leaf. Wish I did, but parsley does me just fine. 🙂
I didn’t have the mesquite or hickory seasoning so I left that out. I used a little extra cumin.
I wanted to let you know that it cooks up wonderfully in the crock-pot, just like a regular stew. I loved the Thai Tofu Salad so much that I thought I’d try the crock pot on this one too! Glad I did. I’ll be making this often!!! Thanks for your delicious recipes as always.
I made this today and when I put the seitan in I added cut up potatoes and it was so good, I’ve never had seiten before and it was really yummy
Susan, this is definitely an oldie but a goodie. Wonderful, wonderful stew. I loved the savoury spices with the pomegranate molasses. 🙂
I wrote about it here: http://tastespace.wordpress.com/2011/10/26/iraqi-inspired-eggplant-and-seitan-stew/
Hi there! This iraqui seitan stew sounds yummy! When you say red pepper, what type do you mean? I’m also wondering if you ever tried to make it in a slow-cooker…do you think it’s work? Would the seitan dissolve? I don’t cook with it too often. Thanks for the great recipes! Raven
The chile peppers are just slender hot red peppers; you can see one in the photo. I haven’t tried using a slow cooker, but I can’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work.
I made your Creole Black eyed Peas for New Years and really enjoyed it. This sounds delicious and I’d like to try it also. Will regular grocery stores carry the seitan? and where could I find pomegranate molasses? Thank you very much, I look forward to trying more of your recipes.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the black-eyed peas. For this dish, you’ll be making the seitan out of wheat gluten, which some grocery stores carry but not all. You’ll be more likely to find it at natural food stores like Whole Foods. For the pomegranate molasses, you may need to look in a Middle Eastern store, but try checking the international section of a large grocery store. Sometimes I can find it there.
I have never posted on a blog of any kind before, but I am so grateful for this recipe that I felt it would be wrong not to give you a big, public ‘thank you’!
I have made this stew many times now, and it always gets rave reviews. I do use a bit of oil when sauteeing the onion. And I double the “seasoning blend”.
I also find it easier to mix the wet seitan ingredients (water, tahini, and hickory seasoning) together well before adding to the dry. Before I started doing this, I found that it was difficult to get the tahini evenly distributed through the seitan. (The tahini won’t fully dissolve in the water, but you can easily break it down enough to solve the problem of tahini clumps in the seitan.)
Finally, for gluten-free friends, I have used deep-fried tofu instead of seitan. (There is a Korean grocery store on my block that sells frozen pre-fried tofu. This is of course not consistent with a ‘fat free’ diet, but it tastes great and is a fine gluten-free alternative). I’ve never tried subbing in chickpeas for the setian, but I bet that would also work.
Thanks for your wonderful website, and for this fantastic recipe!
even my extremely picky eater ate this. Helps tht she likes seitan to begin with.
pomegranate molasses? can I use regular molasses?
Thanks!
Tracy
I wouldn’t. I think the flavor would be overpowering. Try 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of some other sweetener such as sugar, agave, or maple syrup.
Thanks Susan 🙂
Tracy
This was super yummy! I made the gf version with chickpeas. Yum!
I made this last weekend, and it was SO good. I’m always a little hesitant when recipes call for a lot of cinnamon/clove type spices, ’cause it’s really hard for me to make the brain shift to those not necessarily being associated with sweet flavors and I have to be in the mood for something like that, but I went for it (mostly because I’d bought a bottle of pomegranate molasses and it was taunting me from the pantry). I did leave out the cloves, but followed the rest of the recipe as written. Just, WOW. I secreted away what little leftovers there were and snuck them in my lunch bag the next day. Will definitely be making this one again!
This was SO very delicious, Susan! My stomach is very, very pleased and thankful.
I had an eggplant that was getting old and I had been looking here and yonder trying to find something I’d like to do with it. I stumbled upon this recipe while looking for something else, and I am so happy I did! Simply delicious.
I used green split peas and 1.5 times the spices, I pre-baked the seitan, which I made with peanut butter, I added a little more than .5 lb. of cut green beans (for a touch of green), and as I didn’t have the molasses, nor even a lemon, I sub’d it with lime juice and sugar, as you suggested above.
With that, I go to bed with a very satisfied tummy. 🙂
Thank you very much!
So, I’ve made this several times as written (it’s my favorite way to eat eggplant, if there is such a thing), and LOVE it. We’re back to the ETL 6-week basics for the time being, so decided to try it with chick peas. It’s still fantastic! I doubled the split peas, used 10 cups of water, used more rounded measurements of the seasonings, and put the eggplant in at the beginning with the peas in the Fagor for the 16 minutes (I wanted it to disintegrate as much as possible). Quick-released the pressure, threw in a can of chick peas and some mushrooms I’d previously cooked and frozen, and let it cook down for maybe 20 minutes or so. It was pretty thin, so might scale back the water a little next time, but this DOES work without the seitan, for sure!
Hi Susan,
I can’t wait to try this delicious sounding recipe. The spice blend sounds so good I bought a jar of it. Since I don’t need to make the blend, can you please tell me about how much I need to add of the baharat?
Many thanks for you wonderful recipes!
Sara
If I were you, I would add the spice blend to taste. Maybe start with a teaspoon to see how strong it is and then go from there. My spice blend makes about 4 teaspoons worth, but the kind you bought may be spicier, so I wouldn’t want you to overdo it.
Thank you! Looking forward to making it once the weather cools down.
Threw this together because I just happened to have all of these ingredients on hand. Turned out nice for the most part! I had to adjust the seasoning to make it stronger, and I would highly recommend baking the seitan until firm. It turned out way to soft and gummy in my stew.
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