Vegtable Kabsa

I'm not a big meat eater so I took my favorite dish kabsa and made it vegan :)
Its a traditional Gulf dish made with lamb,beef,chicken
or seafood this recipe uses eggplant, potatoes,and zucchini.

1 potato cut into huge chunks
1-2 tiny eggplant chopped in same size as potatoes.
1-2 tiny zucchini
1 onion diced
1 Chile
3 cloves garlic
1 1/2 cups rice
1 tomato(Pureed)
1 tablespoons tomato paste
4 cups water
oil
Spices:
1 bay leaf
5 cardamom pods
3 cloves
1-2 teaspoons cumin,
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon turmeric
1cinnimon stick
2 loumi (dried lemons)

How 2:
To prep this you need to pre cook the potato,zucchini and eggplant traditionally with may rice dishes you may fry them first to prevent them from falling apart in the rice. once you have taken this step set them aside. if you throw them in as is they may fall apart or remain raw after the cooking process.
In a pot add few tablespoons of oil, saute onions with the Chile until onions are slightly golden.
Add the potato,zucchini and eggplant, follow by spices,tomato paste,fresh tomato puree, and garlic mix gently.
To this add 4 cups of water to the pot. simmer on med-low until a nice sauce has formed from the spices.
Strain gently. measure out 3 cups of liquid if you need more feel free to use some water.
To the pot now add rice followed by the reserved stock and water. followed by the vegetables, bring it up to a boil. add in 1-2 teaspoons of salt.
cover and reduce heat to low temp cook until rice is cooked and fluffy the liquid on the bottom has dried. once its done you may leave it in the pot covered for 15mins this will allow the moisture to redistribute.
serve as is or with side of salad or hot sauce.

ENJOY!