Imam Bayildi (The priest fainted) #Grilling/Barbecue... It is a zeytinyağlı (olive oil-based) dish and is found in most of the former Ottoman regions. The dish is served at room temperature or warm. Your News is the place for you to save content to read later from any device.

Method for Turkish Stuffed Aubergine - Imam Bayildi: Halve the aubergines length ways. Scoop out some of the flesh to leave something that resembles a thick. The story behind the name of this Turkish dish is rather long (see the accompanying Gastronomer column). You can cook Imam Bayildi (The priest fainted) #Grilling/Barbecue.. using 10 ingredients and 19 steps. Here is how you cook it.

Ingredients of Imam Bayildi (The priest fainted) #Grilling/Barbecue..

You need 2 of Eggplants large.
Prepare 4 tbsp of olive oil.
Prepare 2 of Red onions finely chopped.
Prepare 2 of Tomatoes finely chopped.
Prepare 1 of Capsicum large chopped.
You need 1 tsp of Cumin powder.
It's 1 tbsp of Chilli flakes.
You need of Garlic cloves crushed 2.
You need of Coriander or parsley finely chopped a fistful.
It's 1 tsp of Salt.

But this much can be said: The original recipe called for a lot of olive oil. Although this modern version is more limited in its use of oil, it should still be a rich dish. There are many recipes for the iconic Turkish eggplant dish, Imam Bayildi. Most call for much more olive oil than this recipe does.

Imam Bayildi (The priest fainted) #Grilling/Barbecue.. step by step

Wash the eggplants and give a slit in the centre taking care not to cut it fully..
Keep it immersed in salted water until the oven gets preheated..
Rub some salt and olive oil in the slit eggplants and arrange them in a baking tray lined with a butterpaper..
Bake them on 240° for about 30 minutes at first..
Keep it on the middle rack with both the rods on with the fan assisted feature too if your oven has it. Otherwise there is no need to worry. It gets done even without that feature..
Next, while the baking is being done, prepare the stir fried veggie mix..
In a broad pan, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil..
Add the crushed garlic and onions first..
Saute them for a minute..
Now add the chopped capsicum and the tomatoes followed by the cumin powder and the chilli flakes..
Blackpepper can be used instead of chilli flakes..
Adjust the salt proportion according to your taste and saute these on a medium flame just for 3 to 4 minutes..
Switch off the flame and set aside..
After the eggplants are baked for 30 minutes, take them out and carefully fill the sauteed veggies into them..
Sprinkle some chopped parsley or coriander on top and bake it again for about 10 to 15 minutes..
Keep checking after 6 to 7 minutes because every oven has different temperature settings..
In total, this dish gets readied in 40 to 45 minutes..
After done, take these out onto a serving platter and garnish with some more parsley or coriander and drizzle on top any juices that get left out after baking..
Serve this amazing dish with naans or pita bread or even your favourite rice. I served it with burnt garlic rice..

There's quite a bit in this one, but it's a much lighter dish than the classic. Make sure to simmer this over very low heat as it cooks for a long time. So why did the Imam faint - if the dish was so good, right? After some research, I found two stories to explain where the funny name is coming from. Roasted eggplant stuffed with onions, garlic and peppers in sauce from Ilke of Ilke's Kitchen.