LEGENDARY Recipes: Turkish Aubergines That Made Imams Faint

[@zalibecquerel3463]

I love that name! "The Imam Fainted", right up there with "Buddha Jumps Over the Wall" (the legend being the dish is so delicious that a vegetarian monk jumped over the wall of the monastery wall to sample the delicious dried seafood stew that they could smell cooking nearby).

[@MiddleEats]

Ok now I need to try this, and start to accumulate a list of dishes with a legend attached to them. Om Ali is up there too, but that one is a bit gruesome.

[@MiddleEats]

If you're thinking about making this, but wish it had some sort of meat, you could adapt this into karnıyarık instead! Just cook some ground meat with salt and pepper, and serve it alongside or in a pile on top. Enjoy!

[@jeanniebrooks]

I love all kinds of dishes using aubergines- and I don’t salt them to remove the “bitterness” (I like the tannins!) and I don’t remove the skins - I love them. I love all kinds of cuisines making aubergine dishes from Greek, Italian, Turkish, Lebanese, Thai, Burmese, Indian, Korean, French- I love them all! I love to just grill thick slices brushed w/olive oil, garlic, S & P and oregano along with other grilled veg like tomatoes, peppers, onion. It’s all delicious. ❤

[@mrmouse7642]

Thanks, Obi and I know Samira will have had a significant input. Great recipe which I will try. Really good to see you incorporating air fryers in your recipes. Please continue to do so. They are becoming very common. Our conventional oven broke and rather than replace it we bought an air fryer. So life for us is a bit different. Showing how an air fryer can be used to cook your fantastic recipes (like the kebabs) is really helpful. Please continue.

[@kevinp4771]

I love Imam Biyaldi and the story behind the dish is superb. I have never made it this way though and will have to try! - Looks impressive and very tasty!

[@MaurenEckersley]

Most cooks and chefs on KZbin yeah variations of ingredients but I liked you given options of cooking as well. Great help help. I can’t wait to try these. Thank you.

[@hollywebster6844]

Thank you, thank you for another vegan dish! I enjoy aubergine. It seems like many US people refuse to try aubergine or will only have it as eggplant Parmesan. I think ME cuisine dishes with aubergine are incredibly yummy! Any leftovers are good cold in a pita for breakfast the next day.

[@jeanniebrooks]

I’m an American and I love aubergine and look for any culture which makes them, including Middle Eastern, of course! Greek, Turkish, Lebanese, Italian, Korean, Thai- they are all delicious! And I don’t salt them to remove the so-called “bitterness” - I like the natural tannins. And I love the skins! LOVE them!

[@hollywebster6844]

@@jeanniebrooks We should start an "I love aubergines" club! 😅

[@IsidoraSage]

Thank you Obi! This looks wonderful. I am looking forward to making it this weekend. I love Aubergines and I'm vegan. Thank you

[@yigitdemir3723]

Dude the TIMING!!!! My mom made this for us today! I just ate it 😋😋 Edit: Okay one small mistake, we had Karnıyarık which is the same but with ground meat 😂

[@MiddleEats]

Karniyarik is awesome, we considered doing both in the same video, but I'll leave a comment about that instead

[@vickypedias]

Just made these for dinner! Amazing!

[@MiddleEats]

Fantastic, glad you liked them!

[@thepilgrimofinfinity4830]

I'm trying this recipe today. I can't wait to taste it ! Middle East food is so awesome ! Salam and thanks to Salma and Obi.

[@moriarty7589]

Thank you so much for this great recipe!! Could you maybe make a video on "Sulu Köfte"? Its a Turkish stew with potoes and köfte that's really amazing.

[@sandracarli1110]

Guys, be sure to switch off the oven before trying it and fainting! 😅

[@MiddleEats]

Haha you joke, but I literally did that when filming, left in on for 2 hours.... so much for being energy efficient

[@sandracarli1110]

@@MiddleEats I left a burner on for half an hour the other day. 😶‍🌫

[@happydillpickle]

Aubergine is the best! Thank you Obi and Salma for another incredible aubergine recipe. I hope all your family and friends in the Middle East are safe and well during these distressing times🕊️

[@sulemanmalik8228]

Nice, looks very delicious. Will inshallah try this out :)

[@garlicmuncher]

Know that you are on the side of humanity, no matter what others might tell you❤

[@sberkbayram]

i like it with yoğurt, its good with it.

