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!!!