Turkey has a greater variety of eggplant preparations than any other culinary tradition. Dagdeviren documents over 40 distinct eggplant preparations — from fire-roasted to stuffed, pickled to fried, puréed to whole-braised. The foundational principle across all of them: eggplant absorbs fat (oil, butter, meat fat) at an extraordinary rate, and this absorption is the mechanism of the eggplant's flavour development. A properly cooked Turkish eggplant preparation is one where the eggplant has absorbed the cooking fat to maximum capacity and been transformed by it.
**Fire-roasting (közleme):** - The eggplant is placed directly over a gas flame (or charcoal) and rotated until completely charred — the skin is entirely black and the interior is completely soft - The charring produces a smoke that penetrates the interior of the eggplant through the damaged skin — this smoke flavour is specific to fire-roasting and cannot be replicated by oven roasting - The flesh is scooped, excess water squeezed out, and seasoned - Applications: patlıcan ezmesi (puréed dip), the base for hünkar beğendi (Sultan's Delight — roasted eggplant purée under lamb), and various salads **Salting and drawing:** - Sliced or cubed eggplant salted and rested 30 minutes before frying — draws excess moisture and some of the bitter compounds out - After salting: rinse and dry thoroughly before applying to high heat - An eggplant that has not been salted absorbs enormous quantities of oil before its moisture evaporates; a salted eggplant has already lost the moisture and absorbs less oil during frying while browning more efficiently **The stuffed eggplant family (dolma):** - Karnıyarık: eggplant slit lengthwise, fried in oil, stuffed with spiced ground meat, baked - İmam bayıldı: eggplant slit lengthwise, stuffed with tomato, onion, and olive oil (no meat), braised in olive oil — the zeytinyağlı preparation applied to stuffed eggplant - Both require the eggplant to be fully softened before stuffing — the pre-frying or pre-roasting step that produces the correct yielding texture **The hünkar beğendi (Sultan's Delight) technique:** - Roasted eggplant flesh (fire-roasted as above), peeled and chopped - Prepared similarly to a béchamel: butter, flour, milk added to the eggplant pulp, cooked until the mixture thickens - Kaşar peyniri (Turkish yellow cheese, similar to mild kashkaval) melted through the finished mixture - Served as a base under lamb ragù or meatballs Decisive moment: For fire-roasting: the interior collapse test. Press the charred eggplant gently with tongs — when it yields completely (like pressing a deflated balloon) the interior is fully cooked. Any residual firmness means the interior is still partially raw. Sensory tests: **Sight — fire-roasted eggplant:** The skin should be completely charred — black, wrinkled, deflated. No green areas. Any remaining uncharred skin means the interior directly beneath it will be undercooked **Smell:** The smoke of charred eggplant skin combined with the slightly sweet, melting interior. This smell is specific to fire-roasting and cannot be produced by oven methods
The Turkish Cookbook