İmam bayıldı
imam bayıldı
Eggplant collapsed in olive oil, onion and tomato — the imam fainted, allegedly, and there is no meat in the pot.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: imam bayıldı.
0 people cooked this in the public kitchen yet. Kitchen-tested by I Want Some Food. Not a purchased rating.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 50 min
- Total
- 1 hr 10 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- Cheap nightUnder $8 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
İmam bayıldı is whole or halved eggplant simmered or baked with a lot of onion, garlic, tomato and olive oil until it is silky. It is served at room temperature. The imported version with lamb and tzatziki is a different plate that borrowed the name.
Ingredients
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Halve eggplants, salt, brown in some of the oil. Soften onion and garlic in the rest, add tomato, sugar, salt.
20 minStep 2
Nest eggplants in the onion, spoon the sauce over, add a splash of water. Cover and bake or simmer 35 minutes. Parsley. Cool.
35 min
Adapt this recipe
The canonical recipe stays intact. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are maths, not AI.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 24 August.
Substitutions
Sugar → Skip it
Some pots are only savoury.
Tips
- It is an olive-oil dish. Do not be shy.
- Room temperature, not hot from the oven, is the usual.
History & culture
Olive-oil dishes (zeytinyağlı) of the Aegean and a mezze. Better the next day.
The fainted-imam story is folklore. The dish is Ottoman-Aegean vegetable cookery.
Traditional
Provenance: Editorial adaptation. Original editorial adaptation for I Want Some Food. Not copied from another recipe site. Official recipe photography is pending. Photograph: AlexanderVanLoon via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%C4%B0mam%20bay%C4%B1ld%C4%B1%20AvL.JPG
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips — not a chatbot.
How long does İmam bayıldı take?
1 hr 10 min all in — 20 min prep, 50 min cook. That is the time on this recipe, not a guess.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 4 plates. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Easy.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Vegetarian, Vegan.
What does it cost to cook?
Cheap night — about Under $8 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Dutch oven, Oven.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at 1 tsp.
How much sugar?
1 tsp (optional) of Sugar.
What can I use instead?
Sugar → Skip it. Some pots are only savoury.
Any tips from this recipe?
It is an olive-oil dish. Do not be shy. Room temperature, not hot from the oven, is the usual.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
Similar dishes
Karnıyarık
karnıyarık
Split eggplant stuffed with mince — the imam's meatier cousin, still an oil pot.
1 hr 10 minMedium🌶️
Zaalouk
زعلوك
Cooked eggplant and tomato salad — smoky if you char the eggplant, a dip if you mash it.
45 minEasy🌶️
Escalivada
Escalivada
Charred eggplant, pepper and onion, peeled and oiled — Catalan fire vegetables, not a ratatouille.
1 hr 5 minEasyNo chilli