Turkish Eggplant Dishes: Karnıyarık, İmam Bayıldı and More

There’s an old saying that a Turkish cook should know a hundred ways to prepare eggplant. That may be an exaggeration, but not by much. Patlıcan is the star vegetable of Turkish summer cooking: fried, stuffed, roasted over a flame, puréed into creamy sauces and cooked slowly in olive oil. Pakistani cooks know baingan well from bharta and aloo baingan, and the Turkish dishes build on the same love of soft, smoky eggplant.

The five to know

Karnıyarık, “split belly”: whole eggplants fried until soft, split open and filled with spiced minced meat, tomato and pepper, then baked. It’s an everyday family dish and the best place to start.

İmam bayıldı, “the imam fainted”: the vegetarian sister of karnıyarık. The eggplants are stuffed with a lot of onion, garlic and tomato cooked in olive oil and served at room temperature. It’s one of the classic zeytinyağlı dishes, vegetables cooked in olive oil.

Ali nazik: smoky roasted eggplant mashed with garlicky yogurt and topped with sautéed lamb or beef. If you like bharta and raita, you’ll love this.

Hünkar beğendi, “the sultan liked it”: tender meat stew served on a creamy purée of roasted eggplant with milk and cheese. It’s a dish for guests, rich and impressive.

Patlıcan musakka: layers of fried eggplant and spiced mince baked in tomato sauce. The Turkish version is lighter than the Greek one, with no béchamel on top.

Getting eggplant right

Choose well. Look for firm, glossy eggplants that feel heavy for their size, with a green, fresh stem. In Pakistan, the long purple variety is closest to Turkish eggplant; the big round bharte wala baingan is best for roasting and mashing.

Peel in stripes. Turkish cooks often peel eggplants in alternating stripes, like a zebra. The strips of skin hold the eggplant together, while the peeled parts cook softer.

Salt to stop the oil soaking in. Slice or stripe the eggplant, sprinkle with salt and leave for 20–30 minutes, then rinse and squeeze or pat completely dry. The salt pulls out water, and drier eggplant absorbs much less oil when fried.

Fry with less oil, or don’t fry at all. Brush the eggplant with oil and bake it at a high temperature, or air-fry it, before stuffing. You’ll lose a little richness but save a lot of oil. This works well for karnıyarık and musakka.

Roast over a flame for smoky dishes. For ali nazik and hünkar beğendi, char the whole eggplant directly over a gas flame, turning it until the skin is black and the inside collapses, exactly as for bharta. Peel it while warm and let it drain in a sieve so the purée isn’t watery.

Stop it going dark. Drop roasted eggplant flesh into water with a little lemon juice for a minute, then squeeze it out. It keeps the purée pale and creamy.

When to make them

Eggplant is cheapest and best in Pakistan from late spring through autumn. Imam bayıldı is ideal for summer because it’s served cool. Hünkar beğendi and musakka are better for cooler evenings and for guests.

Serving

Serve stuffed eggplants with şehriyeli pilav or bulgur pilavı, a bowl of yogurt and a crisp çoban salatası. If you’re cooking for a Pakistani family who’s new to Turkish food, karnıyarık is the safest choice: familiar spices, minced meat, and soft, sweet eggplant.