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Unlock the Secret to Perfect Turkish Eggplant! In this 8:30 step-by-step cooking guide I’ll show you how to make restaurant-style Turkish eggplant (Imam Bayıldı) — tender, savory, and packed with flavor. Ingredients: 3 medium eggplants, 1 large onion, 3 garlic cloves, 3 ripe tomatoes (or 1 can crushed), 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 tbsp tomato paste, 1 tsp sugar, salt, pepper, 1 tsp paprika, handful fresh parsley, lemon juice. Quick steps: prep & salt eggplants, sauté onions & garlic, add tomatoes & spices, simmer, roast or pan-fry eggplants, assemble & bake briefly. Perfect for dinner or mezze. If you enjoyed this recipe, please like and share! #TurkishEggplant #ImamBayildi #EggplantRecipe #RestaurantStyleCooking
Hello my dear friends and welcome to my kitchen. Today I want to share a recipe that is very close to my heart. One that instantly takes me back to the busy markets and lively restaurants of my homeland. We are going to explore the wonderful world of Turkish eggplant patan. In Turkish cooking, eggplant is not just a vegetable. It is the main star of many loved dishes. Famous for its rich creamy feel and its amazing way of soaking up all the delicious flavors it is cooked with. The dish we are making today is a classic restaurant style fried eggplant served with a simple but very tasty tomato pepper sauce. The best part of this dish is how simple it is. It doesn’t need hard cooking methods or rare ingredients. Just a little bit of love and care to bring out the best in each part. Making a mix of tastes and textures that you will never forget. You might be wondering what makes Turkish eggplant dishes so special. I think it is how much we respect the ingredients. We take our time to prepare the eggplant correctly, making sure it becomes soft and sweet, never bitter. We use lots of good quality olive oil, which is the lifeblood of Mediterranean cooking to make the flavors richer. So, I invite you to join me on this cooking journey. I will show you every single step, sharing all the little secrets I have learned over the years. Get your apron on, pour yourself a glass of tea, and let’s get ready to cook up a little piece of turkey right in your own home. It’s going to be a delicious adventure. I promise. Before we start our cooking adventure, let’s get all the wonderful ingredients we will need. Having everything ready, or as the chefs say, your mislass makes the whole process much more fun and easy. We are focusing on fresh, good quality items as their flavors will really stand out. For the eggplant, three mediumsized round eggplants, about 1 and 1/2 kg or 3.3 lb total. 2 tbsp of coarse sea salt. About 2 cups of light olive oil or sunflower oil for frying. A large bowl of cold water. For the tomato sauce, 3 tablesp of good quality extra virgin olive oil. One medium onion cut into small pieces. Two cloves of garlic cut into thin slices or minced. Two long green peppers. Turkish cry Bieber, Anaheim peppers, or sweet Italian peppers. Seeds removed and chopped. Four ripe medium-sized tomatoes cut into small pieces or a 400 g can of chopped tomatoes. 1 teasp of sugar. Salt and freshly ground black pepper to your liking. A small bunch of fresh flat leaf parsley cut into small pieces for decoration. When picking them, look for ones that are firm, shiny, and feel heavy for their size. The green peppers add a lovely light sweetness and a hint of freshness that cuts through the richness of the fried eggplant. And for the tomatoes, using fresh ripe ones that are in season will give your sauce a very deep flavor. A note on the oil. We will use a light olive oil for frying and save our special extra virgin olive oil for the sauce. Now that we have all our beautiful ingredients together, we are ready to begin the first and most important step of our recipe. Our journey to delicious Turkish eggplant starts with getting the eggplants ready themselves. This first step is the secret to soft, creamy texture and no bitterness. We want our eggplant to be like a sponge, ready to soak up sauce. First, wash under cold running water and dry completely with a kitchen towel. Cut off the green tops. Peel in zebra stripes with a vegetable peeler. Peel off a strip. Leave a strip on. Peel another strip off. This keeps shape and yields a soft inside. Cut into thick rounds about 2 cm, just under an inch thick. Thickness prevents mushiness. Now the magic, salting. Place slices in a large colander or bowl. Sprinkle generously with coarse sea salt and gently mix with your hands to coat. Let sit 30 45 minutes. You’ll see dark brown drops form. That’s the bitter juice being pulled out. This disc gorging yields sweeter flavor and reduces oil absorption when frying. Slices become bendy and release liquid. Next, rinse very, very well. Put colander in sink and rinse under cold running water. Use your hands to rub and remove excess salt. Once rinsed, dry completely. Spread on a clean kitchen towel or layers of paper towels. Pat dry. Drying is important for safety and for golden brown frying. Any water left on the surface will make the hot oil splash dangerously and will steam the eggplant instead of frying it. That leads to a mushy texture instead of a creamy one. With our eggplants perfectly prepared, salted and dried, we’re ready for the next crucial step. It is time to give them their golden crispy outside and wonderfully soft inside. This is the frying stage where the texture truly comes to life. Pour to a depth of 1 2 cm. That’s about half an inch. Heat the oil over medium high. The key is the right amount of heat. Test with the wooden spoon handle. If small bubbles form, the oil is ready. If it smokes, lower the heat. Carefully place slices into the hot oil in a single layer. Don’t crowd the pan. Cook in small batches. Fry about 3 to 4 minutes per side. You want a deep golden brown color. Time varies with thickness and oil temperature. Watch closely. As they cook, they soften and absorb oil. Spongy turns creamy and rich. Use a slotted spoon or tongs to turn slices to cook the other side evenly. The smell is heavenly. Check softness by poking with a