[@steveday4797]

Perfect amount, 1 for breakfast, 1 for lunch with some rice and 2 for dinner 😊

[@MiddleEats]

Hahaha I think 1 will fill you up all day

[@nectanbo]

This looks amazing Obi! Thank you, I hope my wife loves it 😁🙏🏼

[@righteothenable]

Wow that looks fantastic! I love eggplant, and pepper, and onion... basically everything in this dish. Saving off the ingredients to pick up at the store!

[@mariapriest4106]

This looks nice for a light meal.. We make this but also another version called greek papoutsaki it is made with a meat sauce and some bechamel i only had it once from my neighbour and it was reallyyyyy good i still remember it!

[@dzsotjandaniel9021]

Dear Obi, thank you for this wonderful recipe! And you're right: the remaining filling was indeed an excellent sandwich filling. I wrapped the imam bayildi filling with leftover mujaddara, fresh celery stalks and chopped onion in lavash. Thanks again, keep up the good work! 🙏🏻

[@juliehillebrand8923]

This sounds delicious! I'll be trying this recipe soon, as I have a large aubergine on the counter.

[@nerissagreen4292]

Thank you for the receipe, made one aubergine this evening with the airfryer to see if I liked it. It came out great 😋 will defo make again for meal prep.

[@meldahspeight8525]

What a lovely recipe must try it .

[@jeffwatkins72]

Imam Biyaldi is one of my favourite aubergine dishes of all time, in the annals with baba ghanoush, fish fragrant aubergine and Afghani aubergine stew (which I serve with a herbed vegan yoghurt and pitta) - That last dish is so simple and flavoursome that it is almost too good to be true, plenty of coriander in that one.

[@Nabonidus-m7x]

I love all the dishes you mentioned. Add to them the Chinese salt and pepper aubergine - it is also divine!

[@Alice_Walker]

Sounds amazing! When I google afghan eggplant stew I get recipes for Borani Banjan. Is that what you're describing so deliciously?

[@jacobcohen9205]

I love this channel.Great chef.

[@felixbaker8709]

These used to be made in my family with minced meat added in the filling. I'm sure the vegan version is great too. May be trying these soon. Thanks for posting!

[@generalerdal]

The one with the meat is called karnıyarık

[@UnCoolDad]

Greeks call this dish Imam too. I love it.

[@Bossman-mu6qe]

Nice! Another vegan dish to try! Thank you!

[@MiddleEats]

No problem, hope you enjoy!

[@alexanderfo3886]

Sounds like even the caliph himself and all other rulers of the world would have fainted eating this. This sounds delicious.

[@hb5777]

Looks fantastic. Will make this weekend. Also, I think I recognise that stainless steel pan - from IKEA? I’ve got a couple of them. Best pans I’ve ever used and a fraction of the premium pan price!

[@jejehdh]

Great recipe, a word of advice; don't use an air fryer made of plastic as it'll infuse food with chemicals like endocrine disrupters etc. BPA free or not.

[@CookinWithSquirrl]

Looks like a winner!

[@Marty-z1y]

I always make eggplant parmesano, thank you for this video because I just might make this instead 😀 I honestly can't thank you enough

[@jayolovitt5969]

Whoo! Just bought some eggplants and capsicums yesterday. Def cooking this now.

[@MiddleEats]

Amazing! Let us know how you like it!

[@LARKXHIN]

Yay captions!

[@enokii]

I love that these are vegetarian, I think the toughest part would be sourcing the chilis. I wonder what the best substitutes would be if I can't find these exact chilis...

[@MiddleEats]

It doesn't have to be the exact chillies, use mild green chillies, and for the paprika, you can use a mild fruity red chilli or just a red bell pepper.

[@wezzuh2482]

The ones used in Turkish cuisine are called "Sivri", they are fairly easy to find across Europe. If you are in North-America Anaheims are a good substitute.

[@jeanniebrooks]

I’m going to use Fresnos and maybe *some* jalapeños (de-ribbed & seeded- I can’t take too much heat). I think it’ll be great. I was looking for dishes to use pomegranate molasses which I just bought, & stumbled on this instead. Maybe a drizzle? Or not…dunno yet…

[@skeletonfish110]

That looks amazing, I think if we put ground chicken in with the pepper mixture that would be nice too for a pop of protein

[@ahlamns]

Perfect time. I purchased two eggplants the other day. Thank you

[@alkemi5522]

Are they good when re-heated? I live in a Uni dorm (and cook for 1), so with my appliances, I could make 2 maximum - I'd take the 2nd one to work for lunch.

