Tavas

Tavas is a dish traditional in Cyprus. There are a few different versions of this going around. The one here uses elements from recipes given to me by my aunt and cousin.

Tavas consists of several layers of ingredients, baked in a deep baking dish. The order I use (from bottom to top) is meat, onions, rice, mushrooms, aubergines, courgettes, potatoes and tomato paste. You can change the order of the vegetables between the rice and the potatoes, or even add more, like carrots or peas. The rest work best where they are.

Ingredients
500 g of lamb (or experiment with different meats)
2 large onions
Pudding or sushi rice
Large mushrooms (enough to make a layer when chopped)
1 Aubergine
1 large courgette
4-5 large potatoes
Thickened tomato juice (passata)
(Note: the quantities are approximate and depend on the size of your baking dish.)

Directions
I tend to add a little olive oil with every layer, instead of all together. You should probably use about 0.5 a cup (125ml) overall for these quantities.

Cut the lamb in small pieces. Season with salt, pepper and cummin to taste. Spread the meat in the baking dish and add a few bay leaves around for flavour. Add some oil.

Chop the onions in thick discs and cover the meat. Add some oil and salt to taste.

Wash about 0.5 a cup rice and spread it over the onions. This layer should be thin and spread out, because the rice will expand. If you make a proper layer with uncooked rice, everything will explode in the oven. Add 0.5-1 the rice volume in water.

Cut the mushrooms in thick slices and cover the rice. Add some oil and salt to taste.

Slice the aubergine and cover the mushrooms. Add some oil and salt to taste. Do the same with the courgettes.

Slice the potatoes to medium thickness and put on top. Add some oil, salt and a bit of oregano (optional). At this point, some people add another layer of tomatoes. I think Tavas becomes much more juicy if you cover it passata, instead.

Close the baking dish tightly and put it in the oven at around 480 K (Gas 6-7) for about 2 hours or so. Let it stand for a bit, before serving.

Variations
Some people prefer to brown the meat in a pan, before putting it in the baking dish.