fork. When golden and soft, remove from pan. Use the slotted spoon to lift slices and let oil drip back. Place fried slices on a plate lined with paper towels. Paper towels soak up excess oil so it’s not greasy. Continue frying in batches until all slices are done. Add a little more oil between batches if needed. Look at that beautiful golden color and creamy texture. This is restaurant quality eggplant. Now that our beautiful eggplant slices are fried and resting, it is time to make the bright, flavorful sauce. In a separate clean pot or skillet, heat your 3 tablesp of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add the finely chopped onion and cook gently for about 5 to 7 minutes until it becomes soft, clear, and sweet. We are not trying to brown the onion, just to soften it and let out its natural sugars. Once the onion is soft, add the chopped green peppers and the sliced garlic. Keep cooking for another 3 to 4 minutes, stirring sometimes, until the peppers have softened and the wonderful smell of garlic fills your kitchen. Now, it is time for the main part of our sauce, the tomatoes. Add the finely chopped fresh tomatoes to the pan. Stir everything together. Then add the teaspoon of sugar. This might seem strange, but it helps balance the sourness and make their natural sweetness stronger. Season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer, then turn the heat down to low. Cover the pan and let the sauce cook slowly for about 15 to 20 minutes. This slow cooking is very important. It allows all the flavors to mix together and the sauce to get thicker into a rich, delicious consistency. The vegetables will break down and become incredibly soft, creating a sauce that is both simple and fancy. Once the sauce has thickened to your liking and the oil has started to rise to the top, it is ready. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. With our smooth fried eggplant and our rich, fragrant tomato sauce both prepared, the moment has come to bring them together. Start by arranging the fried eggplant slices on the plate. You can overlap them a little if you need to, making an even base for the sauce. Using a large spoon, generously pour the warm sauce over the fried eggplant slices. Make sure to spread it evenly, covering every piece. Gently push the sauce into all the small spaces, making sure the eggplant is well covered. As the rich red sauce flows over the golden eggplant, you will see the dish come to life. The colors alone are a feast for the eyes. The final touch is a generous sprinkle of freshly chopped flat leaf parsley. The fresh green parsley not only adds a beautiful pop of color, but also gives a lovely clean flavor that cuts through the richness. Now you must let the dish rest. Allow it to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving. This resting time is very important as it gives the flavors time to mix and the eggplant time to soak up the sauce fully. This dish is wonderful on its own, but it truly shines when served with thick slices of fresh, crusty bread. The bread is the perfect tool for scooping up the smooth eggplant and soaking up every last drop of that delicious sauce. Congratulations, you have made a masterpiece. Your Turkish fried eggplant with tomato sauce is now ready to be shared and enjoyed. Afietun, may it be good for you. My dear friends, I want to share a few extra tips and secrets to make sure your Turkish eggplant is absolutely perfect, just like you would enjoy in a nice restaurant in Istanbul. Always choose fresh, firm eggplants with smooth, shiny skin. Older, softer eggplants tend to have more seeds and can taste more bitter. The salting step is a must do. It’s the absolute key to removing bitterness and stopping the eggplant from becoming a sponge full of oil. When drying the rinsed eggplant slices, be very thorough. Any water left will make the hot oil splash dangerously and steam the eggplant instead of frying it. The temperature of the oil is super important. If the oil isn’t hot enough, the eggplant soaks up too much oil and becomes greasy. Please cook in small batches. Putting too many pieces in the pan makes the oil temperature drop, leading to greasy results. Give each slice its own personal space to sizzle and turn golden brown. Patience is a good thing to have, especially when frying. Using a teaspoon of sugar is a Mediterranean trick to balance tomato sourness. It doesn’t make the sauce sweet, but brings out the natural sweetness of tomatoes and peppers. Do not rush the simmering process. Let the sauce cook down slowly for at least 15 to 20 minutes. Slow cooking turns simple vegetables into a rich, complex sauce. In Turkey, this is usually served as an appetizer, part of mis, a selection of small dishes served at the beginning of a meal. It is best enjoyed at room temperature when the flavors are at their most balanced. The richness of the olive oil and sweetness of the tomatoes are much more noticeable. It truly shines when served with thick slices of fresh, crusty bread. The bread is perfect for scooping up the smooth eggplant and soaking up every drop of sauce. If you want to create a bigger appetizer spread, this eggplant dish goes beautifully with a bowl of thick, creamy plain yogurt, maybe with a little garlic mixed in, shephardd’s salad made with chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions, or a bowl of olives, and some feta cheese. This creates a beautiful, balanced, and light start to any meal, inviting everyone to relax and enjoy the friendly spirit of Turkish dining. Don’t be afraid to make it your own. Cooking should always be a joyful and creative process. I truly hope you enjoy making and eating this classic Turkish dish. It is a recipe full of history, flavor, and the warmth of Mediterranean hospitality. Thank you for joining me in my kitchen today. I encourage you to try this recipe and bring a taste of my beloved turkey to your own table. I am certain it will become a favorite in your home just as it is in mine. Aette Olsen, may it be good for you. With these tips and techniques, you’ll create restaurant quality Turkish eggplant that honors this beloved tradition.
Dining and Cooking