Addictive Turkish Eggplant and Ground Beef Recipe - Patlican Tiridi

olive oil

🥗Healthier: avocado oil

💰Cheaper: sunflower oil

Avocado oil provides healthy fats while sunflower oil is more cost-effective.

eggplants

🥗Healthier: zucchini

💰Cheaper: cucumbers

Zucchini offers a similar texture with fewer calories, while cucumbers are often cheaper.

red pepper flakes

🥗Healthier: paprika

💰Cheaper: black pepper

Paprika can add flavor without the heat, while black pepper is generally less expensive.

parsley

🥗Healthier: cilantro

💰Cheaper: spinach

Cilantro adds freshness, while spinach is a more economical green.

Wash and peel the eggplants in stripes and cut into large cubes.

Soak the eggplant cubes in salted water for 15 mins, drain and pat dry.

Fry the eggplants in a separate pan with vegetable oil until nicely browned.

Transfer the fried eggplants onto a paper towel, drain to get rid of the excess oil.

Finely chop the onion and dice the tomato.

Heat up 2 tbsp olive oil in a large pan and add the ground meat. Stir and cook until nicely browned.

Remove the ground meat from the pan and set aside, leaving as much oil in the pan as possible.

Add and cook the onions for 2 - 3 mins until softened.

Add the tomato paste and stir and cook for 2 minutes until fragrant.

Add the diced tomato, cook until the tomatoes are soft and reduced to half.

Add the minced beef, together with 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp paprika powder and ½ tsp black pepper.

Stir and cook the minced beef for 2 mins to evenly cook and combine.

Cover the lid and cook for another 15 mins with the lid covered.

Add the eggplants into the pan with the minced beef mixture, gently stir to combine and turn off the heat.

Whisk the yogurt in a bowl and grate or grind 1 clove of garlic and mix with the yogurt.

Cut the bread into small cubes and toast with 1 tbsp butter until golden brown (optional).

Layer the bread cubes on the bottom of the serving plate.

Layer on top the garlic yogurt and spread over the bread cubes.

Finally layer the eggplants and ground beef mixture on top.

Garnish with chopped parsley and serve warm.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level: