Imam Bayildi is a classic Turkish dish consisting of stuffed eggplants, braised in an olive oil & tomato based sauce. It is a deceptively rich and flavorful vegetarian dish that everyone will enjoy.
What is Imam Bayildi?
Imam bayildi, literally “the imam fainted”, is a popular vegetarian dish that originated during the Ottoman era. And while most people tend to associate it with Turkish cuisine, in reality, it is enjoyed in most of the territories that the Ottoman empire once controlled. Like Armenia, Greece, and the remaining Balkan nations.
The dish belongs to a category of recipes common to this region called zeytinyağlı (Turkish), and ladera (Greek). Which for both languages translates as “in (olive) oil”. This is a reference to the fact that these dishes consist of vegetables braised in sauces with copious amounts of olive oil. And in the case of imam bayildi, the main vegetable is eggplant, which is often stuffed with a mixture of onions and tomatoes.
Why did the Imam Faint?
Obviously, a dish with a name like “the imam fainted” has to have some sort of back story. And while most stories associated with it are clearly apocryphal I thought it’d be fun to take a second and look at them.
Ok, the first story suggests that the imam fainted simply due to how delicious the dish was. And don’t get me wrong, imam bayildi is incredibly flavorful. But the idea of someone literally fainting over any dish seems a bit extra. But who knows?
The second story claims that the imam fainted after hearing how much money was spent on ingredients to make the dish. Which still sounds like the imam was being a bit overdramatic. But having known a few penny pinchers in my life I could see it.
Then there’s the last story which is of a similar vein to the second story.
It states that the imam married the daughter of an olive oil merchant. And 12 bottles of high-quality olive oil were given as part of the dowry. On the first night of their marriage, the imam asked his wife to make a delicious dinner using some of her father’s olive oil. And she returned with a dish of stuffed eggplant braised in an olive oil based sauce. The imam loved this so much that he requested his wife make it for every dinner.
And she did.
That is until the 13th day of their marriage.
The imam was extremely displeased that there were no stuffed eggplants for dinner and demanded that his wife explain why. And the wife replied that she couldn’t make it anymore because they were out of olive oil. The imam then realized that his entire dowry was spent, and was so shocked by the news that he fainted.
Tips, Tricks & Suggestions
- Eggplant: When picking out your eggplants try and go with ones that are on the small side. As they tend to be sweeter, have fewer seeds, and are often more tender. But if you can only find larger eggplants then feel free to use them. Just make sure to cut them in half lengthwise, and double the amount for the stuffing.
- Serving Suggestion: Imam bayildi is often served at room temperature either as a vegetarian main dish or alongside a meat-based main dish. If you are planning on using it as a main dish for a vegetarian dinner, I suggest you pair it with some rice and bread.
Other Vegetarian Dishes You Might Enjoy
Imam Bayildi Recipe
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 2
Ingredients
For the eggplants:
2 Globe/Italian eggplants
Salt
2 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
For the stuffing:
2 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
2 Medium onions, sliced into strips
4 Cloves of garlic, minced
2 Medium tomatoes, cut into medium sized chunks
¾ Teaspoon of salt
½ Teaspoon of black pepper
A pinch of crushed red pepper (optional)
2 Tablespoons of flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
For the sauce:
¼ Cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon of tomato paste
½ Teaspoon of sugar
1 Cup of water, plus more as needed
A good pinch of salt & pepper
Instructions
- Prep the eggplants: Use a vegetable peeler to peel off half of the skin from each eggplant in long vertical strips. Then sprinkle the outside of each eggplant with some salt (roughly ½ to 1 teaspoon per eggplant, doesn’t need to be exact) then set them aside for a half hour. This is done to draw out the bitterness of the eggplants so don’t skip this step.
- Preheat your oven to 350℉, 180℃.
- Cook your eggplants: At this point, your salted eggplants will have likely released a decent amount of moisture so use some paper towels to pad them dry. Then brush the 2 tablespoons of olive oil on the outside of each eggplant. Next, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the eggplants on it. Place this in your heated oven and let the eggplants cook for 30 minutes. Then take them out and let them rest.
