Aubergine (Eggplant)
The plant is native to the Indian Subcontinent. It has been cultivated in southern and eastern Asia since prehistory, but appears to have become known to the Western world no earlier than circa 1500. The first known written record of the plant is found in Qí mín yào shù, an ancient Chinese agricultural treatise completed in 544. The numerous Arabic and North African names for it, along with the lack of the ancient Greek and Roman names, indicate it was introduced throughout the Mediterranean area by the Arabs in the early Middle Ages.

Source: wikipedia.com

1. Soften the eggplants by rolling them over with the weight of your hands.
2. Chop a small part of the neck to allow excavation the inside.
3. Use a special zucchini corer to empty inside of the eggplants leaving only the skin and a thin layer of pulp and wash them.
4. Wash rice and mix it with the minced meat and soaked chickpeas, adding salt, pepper and allspice to taste.
5. Fill the eggplants with the rice mix leaving some space to allow expansion of rice as it cooks.
6. Use the chopped necks to close the openings.
7. Arrange the stuffed eggplants in the cooking pot.
8. Wash the tomatoes and chop them fine, then pour them onto the eggplants
9. Add water to cover then place pot on fire and bringing to boil.
10. Lower fire to the minimum and let simmer for nearly one hour until sauce thickens.
11. Remove pot from fire and jerk it sideways to release  contents from bottom and sides of the pot.
12. Place serving plate on top of the pot and turn upside-down. Serve hot