Karnıyarık is one of the most famous, delicious and traditional dishes in Turkish cuisine. The main ingredient is aubergines, stuffed with chopped onions, garlic, tomatoes and spiced minced meat. Karnıyarık is usually baked in the oven and served hot. However, there is another variant, İmam bayıldı, which has no meat and is served cold.
Karnıyarık is made in almost all regions of Turkey during the summer months. It is usually served as a main course for both lunch and dinner. It is almost always accompanied by rice.
Ingredients for 4 persons
- 2 aubergines
- 200 g minced meat
- 2 onions
- 2 green peppers
- 3 ripe red tomatoes
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 glass of hot water
- 2 tablespoons parsley
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
For frying
- 1 glass of oil
Preparation
First wash the aubergines and peel them in lengthwise strips approximately 1 cm wide, so that they have the appearance of a zebra-shaped skin and the slices of skin alternate with the slices of flesh of the same thickness.
Next, make an incision in the sides of the aubergines with a knife so that you can scoop out some of the flesh with a teaspoon. Remove a quarter of the flesh from each aubergine and set aside.
Once this is done, brown the aubergines in a frying pan with a glass of oil for about 4 minutes, then remove them. Peel the onions and garlic, wash and chop the peppers, and cut the tomatoes into very small pieces.
While doing this, heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan and fry the minced meat in it for 5 minutes; then add the chopped onions and garlic, the peppers, the pulp we have removed from the aubergines and the chopped tomatoes, mixing everything well and frying the mixture for a further 5 minutes. Then add the parsley, pepper, thyme and salt, stir and turn off the heat. Once ready, use this to stuff the aubergines, which were previously partially emptied.
Grease a baking dish with a little butter or margarine and place the aubergines in it, stuffed side up. Slice a tomato and a green pepper and place the slices on top of the aubergines; add a glass of hot water and put everything in the oven for about 20 minutes at 200 ºC. After this time, the dish is ready to serve, preferably hot, and can be accompanied with some rice.
Afiyet olsun! (Enjoy!)
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Funda is a master of Turkish cuisine. Her cooking skills have led her to participate in all kinds of contests and competitions, and she has won numerous awards for her recipes. If you try one of her dishes… Say goodbye to your diet!
