Turkish Eggplant And Potato Kizartma With Tomato Iskender Sauce
In 2006 we had a zaar lunch at efes one turkish restaurant at albion in brisbane. their turkish banquet was fabulous and this is one of the entrees we had. i wrote down the name of it on a table napkin, then googled recipes when i got home and experimented until i was able to replicate it. there are quite a few steps, but it's really quite simple and well worth the effort. essentially these are fried potato and eggplant stacks, interspersed with a thick tomato sauce and then drizzled with garlic flavoured yoghurt and garnished with chopped parsley. the taste just 'zings' in your mouth! don't overdo the chilli - it's only supposed to have a little background heat. just a final note, the skin of larger eggplants may go tough when you fry them, so opt for small to medium if you can.
Steps
Garlic yoghurt:.
At least an hour before serving , combine yoghurt and garlic in a small bowl.
Stir , cover and refrigerate.
When you start cooking , remove from refrigerator and allow yoghurt to come back to room temperature.
Iskender sauce:.
Melt butter in a small frying pan over a medium heat.
Add onion , garlic and chilli and cook until onion is transparent - about 5 minutes.
Add tomatoes and tomato paste to the pan and cook , stirring , until the mixture comes to a boil.
Boil for 5 minutes , then reduce heat and simmer gently , stirring occasionally , for about 30 minutes until the sauce is rich and very thick.
Taste and add salt as required.
Kizartma:.
Preheat oven to 100c.
Heat some of the oil in a large frypan and fry the eggplant slices , in batches if necessary , until brown on both sides , adding more oil as required.
Line a dinner plate with kitchen paper and transfer eggplant to the plate when cooked.
Keep eggplant warm in the oven while you cook the potato.
Ingredients
natural yoghurt, garlic, butter, onion, garlic cloves, red chili peppers, chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, eggplants, potatoes, oil, fresh parsley