Makdous

Name: Makdous
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Syria
Ingredients: 1 kg baby aubergines; 200 g walnut halves; 2 dried red peppers or 2 tbsp Aleppo pepper flakes; 6 garlic cloves; 3 tbsp coarse salt; 500 ml olive oil; Extra coarse salt, for curing

Local name: مكدوس

Baby aubergines cured in salt then stuffed with walnut, red pepper and garlic, and kept under a blanket of olive oil.

Published on 3 May 2026·Updated on 10 September 2026

VeganGluten-free#aubergine#walnut#garlic#preserved#syria

AI-generated image, not a photograph of the dish

Prep: 45 min
Cook: 15 min
Total: 60 min
Serves: 8
Difficulty: Medium

Method

Steam the aubergines whole for 12 minutes. They should give under a finger without collapsing.
Slit each one down one side, stopping short of cutting through. Rub coarse salt inside.
Set them slit side down in a colander, cover with a weighted plate and let them drain for 24 hours.
Chop the walnuts, garlic and pepper together by hand, then salt the filling.
Pack a spoonful of filling into each aubergine and press the slit closed.
Pack them tightly into a jar, cover completely with olive oil and wait a week before tasting.

Draining under a weight pulls out the water that would otherwise ferment the jar, and it is the step you cannot rush. Syrian families make makdous in October at the end of the aubergine harvest, stocking the jars for winter breakfasts. Check weekly that the oil still covers the aubergines, and top it up when the level drops.

The techniques this recipe uses

Drain and rinse
Canning liquid clouds a sauce and salts it blind: rinse until the water runs clear.

This recipe also appears in

Nutrition per serving

Calories: 261 kcal
Protein: 5.6 g
Fat: 22.4 g
Carbohydrate: 14.3 g
Fibre: 6.3 g

An estimate computed from the recipe quantities and the USDA food composition database. Real values vary with the products used.

Frequently asked questions

Why must the aubergines drain under a weight for 24 hours?

This step decides whether the jar keeps: water left in the flesh would ferment under the oil. Salt plus a weight pulls it out far more thoroughly than simply letting them sit. There is no shortening this stage.

How do I know if a jar has gone wrong?

Check weekly that the oil still covers every aubergine and top it up if the level drops, since any exposed to air will spoil. Bubbles, a sour smell or a bulging lid mean fermentation, and the jar should be discarded. Always use a clean spoon to serve.

What can replace the dried red peppers?

Aleppo pepper flakes, already offered as the alternative in the recipe, give a very similar colour and gentle heat. Failing that, good sweet paprika with a pinch of chilli works, but avoid fresh peppers, whose water would put the preserve at risk.

The aubergine, one vegetable and ten kitchens
How the aubergine travelled from India to the Mediterranean, what each kitchen made of it, and the techniques that decide the result.

Have you cooked this dish?

No ratings yet.

Give it a rating

More recipes from Syria

Syria⏱ 65 min

Ankinar bil Zeit

Syrian artichoke hearts braised in olive oil with peas and carrots, served cold with a wedge of lemon.

Medium·351 kcalVeganGluten-free

Syria⏱ 15 min

Shanklish Salad

Syrian thyme-aged cheese crushed with tomato, onion and olive oil, scooped up with bread at mezze time.

Easy

Syria⏱ 55 min

Okra in tomato sauce

Okra simmered in a garlic and coriander tomato sauce, sharpened at the end with pomegranate molasses and lemon juice.

Easy·207 kcalVeganGluten-free