🍆 Makdous

Name: Makdous
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Syria · Levant
Ingredients: 1 kg baby eggplants; 120 g walnuts, chopped; 2 red peppers, finely chopped; 6 garlic cloves, crushed; 1 tsp chili flakes; 2 tsp salt; About 500 ml olive oil to cover

Origin: Syria · Levant

145kcal

per serving · 100 g

145kcal

per 100 g

3 gProtein3 g / 100 g

12 gFat12 g / 100 g

6 gCarbs6 g / 100 g

Makdous are small eggplants that are boiled, salted, stuffed with a paste of walnuts, red pepper and garlic, and then preserved in olive oil. After a week or two in the jar they turn tangy, soft and nutty. They are a staple of the Levantine breakfast and mezze table, eaten whole alongside olives and fresh vegetables.

Diets

✓

Vegetarianno meat or fish in a typical recipe

✓

Veganno meat, fish or animal products in a typical recipe

✓

No pork

✓

Gluten-freeno wheat, barley or rye in a typical recipe

✓

Dairy-freeno milk, cheese, butter or yogurt in a typical recipe

✓

Low-carb6 g carbs per 100 g

Allergens

Contains (in a typical recipe):

⚠ Tree nuts

What it is made of

baby eggplantwalnutred bell peppergarlicolive oil

Recipe

6 servings60 min

Ingredients

1 kg baby eggplants
120 g walnuts, chopped
2 red peppers, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp chili flakes
2 tsp salt
About 500 ml olive oil to cover

Method

Remove the stems and boil the eggplants for 8–10 minutes until just tender.
Cut a slit in each one, salt the inside and press them in a colander under a weight overnight to drain.
Mix the walnuts, red pepper, garlic, chili and a pinch of salt.
Stuff each eggplant with the filling and pack them tightly into a sterilised jar.
Cover completely with olive oil, close and leave in a cool place for 7–10 days before eating.

How to make it lighter

Lift each eggplant out of the jar and let the oil drip off — the oil is where most of the calories are.
One or two pieces with fresh vegetables is a good portion; walnuts make makdous dense in energy.
Every extra tablespoon of oil adds about 120 kcal, so leave the jar oil behind.

History

Makdous is a traditional mouneh, the late-summer pantry preserves made across Syria and Lebanon to last through winter. Families still make large batches when baby eggplants are in season and keep the jars for months.

Count it in one photo

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Similar dishes

Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →