Karnıyarık – Turkish Stuffed Eggplant with Minced Meat

Ingredients:

Preparation mode:

👉 Karnıyarık means “split belly”: whole eggplants are fried until soft, slit open and filled with spiced minced meat, tomato and peppers, then baked in a light tomato sauce. A Turkish home-cooking classic, served with rice and yogurt.

How to Make Karnıyarık

1. Prepare the eggplants. Peel the eggplants in stripes, salt them and leave for 20 minutes. Pat dry.
2. Fry. Fry the whole eggplants in the olive oil, turning, until soft and golden all over. Drain on paper towel and place in a baking dish.
3. Make the filling. In the same pan cook the onion, garlic and chopped peppers for 5 minutes. Add the meat and brown it, then add the grated tomatoes, half the tomato paste, cumin, pepper flakes, salt, pepper and parsley. Cook for 5 minutes.
4. Fill. Heat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Slit each eggplant lengthways, open it like a boat and fill with the meat mixture. Top with a tomato slice and a green pepper.
5. Bake. Mix the rest of the tomato paste with the hot water, pour around the eggplants and bake for 25–30 minutes.
6. Serve. Serve warm with rice pilaf and plain yogurt.

👉 More Turkish favourites: Mercimek Çorbası – Turkish Red Lentil Soup

Footnotes:

Lighter version: instead of frying, brush the eggplants with oil and roast at 220°C for 25 minutes.

Vegetarian: use the same filling without meat – it becomes the famous İmam Bayıldı.