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Imam Bayildi I

A Turkish eggplant dish with sautéed pulp, onions, garlic, peppers, tomatoes, and tomato paste, baked with water.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Olive and tomato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 15,539 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓

Imam Bayildi I

Each person is served a whole eggplant
Time45 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the eggplants

  1. Cut a 1-inch-deep slice from the stem end down the length of each eggplant.

  2. With a small spoon, scoop out the pulp, leaving about a 1/4-inch wall around the sides. Set the scooped-out pulp aside.

  3. Sprinkle the inside of the shell with salt.

  4. Turn the eggplants upside down on a work surface and let them drain for about 1 hour.

Make the filling

  1. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.

  2. Add the eggplant pulp, onions, garlic, and peppers, mix well, and fry until the onions are soft.

  3. Reduce the heat to a simmer, stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, and parsley.

  4. Add salt to taste, mix well, simmer for 5 minutes longer, and remove from heat.

Bake and serve

  1. Rinse the eggplants to remove the salt, pat dry, and place them side-by-side in a baking pan.

  2. Fill each eggplant with the eggplant mixture.

  3. Pour about 1 inch of water into the baking pan with the eggplants.

  4. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until the eggplants are tender when poked with a fork.

  5. Serve hot or cold as a main dish. Each person is served a whole eggplant.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

231Calories
4 gProtein
14 gFat
26 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Eggplant1 cup cubed (82g)35
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Olive + tomatotop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,539 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  2. Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  3. Eggplant + olivetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together943 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

  4. Eggplant + tomatotop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together651 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Eggplant + parsleytop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together328 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggplants
Their flesh turns soft and creamy when baked, forming the body of the dish.
Olive oil or vegetable oil
Carries heat for frying the filling and adds richness and moisture.
Onions
Soften and sweeten as they fry, forming the base of the filling.
Tomato paste
Concentrates tomato flavor and adds body and color to the filling.
Tomatoes
Add moisture and acidity that balance the sweetness of the cooked vegetables.

The step that matters

Draining the salted eggplant shells. Salt draws out water and bitterness from eggplant flesh. Skipping or shortening the drain leaves the shells watery and can make the finished dish soggy and bitter.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (eggplant, olive, clove, pepper, tomato, parsley):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Carrotfits better
  3. Okrafits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against eggplant, olive, clove, pepper, tomato, parsley. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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