# Imam Bayildi

Imam Bayildi is a Turkish dish of whole eggplants stuffed with a savory filling and braised in olive oil.

- Cuisine: Turkish
- Category: Lunch
- Language: en

## Ingredients

- 4 small eggplants
- 2 tbsp salt
- 9 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 large onions
- 4 large garlic cloves
- 1 long red pepper
- 1 long green pepper
- 3 large tomatoes
- 1 tsp pul biber (Aleppo pepper)
- 30 g parsley
- pilav
- short-grain rice
- water
- toasted orzo

## Instructions

1. Trim the bottom ends of each eggplant and peel back the green tops.
2. Use a paring knife to make a circular incision around the base of the stem and pull off the green part, revealing the woodier core.
3. Peel off alternate long stripes of the eggplants, resembling a zebra pattern.
4. Place the eggplants in a large bowl and rub salt all over the exposed flesh.
5. Heat some olive oil in a casserole over medium-low heat.
6. Peel and finely slice the onions, add them to the casserole with salt and cook until they are soft and translucent.
7. Peel and slice the garlic cloves.
8. Cut the red and green pepper in half, remove the core and seeds and slice the rest.
9. Add the garlic and peppers to the pan and continue cooking until the peppers have softened as well.
10. Dice the tomatoes, add them to the pan with the pul biber and cook covered for 5 minutes to let the tomatoes release their juices.
11. Trim and discard the lower stems of the parsley and chop the rest.
12. Turn off the heat, stir most of the parsley into the filling.
13. Strain the filling through a sieve placed over a bowl to catch the juices.
14. Fry the eggplants until they are soft.
15. Add them to a baking tray.
16. Cut the eggplants open like a pocket.
17. Fill them with the stuffing.
18. Add salt to the leftover juices.
19. Pour the juices over the stuffed eggplants.
20. Top with tomatoes and roast until lightly charred.
21. Cook the pilav by toasting orzo in olive oil.
22. Add salt and water to the orzo.
23. Serve the pilaf in a dome shape.
24. Serve the Imam Bayildi by plating it and adding the juices over.

## Equipment

- knife
- peeler
- bowl
- casserole
- pot
- pan
- tongs
- baking tray
- sieve
- bowl
- ladle

## Tips

- Imam Bayildi are usually served cold.
- You can either fry or roast the eggplants until they're soft.

## Source

- Original video: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DMh6dluPFxk/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
- Recipe page: https://www.cliprecipe.com/recipe/0b96bb1f-911b-477c-96c3-724044627730
- Extracted: 2025-07-25

Extracted from the video by Clip Recipe (https://www.cliprecipe.com). Quantities and steps are as stated or shown in the video. Site guide for agents: https://www.cliprecipe.com/llms.txt