[@A_T216]

They're even good cut up and cold, in my opinion, and eaten with some bread or rice. A no-fuss office lunch. Fine warmed up too, but I don't know what your standards for texture are, so I can only say that the flavour at least certainly weathers reheating.

[@alkemi5522]

@@A_T216 oh yeah understandably. Thanks for helping me!

[@MiddleEats]

Yeah they reheat perfectly fine in the microwave, that's how we've been eating the leftovers. You'll definitely enjoy them for lunch!

[@alkemi5522]

@@MiddleEats thanks! I can't wait to make some!

[@djangobanjo2673]

I was wondering why this recipe wasn't already on this channel. My mum discovered it many, many years ago and makes it from time to time, and to this day, it is one of the best dishes I have ever eaten.

[@muzzammilhussain7]

We tried this with ground beef. It was amazing

[@hafeezkumbhar1334]

Yummy yummy 👏👏👏👍

[@Sunnyaz]

Hello 👋 thank you for your recipes. I have one request from you, I am married to a Egyptian man, I am very new to Egyptian cuisine. Recipes you shared on your channel most of them are complicated and time consuming for me. Do you have easier/ quick cooking recipes? For ex: vegetable soups with peas, beans, okra, tomato etc… Quick (beef and chicken) protein recipes?

[@alim1771]

So nice this channel

[@alekscains4862]

Are the tomatoes missing from the ingredients in the description? And you didn't use the butter listed for the sauce?

[@MiddleEats]

Yes sorry, that was a bad cut and paste job, all sorted now.

[@dieselsucker565]

mashallah...

[@sharmishthabanerjee6852]

awesome recipe chef , please show ARABIC AREEKA recipe please

[@Tastycurried]

Wao very nice recipe yummy 😋

[@shaguftaskitchen51578]

Hi sir very tasty so yummy recipe ilke me so much ❤❤❤

[@Maid-en-Head]

I always thought that the meaning was "Imam swallowed his own tongue".

[@fishsoda9652]

How would it work for the last step using the air fryer? When the veg is stuffed and the to tomato sauce is made

[@MiddleEats]

I would just place them in at the same temp as before, pour 1/2 the sauce, then bake for a few minutes then pour the rest and bake again

[@NoorNoor-dl2mh]

Do you have any Cauliflower recipe please?

[@MiddleEats]

Yes we do, whole roast cauliflowers, and also cauliflower with tahini

[@tatarcavalry2342]

Do not forget to eat the eggplant under it's stalk most delicous part of it just hold it from it's stalk and bite it

[@MiddleEats]

Yep, that's exactly what I did at the end of tasting. Yum

[@stianaslaksen5799]

Awesome recipe. Gonna try this one day.

[@amberrichards2778]

My wife is SUPER allergic to this but it looks amazing. My wife has a nightshade and cumin allergy :' (

[@rahilhurzuk]

Can you make Saj bread

[@DigitalicaEG]

Nice, thanks for sharing this with us!

[@auto952]

Cypriot cuisine is also in the Middle East, why don't you make a Cypriot dish like sheftalia?

[@MiddleEats]

Oh my god, I just googled it and we make it in Egypt too. We call it Tarb there. So cool. Maybe next summer I can do them for a bbq video

[@chrisfisher3900]

I have some mine egg plants in the garden right now. Think I shall use this recipe to make appetizers

[@thebanished87]

Mama mia!

[@anamariaguadayol2335]

Looks great

[@cityslacker6221]

that looks amazing

[@TundeEszlari]

Fantastic content.

[@kurikun66]

You're version looks amazing #

[@Tom_makes]

I love Eggplants

[@harrygallagher9121]

Booooo

[@samhamer1425]

Me as an American: wtf is an aubergine?

[@jeanniebrooks]

Eggplant

[@borednow]

you as an american: too lazy to google it

[@samhamer1425]

@@borednow I knew that’s what the Brit’s called it it’s just funny to hear it… dick.

[@davidcomtedeherstal]

Yummy!

[@suyapajimenez516]

❤😋😋😋

[@cmbaz1140]

Uuuufff... obi what are you doing to me?!?! 🤤

[@Pridetoons]

I'm sorry everytime I hear you say the word aubergine my brain says no that's an Eggplant.

[@MiddleEats]

Surely it would be Eggfruit then, I can't think of any other vegetable that's name ends with plant...

[@teamdivine5651]

Actually its a Brinjal 😏