INGREDIENTS

• eggplant 1 kg. (3—6 pcs.);
• potatoes 300 g.;
• carrots 0.5 kg. (3 pcs.);
• bell pepper 0.5 kg. (3—5 pcs.);
• green chili pepper 1 pc.;
• onion 250 g (2—3 pcs.);
• garlic 4—6 cloves;
• tomatoes 700 g (4—7 pcs.);
• purple basil (regan), coriander (cilantro), parsley 50 g. each;
• ground coriander 0.5 tsp.;
• utskho-suneli 0.5 tsp.;
• imeretian saffron (ground) on the tip of a knife;
• vegetable oil for frying;
• freshly ground pepper;
• salt;
• adjika.

METHOD

1. Cut the eggplant into cubes or rings about one centimeter thick and put it all in a large plate, sprinkling each layer with salt. Let them sit for forty minutes. Squeeze out the juice they secrete.
2. Peel the potatoes and cut into cubes about one centimeter thick. Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry the potatoes over medium heat. To remove the oil, lay the potatoes on a paper towel or fold in a colander.
3. Rinse eggplant with water and squeeze out excess moisture. Put the eggplant in a single layer on a frying pan heated with a little oil and fry on both sides until cooked through. From the fried eggplant, remove excess oil in the same way as for the potatoes earlier. Transfer the cooked eggplants and potatoes to a deep-bottomed pot or casserole dish.
4. Peel the bell pepper and cut into strips, and then fry for 8-10 minutes in a moderate amount of vegetable oil, over medium heat, bringing to a state of softness. Add the prepared peppers to the pan with the eggplants.
5. All pre-fried vegetables should be brought to full readiness. Peppers must be fried until soft, so that it fits into the overall consistency of the dish.
6. Peeled carrots cut into rings or strips. Cut the onion into rings or half rings.
7. In a frying pan heated with oil, put onions with carrots, salt and mix it all. Simmer vegetables for half an hour over medium heat until semi-soft. Add cooked onions with carrots to vegetables.
8. Finely chop the parsley and basil and fry in a frying pan with hot oil for 4-5 minutes. Add passivated greens to vegetables.
9. Grate the tomatoes on a coarse grater, separating them from the skin. Add the cooked tomato mass without skin to the vegetables.
10. Add coriander, utskho-suneli and imereti saffron to ajapsandal. Optionally, you can add chopped hot peppers.
11. Prepare a homogeneous mass of garlic and cilantro. Finely chop the cilantro. Coarsely chop the peeled garlic cloves into about 5 pieces. Crush the garlic in a mortar with a pinch of coarse salt, gradually adding cilantro. Be careful with salt so as not to oversalt. Instead of a mortar, you can use a meat grinder. Add the prepared mass to the vegetables and mix them.
12. Simmer the vegetables over medium heat for about 15-20 minutes, otherwise they will boil and the dish will lose its taste. Add salt and adjika if necessary.
13. Let the finished dish rest. Ajapsandal can be served both hot and cold, sprinkled with chopped fresh herbs.