Food Lust People Love: Yemma Aouïcha – Eggplant with Chickpeas

Traditionally made with dried chickpeas soaked overnight and a spice paste called derssa, Yemma Aouïcha is a tasty classic dish from Algeria. It's so good!

Food Lust People Love: Traditionally made with dried chickpeas soaked overnight and a spice paste called derssa, Yemma Aouïcha is a tasty classic dish from Algeria. It's so good!

I must confess that not only have I not been to Algeria, I had never heard of this dish before I started my search for recipes that begin with the letter Y. But as soon as I saw the dish name on one list, I began to look for more information about it and the mysterious spice paste derssa (or dersa or even dersah) that seemed integral and yet a little different in each recipe.

These are the sorts of rabbit holes I adore when I am researching a recipe. I learn so much about other countries and cultures. For one, it seems that many Algerian recipes have chickpeas in them. Families almost always have a small bowl soaking overnight so that they can be used the next day.

Derssa, however you spell it, is essential in many of the dishes and while some ingredients change, adding caraway and paprika, for instance, they all contain garlic, cumin, some form of red pepper and olive oil.

Yemma means mother in the Algerian language and Aouïcha is the variation of the name Aïcha, which means “she who lives” or “alive and well.”

When I started making the derssa with the amount of ingredients listed below, I realized that my little food processor couldn’t process such a small amount smoothly so I ended up doubling the recipe and using only half – about 4 1/2 tablespoons or 60g - in the Yemma Aouïcha. If you have to do the same, use leftovers as you would harissa. Or make this dish again! That is my plan.

Yemma Aouïcha – Eggplant with Chickpeas

NOTE: Start 8-12 hours ahead by soaking the chickpeas! Or you can substitute canned chickpeas. I measured mine after cooking so I am confident telling you to use 1 cup or 150g and rinse well. I give the approximate weight of my eggplant below but a little more or a little less won’t make any difference.

Ingredients

For the derssa:

4 cloves garlic

1 red chili pepper

1 teaspoon cumin powder

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

For the Yemma Aouïcha:

1/3 cup or 66g dried chickpeas (or see note above the ingredient list)

2 large eggplant, approx. weight 2 lbs or 796g

1/4 cup or 60ml canola or other light oil

3/4 cup or 150g rice (I used extra-long grain Basmati)

3 cups or 720ml vegetable or chicken stock

small bunch cilantro, hard stems removed, chopped roughly, plus extra to garnish

1 lemon, cut in wedges to serve

Method

Soak your chickpeas in plenty of cool water for at least 8 hours, or overnight.

Make the derssa by combining all of the ingredients in a small food processor.

This is one recipe's worth. I actually doubled it, as mentioned above.

Blend till smooth. You can use a mortar and pestle as well. Refrigerate until ready to use.

When you are ready to cook, wash and rinse the soaked chickpeas. Boil the chickpeas in fresh water for about 10 minutes then drain them in a colander. They should be half cooked and will finish cooking later.

Cut the eggplant into small cubes.

In a large nonstick pan add a little of the oil and fry the eggplant in batches till they are golden brown, for about 10 minutes.

Put the browned eggplant in a large bowl and fry the next batch until they are all golden.

Remove the hard stems from the cilantro and chop the tender stems and leaves.

In a large pot, combine the chickpeas, eggplant and the derssa with 3 tablespoons canola oil.

Mix all the ingredients together. Pour in the rice and the chopped cilantro.

Cover with the stock, bring to a low boil and then simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.

Check it and if some of the rice is still hard, add a little water and simmer for another 5 minutes or until the rice is cooked.

Remove from the heat and leave covered until ready to serve.

Serve warm, drizzled with a little bit of lemon juice and garnish with a little chopped cilantro and a lemon wedge. And since I made double the derssa, I added a little more of that on top.

Enjoy!

Welcome to the 25th edition of the 2024 Alphabet Challenge, brought to you by the letter Y. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the Y recipes below: