Some years ago in Turkey there was a restaurant near the house we were renting that had this dish. We ordered it every night.
aubergine tomato sauce (not tasteless puree) garlic olive oil s & p paprika yogurt chopped parsley.
Cut the aubergine in cubes and fry it in olive oil in a frying pan until it is soft. I put a lid on the frying pan because this way the aubergine sort of steams and doesn't soak up so much oil.
When the aubergine is cooked sprinkle paprika on it. I use Hungarian. Turn the aubergine and papria over but take care the paprika doesn't burn. Add crushed garlic, s & p, and the tomato sauce and combine well.
Take off the heat and put in a serving dish. Empty a pot of jogurt over and stir just enough so it makes nice streaks. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.
Don, I stopped work at 6.40 and made the starter which took about 15 minutes. It sat in the kitchen and I moved the serving dish round to new tile areas of tile so it would cool while I made other preparations. After an hour it was cold. In an ideal world I would have made it after lunch. These things are better for maturing a bit. But in my convalescent state I need a siesta. Also in hot weather I need a siesta. Most of the rest of the time I look at clouds and decide a siesta would be good. So the aubergine dish gets made first when I am preparing supper.
Two weeks ago at the Turkish restaurant where I invited everybody (because their first two choices were full and aren't-you-all-foolish-for-not-having-reserved?), most of us had an excellent aubergine purée accompanying our main dishes. It seemed to me to be the best possible use of an eggplant.
Is this anything like what you had? It looks good, whatever it is. The only thing is the "serving size". Two tablespoons? Is someone served me 2 tablespoons of this stuff, I'd knock them over and take their portion too!
TurkishEggplant Puree This recipe serves: 8 Ingredients 3 to 4 large eggplants 3 tablespoons lemon juice 4 tablespoons olive oil 3 cloves garlic, finely minced 1 cup drained yogurt 3 tablespoons chopped, fresh dill, mint or cilantro 2 jalapeño peppers, minced finely 1/3 cup toasted walnuts, chopped 3 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley salt and freshly ground black pepper a bit more lemon juice to taste, if needed Cooking Instructions 1. Broil the eggplants or grill on a griddle, turning frequently, until charred all over and very soft, about 15-20 minutes. Place in colander or perforated drainer tray. Let stand until cool enough to handle.
2. Carefully remove skin, discard seeds, and put the eggplant pulp in a strainer to release more bitter juices.
3. Coarsely puree or chop the eggplant. Toss with lemon juice to keep it from turning dark.
4. Warm the oil over low heat in a small saute pan. Add the garlic and cook a minute or two to remove the bite. Add to the eggplant pulp, stir in the yogurt, herbs and jalapenos and then season with salt and pepper. Place in a serving bowl or platter. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts and parsley. Serve with warm pita bread.
Note: To drain yogurt, place in a cheesecloth-lined sieve and let drain for 3 to 4 hours in the refrigerator.
Serving Size: 2 tablespoons puree
Incidentally, when looking for aubergine/eggplant recipes online, be sure to google for both those words for more chance of success.
We never found out if this is the eggplant puree K. had at the restaurant.
The name of that recipe is rather off-putting, suggesting food in a jar for Turkish babies. However, the directions make it clear that the finished food would have a more definite texture than baba ghanouj, for instance.
The dish described in the OP is extremely appealing. That's a great hint about steam/frying the eggplant.
That recipe says it serves eight ............. counting a serving as two tablespoons. ! !
8 x 2 T. = 16 T or 1 cup. (a cup is 8 ounces) They're kidding, right? You could mound that much in a standard custard cup . The other seven guests would wonder where their portions were.
On the other hand, the recipe calls for three to four large eggplant. I know for a fact that two medium eggplant would render far more than one cup of finished puree, so maybe the recipe means two table spoons as in serving spoons, not measuring spoons.
I'm going to wing it and try. There's always more then enough food anyway. Plus, I'm hosting this week and usually put out several things when I do. I will let you know.
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. The other seven guests would wonder where their portions were.