A creamy, savory and flavorful entree, Ali Nazik is light and delicious. A traditional Turkish dish, it tastes and looks like a work of art.
I have tried many variations of Ali Nazik and I must admit that they were all good in their own unique way. I’ve even created my own recipe for Ali Nazik because I find it to be such a beautiful dish.
Through my Turkish cooking course, I have learned one of several ways to make Ali Naziik. This one is delicious because the ground beef is savory and rich and complimented by the eggplant and yogurt.
Here’s the recipe:
- 2 lbs eggplant (the long, thin variety)
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 medium-sized red pepper (sweet or bell diced)
- 1 medium-sized green pepper (sweet or bell diced)
- 2 small tomatoes (peeled, de-seeded and diced)
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- 1 TBSP sunflower oil (or any plain oil)
- 1 TBSP tomato paste
- 1 lemon (juiced)
- 4 garlic cloves (minced)
- 16 oz suzme yogurt (or any thick yogurt)
- salt & pepper (to taste)
Preparation:
Preheat the oven for 375F.
Place the eggplant on a baking sheet and roast for 45-60 minutes, or until the eggplant is tender.
Peel the eggplant and dice into small pieces.
In a large bowl, whisk the yogurt until it is smooth.
Using a mortar & pestel (or finely mincing it with a knife) crush the garlic cloves.
Add the garlic to the yogurt and stir until well combined.
Season with salt and pepper (to taste) and squeeze in the lemon juice.
Stir in the eggplant and set aside.
Peel the tomatoes.
Dice the peppers and tomatoes.
In a small frying pan sauté the ground beef until browned.
Add the olive oil and sunflower oil and continue to cook the beef.
Add the diced red and green peppers and cook until tender.
Then add the peeled and chopped tomatoes, tomato paste and season with salt and pepper (to taste). Sauté everything together for another 5 minutes.
Slightly warm the eggplant and yogurt mixture and then pour it onto a large platter.
Pour the beef mixture over the center of the eggplant and yogurt.
Serve and enjoy.
Afiyet Olsun!
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