Armenian Stuffed Eggplant Imam Bayildi Recipes

IMAM BAYILDI (A STUFFED EGGPLANT RECIPE FROM ASIA MINOR)

Steps:

• Saute the onions in a little oil.
• Add the garlic, tomatoes, parsley, salt, and pepper.
• Cook until it comes together as a very thick stew (no liquid). Stir in mint.
• Cut the stem ends from each eggplant and cut eggplants in half lengthwise.
• Make 3 lengthwise slits, almost from end to end, cutting into the flesh about 1 inch deep.
• Heat 1/2 cup olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
• Add the eggplant, cut side down, and fry gently, until dark golden-brown on cut side.
• Turn over and fry on skin side a couple more minutes.
• Remove from oil (most of it will have been absorbed) and place on paper towels to drain for at least 15 minutes before proceeding with recipe (this gets rid of most of the oil- you can omit the frying step to cut calories and save time, but you will NOT have the same flavourful results, and the recipe will not be as authentic).
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Hold each slit apart and spoon the vegetable mixture into each cavity.
• Arrange eggplants in a baking dish just large enough to hold them.
• Sprinkle with sugar, lemon juice, and drizzle with the remaining oil.
• Bake for 40 minutes, or until tender.
• Serve with lots of crusty bread.

ARMENIAN STUFFED EGGPLANT (IMAM BAYILDI)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Cut eggplants in 1/2, then cut each 1/2 into thirds, leaving 12 eggplant spears total. Place on a baking sheet and brush with 2 tablespoons olive oil.
• Roast in the preheated oven until fork tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• While eggplants are cooking, heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat in a medium to large pan. Add bell pepper, onion, and garlic to the hot pan and cook until onions become tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• Remove eggplants from the oven and let cool slightly, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer eggplants to a 9x13-inch baking dish. Slice each spear vertically using a fork and knife, being careful not to cut through skin. Pry each open and fill with 2 to 3 tablespoons of tomato filling. Cover with tomato sauce.
• Bake in the preheated oven until bubbling, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with parsley.

IMAM BAYILDI

Steps:

• Peel the aubergines with a vegetable peeler so you get a zebra look like on the image. Halve them lengthwise into two parts. You can use four smaller instead of two large aubergines, but in that case, you prepare them whole. I prefer halved ones because they give me a better visual appearance.
• Sprinkle the aubergines with salt and allow 15 minutes for the salt to draw moisture from them. Be sure to wipe them off with a paper towel. Otherwise, they will be soggy.
• In a frying pan, heat the olive oil and fry the aubergines on both sides. Fry for 4-5 minutes until they start to get brown colour. When done, remove them from the oil and set aside.
• In the second frying pan, we will now prepare the stuffing. Heat a little olive oil and sauté onion, garlic and tomato. Season with salt and pepper and finally add the spices - sugar, cinnamon, parsley and mint.
• Make a notch through the centre of the aubergine and fill it with stuffing.
• Lay the stuffed aubergines in a baking tray. If there is stuffing leftover, put it in the baking tray next to them. Pour over some more olive oil and lemon juice.
• Cover and place in the oven to bake for approx. 40-45 min at 160 degrees.
• Remove from oven and allow to cool and then cover with the liquid left from baking.
• Imam Bayildi is usually served cold and is additionally garnished with chopped fresh parsley. Yoghurt also goes excellent with this dish.

IMAM BAYıLDı

Steps:

• Peel the eggplants in stripes, salt the exterior of the eggplant generously, and set aside for 45 min. Don't chop the tops off. You can cut the extra leafy part around the stem with kitchen scissors, but you do not have to.Pour 1/3 cup of olive oil in a deep saute pan. Add onions, whole cloves of garlic, and cubanella peppers. Saute them until onion is transparent. Stir frequently to prevent browning of onions and garlic. This is one of the key steps to Imam Bayıldı.
• After onions are cooked, add finely diced tomatoes, chopped parsley, salt, pepper and sugar into the saute pan. Cook for another 5 minutes. Turn the heat off, cover and let it cool.Wash the eggplants, dry. Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil in a pan, fry the eggplants on each side until they are golden brown (1-2 min). Add more olive oil if needed to fry the rest. Set the eggplants in a baking dish to cool.
• Slit an opening in the middle of the eggplant half way through. Don't cut all the way through the eggplant. Make the opening little bigger with your fingers. You want it to look like a canoe.Equally divide the filling among four eggplants. Stuff them well.
• Pour the grated tomato into the baking pan, cover the pan with aluminum foil. Make several slits on the foil to let the steam escape.
• Bake in a 350-degree oven for 45 minutes or until the eggplants are cooked thoroughly.