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Imam Bayildi

Craving a delicious comfort meal with eggplants? Try Imam Bayildi – baked stuffed eggplants with a delicious meaty stuffing. 

In case, you are a vegetarian or simply want to eat a whole and hearty veg dish, vegan Imam Bayildi is what you need! This delicious stuffed eggplant recipe is an ancient Ottoman recipe, with its history dating back to the 17th century. Imam Bayildi is a very popular dish in Turkey, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Israel, Greece, Armenia, Albania and several Arab nations.

imam bayildi turkish stuffed eggplants

Imam Bayildi is made of whole eggplants, cut in half and stuffed with chopped onion, garlic and tomatoes, simmered in olive oil. The original recipe contains a lot of olive oil and sometimes even ground meat is added to the stuffing.

There are some funny stories behind the dish. It is said that it all began with a Turkish Imam. He was swayed away by the taste and the flavor of the dish that was cooked by his wife, but when he found out the price of the ingredients and the amount of the olive oil that was used to prepare it, he fainted! Hence, the name which in translation literally means fainted imam. 🙂

Imam Bayildi recipe

There is also another variant of the origins of this recipe. An imam was marrying the daughter of an olive oil merchant. Her dowry included twelve jars of the best olive oil. His wife then prepared stuffed eggplant with tomatoes, onions and olive oil every evening. It was on the thirteenth day when the wife didn’t cook the recipe. She informed the imam that there was no more olive oil. On hearing the troublesome news, the imam fainted.

Despite the funny folktales behind the origin and the name of the dish, there is no doubt to the fact that Imam Bayildi is a delicious comfort recipe enjoyed all over the world.

how to make Imam Bayildi

Inspired by this amazing Middle Eastern recipe, I decided to adapt it slightly and make my own version. I wanted to give it a meatier texture, so I used some soy cubes in the stuffing. I would recommend using soy granules, but at the time I didn’t find any at the nearby supermarket. You can also add chopped mushrooms or cubed tofu, for some extra proteins. 🙂 Also, I didn’t add industrian quantities of olive oil It turned out just as good this way too, with less oil and less frying.

vegan imam bayildi turkish stuffed eggplants recipe

Hope you’ll enjoy making and eating this flavorful Turkish recipe. Don’t forget to leave me a comment if you give it a try and tell me how it turned out!

imam bayildi turkish stuffed eggplants vinete umplute reteta

Imam Bayildi

Gourmandelle.com
Craving a delicious comfort meal with eggplants? Try Imam Bayildi – baked stuffed eggplants with a delicious meaty stuffing.
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Course Main
Cuisine Middle Eastern
Servings 2
Calories 562 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

  • 2 eggplants
  • ½ lemon juiced
  • vegan cheese shredded, optional

For soy “meat”:

  • ½ cup textured soy protein granules I used chunks, but granules are better
  • 2 cups hot water

For the stuffing:

  • 2 onions chopped
  • 4 Tbsps olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic crushed
  • 4 tomatoes peeled and chopped
  • 4 Tbsp parsley chopped
  • ½ tsp mint dry
  • 1 Tbsp paprika
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 200C/400F.
  • In a bowl, mix all the ingredients for the soy meat, and let the TSP granules soak for about 10 minutes.
  • Drain them and set aside.
  • In a large frying pan, saute the onions in 3 Tbsps of oil. Add the rest of the stuffing ingredients, plus the soaked soy granules.
  • Cook stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes.
  • Cut each eggplant in half, lengthwise.
  • With a spoon or a knife, carve into the flesh of each eggplant and some of the pulp, making a hole for the stuffing.
  • Place the eggplants halves on a baking tray covered with parchment paper.
  • Add the veggie-soy stuffing in each half.
  • Drizzle with the remaining oil and lemon juice.
  • Bake for 30 minutes, or until tender. Optional – serve with grated vegan cheese on top.

Nutrition

Calories: 562kcalCarbohydrates: 61gProtein: 21gFat: 30gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 21gSodium: 51mgPotassium: 2002mgFiber: 25gSugar: 31gVitamin A: 4575IUVitamin C: 78mgCalcium: 218mgIron: 7mg
Keyword eggplant
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vegan Imam Bayildi recipe

If you make this, please leave a review and rating if you liked this recipe! ★★★★★

Recipe Rating




Santanu

Tuesday 14th of February 2023

What you got here sounds like the vegetarian equivalent of Karniyarik, more or less. I myself am not particularly fond of soy, but otherwise it sounds like it should be a good dish, like karniyarik itself.

Leanne

Saturday 14th of April 2018

Have never heard of this recipe but I love eggplants so I had to give it a try! Loved it! Will definitely make it again!

Ruxandra

Sunday 15th of April 2018

Glad you liked it! :D