Whole aubergines fried, split down the middle and filled with beef mince, tomato and green pepper, then baked in their own juices. A Turkish home-cooking classic.
Prep
30 mins
Cook
55 mins
Servings
4
Per serving
£2.00
Difficulty
medium
The name means split belly, which describes the technique precisely. Peeling the aubergines in stripes before frying is not decoration: it stops the skin toughening in the oven while still holding the shape together. This is a slow, forgiving dish that reheats well.
Peel the aubergines in alternating stripes so bands of skin remain, then sit them in a bowl of heavily salted cold water for 20 minutes. Drain and pat completely dry.
Bone dry is essential. Wet aubergines dropped into hot oil will spit violently.
Heat the sunflower oil in a deep frying pan and fry the aubergines whole, turning, for 8 to 10 minutes until browned and floppy all over. Drain on kitchen paper.
Pour off all but 2 tbsp of the oil. Cook the chopped onions and chopped green pepper over a medium heat for 10 minutes until soft.
Turn the heat up, add the beef mince and fry for 8 minutes, letting it brown properly before you break it up.
Stir in the garlic, the two chopped tomatoes, half the tomato purée, the pul biber, black pepper, 1 tsp of the salt and most of the parsley. Cook for 6 minutes until thick, then take off the heat.
Heat the oven to 190C fan. Sit the fried aubergines in a baking dish and slit each one down the middle lengthways, without cutting through the base. Press the sides apart to open a pocket.
Season the insides with the remaining salt and spoon the mince filling in, heaping it generously. Lay a tomato round and a strip of green pepper on top of each.
Whisk the remaining tomato purée with 250ml hot water and pour it around, not over, the aubergines. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
Uncover and bake for a final 12 minutes. Rest 10 minutes, spoon the pan juices over and finish with the last of the parsley.