I am the author of this recipe, and it has been radically 'modified' from what I submitted. First, I believe you only need about 5 cups of water, but "may" need to add an extra cup or so - depending on whether or not the rice is covered when you go to place it on the stove to simmer. Also, chicken is a great substitute for the lamb - as is veal. When frying the eggplant, it's best not to overlap them - but it really doesn't matter too much in the end. Some reviewer's commented that the cooking time is too long. I use jasmin rice and it cooks in about 30 minutes. But, if you've got a favourite rice you use often, you would have a better guess as to when it would be done. The prep time is longer than other dishes, but certainly not more difficult. And certainly worth it every time! =) P.S. What I use to speed up the prep time is frozen vegetables!

Reviewed On: Jun. 4, 2009