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Turkish

İmam bayıldı

Vegetarian

Whole aubergines fried until silky, split and filled with a slow-cooked mix of onion, garlic, tomato and peppers, then baked in olive oil. A classic Turkish zeytinyağlı dish served at room temperature.

İmam bayıldı is a Turkish main course from Türkiye, ready in about 1 hour 55 minutes and made with eggplant and olive oil. It serves 4 and is rated intermediate to cook.

Start cooking
A serving of İmam bayıldı
Photo: AlexanderVanLoon / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-4.0
Prep
25 min
Cook
1 h
Rest
30 min
Total
1 h 55 min
Serves
4
Level
Intermediate
Calories
357

Ingredients

4 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Peel the aubergines (opens in a new tab) in lengthwise stripes, leaving the stalks on. Cut a deep slit along one side of each (not through), sprinkle with a little salt and leave for 20 minutes. Pat dry.

    • 5 min
    Fresh herbs scattered over a finished dish
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Heat about half the olive oil (opens in a new tab) in a frying pan and fry the aubergines (opens in a new tab), turning, until golden and soft all over. Lift into a baking dish (opens in a new tab), slit side up.

    Food safety: Pat the aubergines dry first — water makes hot oil spit.

  3. Step 3

    In the same pan, cook the onions (opens in a new tab) slowly in the remaining oil until very soft and sweet. Add the garlic (opens in a new tab) and pepper for 3 minutes, then the tomatoes (opens in a new tab), sugar (opens in a new tab), remaining salt and black pepper (opens in a new tab) and cook until thick. Stir in most of the parsley (opens in a new tab).

    • 18 min
    • medium-low heat
    Onions frying golden in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels

  4. Step 4

    Open the aubergine (opens in a new tab) slits and pack in the filling. Pour the water around them and bake until meltingly soft.

  5. Step 5

    Cool to room temperature, scatter with the rest of the parsley (opens in a new tab) and serve.

    • 30 min

About this dish

Origin
Türkiye · Well documentedA dish of Ottoman Turkish cuisine; the stories behind its name ('the imam fainted') are folklore.Also popular in GreeceMore food from Türkiye
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Main courses · Side dishes
Cooking method
Shallow-fried, Oven-baked
Taste
rich, sweet & savoury, garlicky, mild
Diet
Vegan · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Low-carb
All labelsVegan · Plant-based · Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Mediterranean-style · Low-carb · Carb-conscious
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Make-ahead
Cook more with
Eggplant · Onion · Garlic · Green bell pepper · Tomato · Sugar
Techniques
Baking · Shallow-frying

Allergens

None of the 14 major allergens appear in the listed ingredients.

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

357 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 472 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 5%
  • Carbohydrate 28%
  • Fat 67%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy357 kcal76 kcal
Protein4.4 g0.9 g
Carbohydrate26.7 g5.7 g
Net carbohydrate17.1 g3.6 g
Sugars14.5 g3.1 g
Added sugars1 g0.2 g
Fibre9.6 g2 g
Fat28.1 g5.9 g
Saturated fat3.9 g0.8 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol0 mg0 mg
Sodium891 mg189 mg
Salt equivalent2.2 g0.5 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
916 mg
Calcium
67 mg
Iron
1.6 mg
Magnesium
55 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
67 µg
Vitamin C
54 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
84 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Like other olive-oil dishes, it tastes better the next day served at room temperature.

Common mistakes

  • Under-frying the aubergines, which leaves them spongy instead of silky.

Serve with

  • With bread and yogurt, or as part of a meze table.

Storage

  • Keeps 3 days in the fridge.

Reheating

  • Serve at room temperature rather than hot.

Variations

  • Karnıyarık: A related dish where the fried aubergines are stuffed with minced meat and served hot.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Sauces, chutneys & dips for this dish

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2, 3

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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