ALI NAZIK KEBAB WITH COURGETTE

(Text in English is below. Tarifin Türkçe versiyonu için burayi tiklayin)

Normally Ali Nazik kebab is made with eggplant puree; but this recipe replaces the eggplant with courgette and changes the spicing a bit. I can say that it is also quite successful. In one of my previous posts I have already told you guys that courgette is not my favourite thing in the world, but I think this dish will be serves quite often in my kitchen from now on! It is quite easy to make! You will have something nice on the table without much effort!

Ingredients (serves 2 – 3)

4 courgettes, rasped roughly

courgettes

rasped courgettes

200 grams of meat (cubed) or minced meat

2 – 3 green peppers, cut fine

green peppers

2 small tomatoes, peeled and cubed

3 spoons of olive oil

100 grams of butter

Grounded red pepper

Cumin

Salt

200 grams of strained yoghurt mixed with garlic and salt to your taste

Method:

1. Melt the butter and add a drop of olive oil to it. Let the meat be cooked in it till it soaks the water it released.
2. Add the peppers, sauté for one or two minutes.
3. Add the tomato and add the salt. Cook for about 4 – 5 minutes till the tomatoes are cooked. Add the cumin, grounded red pepper and salt to your liking.
4. Heat the olive oil in a pan and sauté the courgettes here till they are soft. Add salt to your liking.
5. Time to serve: put the courgettes on your plate. Put the yoghurt with garlic on top. And then add the meat on top of it. Enjoy!!

step 2

ali nazik kebab with courgette

AUBERGINE KEBAB

(Recipe in English is below. Tencerede patlican kebabi tarifi için burayi tiklayin)

Aubergine is something very popular in the Turkish kitchen. It’s consumed a lot and as main dish, as mezze, as stew etc. This recipe is of a traditional and a simple stew; but we also tend to call stews as kebabs sometimes (kebab in a stew pan, would be more correct). I made this dish yesterday. It’s been a while that I’ve used aubergine in my kitchen so it was missed a lot and very welcome! 

As side dish (see in the pictures), I boiled some bulgur with some “firik”. Firik is also some kind of wheat but rather unripe. It has a smoky fragrance and it has a taste of its own. You gotta try! 

With such a plate, you gotta have "cacik", the amazing threesome of strained yoghurt, grated or chopped cucumber and garlic! You can garnish your cacik with dill, mint or coriander.

Ingredients (serves 4-5)

5 aubergines, stripe-stripped lengthwise and cut in very big cubes. The cubes should be big enough otherwise you’ll have aubergine soup :) You may also consider resting your aubergines in salted water in order to release the bitter taste they may have.

aubergines peeled

aubergines cubed

100 – 150 grams of lambs meat, cut in cubes (not too small though)

lamb meat cubed

2 medium onions, cubed

onions cubed

2 medium tomatoes, cut in cubes

3-4 teeth of garlic, chopped roughly or not chopped at all!

tomatoes cubed and garlic

1 spoon of tomato paste (domates salçasi in Turkish)

1 desert spoon of red papper paste (biber salçasi in Turkish)

1 glass of warm water

3 spoons of olive oil

Salt to your liking

1 – 2 sugar cubes

Method:

1. Sauté the onions and the garlic in the olive oil for a minute or two.  
2. Add the meat and continue sautéing for two minutes. 
3. Add the aubergines. Add the tomato. Add the water. Close the lid and cook in low temperature for half an hour or three quarters. The aubergines should be soft but they should remain intact qua shape. 
4. When the aubergines are ready, add the salt and sugar and mix. 

step 1

step 2

step 3

happy ending!!!