Lebanese Moussaka Stew (Maghmour)

What is Lebanese Moussaka (Maghmour)?

The Lebanese Moussaka is a vegan-based stew, that includes mainly Eggplant, Tomato, and Chickpeas.

The eggplant chickpea stew is also known as maghmour. Some restaurants also call it Lebanese chickpea stew or eggplant stew.

For this middle eastern eggplant dish, you just need to place all the ingredients in your pot and let it all cook over a period of time, making this one of the few one pan moussaka.

Besides, Maghmour is a low-carb moussaka version and one of the few completely vegan moussaka dishes from the Middle East and Mediterranean area.

How to make it?

To make my version of Lebanese moussaka, you will only need one pot. I have turned this recipe into an easy weeknight dinner stew.

The plant-based meal requires little to no attention during the cooking process, and you really don't need to do anything extra.

Step 1

Sauté vegetables and add them one by one.

Step 2

Stir in broth, seasoning, and chickpeas.

Step 3

Cook until all ingredients are soft. Top with mint and serve up.

Tips

This is not an authentic recipe. Some traditional maghmour recipes call for peeling the eggplant partially. They also tend to roast the eggplant separately first. I seriously don't have the time to do that when I'm in a hurry.

You are welcome to roast your eggplants if you like to add some extra smokiness to the meal.

Cut your vegetables and boil your chickpeas soft, or use canned chickpeas. Everything is then cooked together with broth and seasoning.

I love to cook mine on low heat over a period of time to intensify the flavors. You can also choose a Middle Eastern seasoning from the area around Lebanon. This can be a seasoning such as Baharat, Za'atar or Lebanese 7 spice.

My Lebanese moussaka is garnished with mint to add a typical middle eastern flavor to the dish. You can use fresh or dried mint.

Serving Inspiration

Serve hot with plenty of zaatar flatbread (aka Manakish)! That's my all-time favorite combo.

You can always make this soup and eat with your favorite bread roll or loaf. A cool idea is to prepare some garlic butter bread, as garlic compliments this middle eastern stew.

Storing

Keep Leftover in an airtight container for up to 7 days. Reheat in the microwave, oven or over the stove top in a pan.

To meal prep, divide into batches in freezer or refrigerator container. I use glass containers like the ones from IKEA for that purpose.

The stew can be frozen for up to 2 months tops. To thaw, I simply take it out to defrost overnight in the fridge.

If you are in a hurry, place the frozen chunk into a pot and gradually reheat it over the stove. Or place, or reheat in your microwave or keep the oven container to thaw on a lower heat setting in your oven.

Other Regional Moussaka Variations

The healthy eggplant Moussaka is a popular meal across the Levant, Balkan, and the Mediterranean.

They vary from each other, the same way as a Shakshuka recipe does in this corner of the world. Each region and each home has its own secrete moussaka recipe.

However, the other Mediterranean moussaka dishes prepared in the area are entirely different from the Lebanese eggplant recipe.

• Greek Moussaka — layers of ground lamb and eggplant are topped with bechamel and baked.
• Turkish Moussaka — a stew of tomato and eggplant with ground meat.
• Egyptian Moussaka — roasted Eggplant slices are layered with garlic tomato meat sauce and baked.
• Bulgarian Moussaka and Balkan — instead of eggplant, potatoes and ground meat are layered and topped with yogurt topping.
• Syrian Moussaka — includes Cilantro and is served cool. Usually, it's also a vegan or vegetarian eggplant moussaka.