- Make the stuffing: Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a large walled pan or skillet then place it over medium heat. Toss in the sliced onions and sautee them for 5 to 8 minutes or until they are softened.
Add the minced garlic and continue to saute for another minute. Next add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Continue to saute everything for another 5 to 8 minutes or until the tomatoes have broken down. Then take the pan/skillet off the heat, toss in the parsley and stir everything together. Finally taste the stuffing and add additional salt and pepper to your liking.
- Stuff the eggplants: Cut a lengthwise incision into each eggplant making sure that you don’t cut all the way through. Use a spoon to open these incisions up so that it forms a cavity. Then use the same spoon to transfer the stuffing into these cavities until both eggplants are stuffed.
- Make the sauce: Add the olive oil, tomato paste, sugar, water, salt & pepper needed for the sauce to the same pan/skillet you cooked the stuffing in. Use a spoon to stir these ingredients together until the tomato paste has fully dissolved and formed a sauce.
- Finish cooking the dish: Transfer your stuffed eggplants to the pan/skillet that has the sauce. Place the pan/skillet over high heat and let the sauce come to a boil.
Then cover your pan/skillet with a lid and lower the heat so that the sauce is at a simmer. Let this all cook for 30 to 40 minutes or until the eggplants are nice and soft, and the sauce has slightly reduced.
- Transfer your stuffed eggplants to individual plates, pour some of the sauce over them, and enjoy your imam bayildi!
Imam Bayildi Recipe
Ingredients
For the eggplants:
- 2 Globe/Italian eggplants
- Salt
- 2 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
For the stuffing:
- 2 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Medium onions sliced into strips
- 4 Cloves of garlic minced
- 2 Medium tomatoes cut into medium sized chunks
- ¾ Teaspoon of salt
- ½ Teaspoon of black pepper
- A pinch of crushed red pepper optional
- 2 Tablespoons of flat leaf parsley roughly chopped
For the sauce:
- ¼ Cup of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon of tomato paste
- ½ Teaspoon of sugar
- 1 Cup of water plus more as needed
- A good pinch of salt & pepper
Instructions
- Prep the eggplants: Use a vegetable peeler to peel off half of the skin from each eggplant in long vertical strips. Then sprinkle the outside of each eggplant with some salt (roughly ½ to 1 teaspoon per eggplant, doesn’t need to be exact) then set them aside for a half hour. This is done to draw out the bitterness of the eggplants so don’t skip this step.
- Preheat your oven to 350℉, 180℃.
- Cook your eggplants: At this point, your salted eggplants will have likely released a decent amount of moisture so use some paper towels to pad them dry. Then brush the 2 tablespoons of olive oil on the outside of each eggplant. Next, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the eggplants on it. Place this in your heated oven and let the eggplants cook for 30 minutes. Then take them out and let them rest.
- Make the stuffing: Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a large walled pan or skillet then place it over medium heat. Toss in the sliced onions and sautee them for 5 to 8 minutes or until they are softened. Add the minced garlic and continue to saute for another minute. Next add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Continue to saute everything for another 5 to 8 minutes or until the tomatoes have broken down. Then take the pan/skillet off the heat, toss in the parsley and stir everything together. Finally taste the stuffing and add additional salt and pepper to your liking.
- Stuff the eggplants: Cut a lengthwise incision into each eggplant making sure that you don’t cut all the way through. Use a spoon to open these incisions up so that it forms a cavity. Then use the same spoon to transfer the stuffing into these cavities until both eggplants are stuffed.
- Make the sauce: Add the olive oil, tomato paste, sugar, water, salt & pepper needed for the sauce to the same pan/skillet you cooked the stuffing in. Use a spoon to stir these ingredients together until the tomato paste has fully dissolved and formed a sauce.
- Finish cooking the dish: Transfer your stuffed eggplants to the pan/skillet that has the sauce. Place the pan/skillet over high heat and let the sauce come to a boil. Then cover your pan/skillet with a lid and lower the heat so that the sauce is at a simmer. Let this all cook for 30 to 40 minutes or until the eggplants are nice and soft, and the sauce has slightly reduced.
- Transfer your stuffed eggplants to individual plates, pour some of the sauce over them, and enjoy your imam bayildi!
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