Turkish Stuffed Eggplant recipe aka Karnıyarık is another amazing eggplant recipe you have to try before summer ends. Fried or roasted eggplants are stuffed with a flavorsome cooked ground beef mixture and then baked in oven again for perfection.

I have been planning to share this recipe with you for a long time. It is one of five star dishes in Turkish cuisine and it is almost a must for a Turkish restaurant to serve it. Karnıyarık is loved all around Turkey and that’s why I have to write about it before it’s too late. Karnıyarık can be translated as split belly. Another funny name of a Turkish dish. Do you remember imam bayıldı recipe(imam fainted)? I don’t know if there is a story behind this one, but the name still sounds as funny as imam fainted. Their funny names are not the only similarity between these two classical Turkish dishes. They are almost the same except the addition of ground beef in the filling of Turkish stuffed eggplant recipe.

As all meat dishes in Turkish cuisine, this Turkish stuffed eggplant dish is served hot unlike imam bayildi. By looking at its picture, you can understand why karniyarik has such an odd name. The eggplant belly is split and stuffed with a mince filling. It is split in imam bayildi as well, but this one owns the name. Imam bayildi must have been invented first. And most probably, someone who was a meat fan must have suggested adding mince into the filling of imam bayildi and named it as karniyarik. Now we love both versions!

Karniyarik is generally served with cacik to give a refreshing feeling with this hot meat dish.

Eggplants are first roasted in oven and their bellies are cut just like the process of Imam Bayildi. These eggplant bellies are stuffed with the filling mixture. They are placed in an oven tray.

Eggplants are topped with tomato slices and peppers. A mixture of water, pepper paste and tomato paste is added. Don’t pour it right over the eggplants not to change the color. Drizzle little olive oil on each and cook at 200C until tomatoes and green peppers are done (about 20 min).

Don’t forget to serve it with Turkish Yogurt Cucumber Dip Cacik.