Israeli cuisine spicy or sweet-and-sour, with ingredients such as bell peppers, chili peppers, figs, onion, artichoke bottoms, Swiss chard, beet, dried fruits, tomato, vine leaves, potatoes, mallow, eggplants and zucchini squash, and stuffing such as meat and rice in Balkan style, bulgur in Middle Eastern fashion, or with ptitim, a type of Israeli pasta. The Ottoman Turks introduced stuffed vine leaves in the 16th century and vine leaves are commonly stuffed with a combination of meat and rice, although other fillings, such as lentils, have evolved among the various communities. Artichoke bottoms stuffed with meat are famous as one the grand dishes
Stuffed eggplant of different flavors of the dish by region like tamarind, date, etc., also there is a wider use of spices than there is in Iran, Turkey and Azerbaijan. The ingredients include eggplant, minced meat, rice, bulgur, onion, tomato paste, sumac, tamarind juice, lemon juice, date honey, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, pine nuts, almonds, walnuts, tomato, parsley, mint, salt, black pepper and olive oil. In Italy, stuffed eggplant are cooked in oven, and can be filled with mozzarella cheese (in Rome), or with minced meat (in Sicily). In Sicily, eggplants of the violet variety are used. Stuffed eggplant Stuffed eggplants (, Iran: