Imam Buldeez

[Fatsa]

I don't know if I said it right. I think I did. Well anyway, I tried this stuff for the first time when I was in Greece this past summer. I never remember my mom making this dish before while I was growing up here in the Chicago area. This stuff kicks ass. I guess it's a Turkish dish, but don't let that fool you. It's still good.

It's eggplants cut in half. These eggplant halves are filled with chopped onions, chopped tomatoes, chopped garlic, chopped parsley and I think olive oil and baked. This stuff is great with Greek bread and some feta cheese on the side. If anyone knows the recipe for this, please post it here. It sounds kind of plain, but this stuff is actually way better than it sounds.

The lady whose house I tried this at, told me the story behind it. She said that this dish was named after some Turk. He ate this stuff and fell asleep or something, kind of like Rip Van Winkle. I guess he's a Turkish Rip Van Winkle, I don't know.
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This dish was originally made far deep in the interior/middle of anatolia, where the more pure/mongolian Turks live and eventually made its way outward to other people around Anatolia. I guess Imam was his name and Buldeez is Turkish for sleep or something. If anyone knows this story, please correct me if I didn't tell it right. Oh, and the recipe.

[half greek]

Do you mean this recipe, I scanned it from my Cypriot cook book.

• Imam Bayaldi •

Credit for this famous dish must go entirely to the Turks. The title means literally 'the imam fainted'.

But why should the Turkish priest, the imam faint? Was it because he enjoyed the dish so much that he fainted with delight and possibly over-indulgence, or was he horror-struck by the costly amount of olive oil *used in the preparation of the dish!

Don't worry, your health will not be impaired by this dish, or your purse! Aubergines are no longer a luxury ingredient, and can be bought for a reasonable price, and the olive oil can be substituted by a expensive oil such as sunflower.

Cypriot housewives often wait until the long thin purple and flecked aubergines come into the market to make imam bayaldi. They have a mild sweet flavour and appear at the same time as the tomato glut in the autumn .
• Serves 4 •

Ingredients

4 medium sized long aubergines
salt

half a glass/l00ml olive oil

2 large onions, sliced

3 cloves garlic, crushed with salt

3 large tomatoes, grated

4 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 teaspoon rigani, marjoram or oregano

freshly ground black pepper

juice of 1 lemon

1. Cut the aubergines in half lengthways. Score the flesh with a sharp knife, taking care not to pierce-the outer skin. Sprinkle salt over surface and leave to drain for half an hour.

2. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan and fry the onions gently soft and golden. Add the garlic and then grate the tomatoes straight into the pan. Season with parsley, rigani and pepper. Let this mixture simmer gently for about 10 minutes. Leave in a bowl to cool.


3. Rinse the aubergines, squeeze and pat dry to remove excess moisture. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil and fry the aubergines on all sides until just beginning to brown. Lay them side by side in a snug fitting casserole.

4.Spoon over the tomato sauce, filling it into the aubergines if possible.

5. Mix the remaining oil with half glass of warm water and the lemon juice. Pour this into the dish and cover. Cook gently for about half an hour or until the juices have thickened and the aubergines are soft.

6.Serve the imam bayaldi straight from the casserole, or better still, leave till cool and serve as a first course or part of a meze.

[Fatsa]

Originally Posted by half greek
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Do you mean this recipe, I scanned it from my Cypriot cook book.

• Imam Bayaldi •

Credit for this famous dish must go entirely to the Turks. The title means literally 'the imam fainted'.

But why should the Turkish priest, the imam faint? Was it because he enjoyed the dish so much that he fainted with delight and possibly over-indulgence, or was he horror-struck by the costly amount of olive oil *used in the preparation of the dish!

Don't worry, your health will not be impaired by this dish, or your purse! Aubergines are no longer a luxury ingredient, and can be bought for a reasonable price, and the olive oil can be substituted by a expensive oil such as sunflower.

Cypriot housewives often wait until the long thin purple and flecked aubergines come into the market to make imam bayaldi. They have a mild sweet flavour and appear at the same time as the tomato glut in the autumn .
• Serves 4 •

Ingredients

4 medium sized long aubergines
salt

half a glass/l00ml olive oil

2 large onions, sliced

3 cloves garlic, crushed with salt

3 large tomatoes, grated

4 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 teaspoon rigani, marjoram or oregano

freshly ground black pepper

juice of 1 lemon

1. Cut the aubergines in half lengthways. Score the flesh with a sharp knife, taking care not to pierce-the outer skin. Sprinkle salt over surface and leave to drain for half an hour.

2. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan and fry the onions gently soft and golden. Add the garlic and then grate the tomatoes straight into the pan. Season with parsley, rigani and pepper. Let this mixture simmer gently for about 10 minutes. Leave in a bowl to cool.


3. Rinse the aubergines, squeeze and pat dry to remove excess moisture. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil and fry the aubergines on all sides until just beginning to brown. Lay them side by side in a snug fitting casserole.

4.Spoon over the tomato sauce, filling it into the aubergines if possible.

5. Mix the remaining oil with half glass of warm water and the lemon juice. Pour this into the dish and cover. Cook gently for about half an hour or until the juices have thickened and the aubergines are soft.

6.Serve the imam bayaldi straight from the casserole, or better still, leave till cool and serve as a first course or part of a meze.

That's it. The story was something about a Turkish priest named Imam who liked this stuff so much that he ate so much of it, he passed out or fainted from eating so much. And the second word is a Turkish word for fainting or something like that. When I was told that it was a Turkish dish, I said no thanks. I thought it was probably some disgusting crap. When I tried a bite, I was like..."hey, this stuff's not bad".

[Prokomenos]

This sounds very tasty
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[Female]

I have a simulair recipe but with minced meat and its called melitsanes papoutsakia. If anyone is intrested i can put it here....

[beata]

The recipe has been copied from the site, for the sake of convenience.
You need:
2 medium round eggplant
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 red onions sliced in rounds
2 red, green or gold bell peppers sliced in rounds
1 large tomato sliced in rounds
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves
1 can tomato sauce (I used fresh tomato)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Slice the eggplant into 1/2 inch rounds. Salt the eggplant slices and set aside for about 20-30 minutes and let them sweat. Squeeze the rounds gently to eliminate the brownish liquid, flatten back into shape, and pat dry. Dip rounds quickly into olive oil to coat, letting excess run off. Place on a baking pan and bake in a preheated 450 degree oven until lightly browned.

In a pan, carefully and lightly, saute the onions, peppers and garlic in olive oil. Add the sliced tomatoes, mint and parsley and saute for a few minutes more. Place the browned eggplant in a baking pan and arrange the sauted vegetables on the eggplant rounds and pour the pureed tomato sparingly over the top. Place in a 375 degree oven for an additional 1/2 hour. Serve warm or at room temperature.


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