This is traditional Azerbaijani salad. I made it during the Azerbaijani food week.

INGREDIENTS:

3-4 small eggplants (or 1-2 large eggplants) 5 tomatoes 2 red bell peppers 1/2 hot pepper 1/2 red onion fresh basil to taste fresh cilantro to taste 4 cloves of garlic 2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar 2 tbsp of olive oil

“Mangal” Salad

Wash and fully dry eggplants, tomatoes, and bell peppers. Grill them until tender. Ideally, the vegetables for this salad have to be cooked on a grill (or a mangal, which is a Caucasian type of grill) but home oven will do too. I baked them for 30 min in an oven preheated to 375F (tomatoes might be done faster so keep a watch on them). Let them cool. Peel skins and cut the vegetables into small cubes. Put them in a strainer and squeeze to remove excess of juices. Transfer them to a bowl.

Wash, dry and finely chop basil and cilantro. Also finely chop onion, garlic and hot pepper. Add everything to the roasted vegetables, add vinegar, olive oil, and salt (to taste). Mix and transfer to a serving bowl. Let stay in a fridge for 30 min. and enjoy.