Turkish Style Braised Eggplant - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 large eggplant (about 1 pound)
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons pine nuts
1 large tomatoes, peeled cored and roughly chopped
1/4 cup raisins
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cumin
fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup fresh dill, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, roughly chopped
thick yogurt, for serving
lemon wedge, for serving

Preparation

Trim both ends off the eggplant, then use a vegetable peeler to peel alternating strips of the skin; dice eggplant into 1 inch cubes and toss with the salt in a colander for 30 minutes up to 3 hours.
Rinse the eggplant well and gently squeeze out as much liquid as possible leaving cubes whole.
Heat 1/4 cup olive oil, over medium high heat in a large skillet; add eggplant and brown slightly, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes.
Remove eggplant with tongs and set aside, to leave as much oil as possible in the pan.
Add remaining oil to pan along with the onions and pine nuts; cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent and pine nuts are lightly browned, about 7 or 8 minutes.
Return eggplant to skillet with the tomato, raisins, sugar, cinnamon, cumin, and pepper; mix well, turn heat to low, cover, and cook, stirring once or twice, until the liquid has thickened a bit, 5 to 10 minutes.
Remove pan from heat and let cool to room temperature, uncovered, about 45 minutes; stir in the dill and parsley, adjust seasonings and serve with yogurt and lemon wedges.