SETH: Looks like we got some eggplant, pita, chickpeas.

Full Mediterranean, Middle Eastern spread right here.

What are you making today?

KARIM: Fatteh Bethengien.

Fatteh is the yogurt sauce.

And eggplant meaning is bethengien.

SETH: Oh, I got it, bethengien is eggplant.

KARIM: Is eggplant.

SETH: I love eggplant.

I'm not sure why they get a bad wrap from so many people.

Is this just a classic Lebanese dish?

KARIM: This is a classic Lebanese dish.

Usually when I work with the embassy, the first things on the table is the dish when we have a party over there.

SETH: All right, well, I'm ready for the party.

And so how are you going to prepare this eggplant for cooking?

KARIM: We going to do fried it.

SETH: Fry it, fry it?

Okay.

KARIM: Full fry.

SETH: But you got to get the moisture out somehow first, right?

KARIM: Yes, yes.

First step, we put a little bit salt.

SETH: Nice, generous amount.

KARIM: Okay, we soak a little bit and a few minutes and after we put in the towel, we take the water out.

Now, when we're waiting for the eggplant, we put the yogurt, we'll put a little bit tahini, we'll put it a little bit salt and we'll put little bit garlic.

And we're mixing together.

Some people they're using lemon, but... You can try it.

SETH: Oh, try it with a little pita chip?

KARIM: Yes, yes.

SETH: Are these house-made pita chips?

KARIM: Yes.

SETH: Everything has to be made in-house, right?

KARIM: Yes.

SETH: Nice garlicky flavor on that.

I like that a lot.

KARIM: Now with the second step, we grab the tray, we put it in the towel, we put it eggplant and we... SETH: Oh yeah, a lot of liquid coming out already.

And that's going to really help firm up the texture of the eggplant as well, right?

KARIM: Yes, yes, and not take so much oil also when you fry it.

The next step now after when we take out from the water and everything, I'm going to take to the stove and fry it.

We put the dish together, we put toasted pita bread, we have the chickpeas, we put the eggplant, and we put the yogurt sauce.

We'll fry a little bit the pine nut with olive oil.

We put on the top of the fatteh.

We put a little bit paprika and do a little bit cinnamon.

The fatteh bethengien will be done.

SETH: All right, Karim, Maria, this Lebanese feast that you've assembled here, this looks incredible.

This fatteh bethengien, how do we attack this thing?

KARIM: Okay, I serving for you.

SETH: All the good stuff's at the bottom, right?

KARIM: On the bottom.

SETH: Actually, there's probably good stuff on the top and bottom.

KARIM: Now you can try.

How you like it?

SETH: That warm yogurt and the creaminess of the eggplant, but a little bit of crispiness, too, from the pita chips.

What a wonderful play of textures and flavors.

That's terrific.

MARIA: It's a lot of flavors.

You don't feel a strong flavor of eggplant.

It just melds beautifully together.

SETH: And the chickpeas, so many times you have dishes where the chickpeas are kind of hard or uh, crunchy.

These just melt in your mouth.

KARIM: Supposed to cook the chickpeas well done.

We soak it overnight and next day, we taking time to cook not short time.

SETH: You can't rush this.

KARIM: No, no.

You cannot rush with the chickpeas.

SETH: And this beautiful platter here, as well.

This is like some of the various mezze you could get to share with your meal?

KARIM: Yes, you're looking for cheese pie, the vegetarian kibbeh, chicken kibbeh, meat kibbeh.

And we have in the middle vegetarian grape leaves.

MARIA: We make the best kibbeh.

We have people coming here just to eat kibbeh, especially vegetarian.

KARIM: With walnut, with spinach, and little bit pomegranate and pumpkin.

MARIA: And the shell is made from butternut squash grounded with bulgur.

SETH: There's a lot of goodies hiding inside that shell.

But of course I have to ask about what looks like maybe a slice of apple pie on the far end of the table?

KARIM: Yes, this is my homemade from my... Maria, she made it all the time here.

The best apple pie, you can see it.

SETH: Maria, you're the dessert queen here at the restaurant?

(laughing) MARIA: I'm a dessert worker.

And queen, I don't know what?

I'm an humble person who likes to bake, likes to cook, likes to make things to make people happy.

And food makes people happy.

SETH: Well, hear, hear.

That's incredible.

I would not have imagined I'd have to travel to a Lebanese restaurant in Greenbelt... MARIA: In Greenbelt.

SETH: To have such a wonderful apple pie.