Turkish recipe
How to make İmam bayıldı
İmam bayıldı
Ottoman palace and home cooking, now all of Türkiye
Whole aubergines, split and filled with onions, garlic and tomatoes, then cooked slowly in plenty of olive oil. It is served warm or at room temperature, often as part of a meal of vegetable dishes.
Ingredients
- 4 medium aubergines
- 150 ml olive oil, divided
- 3 onions, thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, sliced
- 4 ripe tomatoes, chopped (keep a few slices for the top)
- 1 green pepper, sliced
- A small bunch of parsley, chopped
- 1 teaspoon sugar and salt to taste
- 150 ml hot water
Method
- Peel the aubergines in stripes, leaving bands of skin, and soak them in salted water for 20 minutes. Dry them well.
- Fry the whole aubergines in about 4 tablespoons of the oil, turning them, until soft and lightly browned. Lay them in a baking dish.
- In the same pan, cook the onions slowly in 4 more tablespoons of oil for about 15 minutes until soft and sweet. Add the garlic, pepper and chopped tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes, then stir in the parsley, sugar and salt.
- Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Slit each aubergine lengthways, open it like a boat and fill it with the onion mixture. Top with tomato slices.
- Pour the rest of the oil and the hot water around the aubergines, cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Let them cool a little and serve warm or at room temperature.
Made it at home? Tick it off and it goes into your kitchen passport.
The name means 'the imam fainted'. Stories say he fainted with pleasure at the taste, or at the cost of all that olive oil.
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