Fried Eggplant (Patlican kizartmasi) Eggplant Purée (Begendi) Karniyarik (Slashed eggplant) Eggplant Salad Pilav with tomato and çoban salad usually accompany Karniyarik : Cooking Recipe Turkish Cuisine

Eggplant Variations

"There are 900 ways to cook eggplant" says our member Cyrus. However, I believe the most popular are fried eggplant and eggplant salad. It takes some time to prepare both of them and most people don't like to cook it. Ready roasted eggplant has recently become available on market shelves, so it is now easy to prepare. Both are among the most famous foods of Turkish cuisine.
Fried Eggplant (Patlican kizartmasi)
6 -8 eggplants
10-12 fresh green peppers
1 kg tomatoes
5-6 cloves garlic
Salt, sugar, 1 tablespoon vinegar
Sunflower oil for frying.

Peel the skin off the eggplants lengthwise, leaving a strip of skin between each part that you peel, and cut the top off and discard. Make either round or oval slices, and soak them in salted water for a while. Then dry and fry them in heated oil on both sides until golden-brown. Remove the fried eggplants onto a piece of paper towel to absorb the excess oil.

Tomato Sauce: Grate the tomatoes, and cook with crushed garlic, salt and sugar until it reaches the consistency of a puree, and add vinegar before removing from the heat.

Meanwhile, wash the peppers and cook them in a Teflon saucepan without oil. Actually the peppers should also be fried, but they absorb a lot of oil and, as the oil may splash while frying, you can burn your hands or arms.

Put eggplants and pepper on a serving plate and spread the sauce over, cool before serving.

Eggplant Salad
6-8 medium sized eggplants
2-3 table spoons yogurt
Salt, lemon, garlic (optional), cubed tomatoes, and pepper.

Wash, dry and cook the eggplants directly over a low gas flame or cook in an oven until the skins are charred. Turn frequently to ensure even cooking over all of the eggplant. When the skins are almost burnt, they are done. Remove from heat and cool. Peel the outer skin of the eggplants and pound well with a fork until they reach a paste-like consistency. During this process you may think "How unusual Turkish cuisine is!!". Add yogurt, salt and lemon to taste.

Place in a serving dish, add crushed garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and salt. You can also add tomatoes cut in cube size and/or chopped pepper. Serve cold.
It is one of the favorite mezes of Raki tables.

Eggplant Purée (Begendi)
6-8 medium sized eggplants
2 glasses of milk
2 tablespoons of flour
100 gr. margarine
salt and pepper and grated cheese (optional).

Put the margarine, flour and milk into a saucepan, place over moderate heat and sauté for 2 minutes, making sure that the flour doesn't turn golden, and add salt and pepper. This is called meyane (béchamel sauce). Eggplants, cooked as described in the "Eggplant Salad" recipe, are mixed with meyane, and grated kasar cheese may be added. Begendi is traditionally accompanied by roasted veal or lamb and then is called Hünkar Begendi (Sultan's delight).

Karniyarik (Slashed eggplant)
4-6 medium sized eggplants
250 gr ground meat
100 gr margarine
1 chopped tomato
1 medium sized onion
1 green pepper
1 glass of water

Chop the onions and cook in a saucepan with some butter until pink. Add ground meat and roast, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add salt and pepper. Peel the eggplants in a ribbon fashion. Soak them in salted water for a while. Drain and dry. Fry eggplants lightly in oil. Make a deep lengthwise incision in each eggplant. Place the eggplants in a saucepan, with the cut sides facing up. Place some stuffing on each eggplant and top each with a slice of tomato and green pepper. Add a small amount of water and cook over low heat for 25-30 minutes.

Pilav with tomato and çoban salad usually accompany Karniyarik.

Quick Eggplant Meal
4-5 medium sized eggplants
1 big onion
2-3 medium sized tomatoes
2 green peppers
2-3 cloves garlic
salt, sugar, olive oil
Cook the chopped onions and one tomato with olive oil. Peel the eggplants and dice them, chop the remaining tomatoes and peppers, add crushed garlic, salt and sugar, and cook for 20 minutes over low heat. It is very easy delicious food.