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Stuffed Eggplant (Karnıyarık Style, Vegetarian)

Silky fried eggplants are split open, packed with a savory lentil, mushroom and walnut filling and baked under tomato and pepper in a light tomato sauce.

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Stuffed eggplant with lentil-mushroom filling, baked tomato slices, green pepper, tomato sauce and yogurt on a plate, AI-generated imageAI-generated image
At a glance
  • 1200 geggplants
  • 200 gonion
  • 200 gcremini
  • 200 gcooked green or brown lentils
  • 200 gripe tomatoes
Serves 4

Karnıyarık means "split belly" in Turkish, and it describes the dish exactly: a whole eggplant is cooked until soft, slit down the middle and stuffed. It is a familiar home-cooking dish in Turkey, and similar stuffed eggplant dishes turn up across the eastern Mediterranean. The classic filling uses ground meat, but the technique works well with a vegetarian filling.

This version swaps the meat for green lentils and finely chopped mushrooms, with a little walnut for richness. Cooking the mushrooms until their liquid has evaporated gives the filling a deep, savory flavor, and the tomato paste and pepper flakes carry it the rest of the way.

The eggplants are shallow-fried first so the flesh turns creamy and holds its shape, then finished in the oven in a shallow bath of tomato sauce. Plan on about 2 hours 15 minutes from start to table, including frying in two batches. Serve with rice or bulgur pilaf and a spoonful of yogurt.

Stuffed Eggplant (Karnıyarık Style, Vegetarian)

Formula & Method
Servings
4
Units
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Ingredients

Eggplants

Filling

Topping

Sauce

To serve

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Preparation

  1. Step 018 min

    Trim any long thorns from the green calyxes, but leave the stems intact. With a peeler, peel each eggplant in alternating lengthwise stripes so about half the skin remains. Pat dry with a towel.

  2. Step 0220 min

    Prepare the rest before you start frying: finely chop the onion, garlic, mushrooms, walnuts and parsley, grate the filling tomatoes, cut the topping tomatoes into 8 thin slices, and halve and seed the peppers.

  3. Step 0312 min

    Pour 75 g of the frying oil into a large frying pan and heat over medium heat for about 2 minutes, until a small piece of eggplant sizzles steadily when dropped in. Add 2 eggplants and fry, turning every couple of minutes, until golden on all sides and softened when pressed, 10 to 12 minutes. Lower the heat if they darken too quickly.

  4. Step 0412 min

    Lift the first 2 eggplants onto a plate lined with paper towels. Add the remaining 75 g frying oil to the pan, let it heat for 1 minute, then fry the other 2 eggplants the same way, 10 to 12 minutes. Leave all the eggplants to drain while you make the filling.

  5. Step 057 min

    Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of the filling salt and cook, stirring, until soft and translucent, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.

  6. Step 068 min

    Add the chopped mushrooms and cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until they have released their liquid and the pan looks nearly dry, and the mushrooms are browned, 6 to 8 minutes.

  7. Step 0710 min

    Stir in the 30 g tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Add the grated tomatoes, lentils, walnuts, pepper flakes, black pepper and the rest of the 4 g salt. Simmer for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring, until thick and spoonable with no watery juices. Stir in the parsley and taste for salt.

  8. Step 085 min

    Heat the oven now to 200 C (400 F), or 180 C fan (350 F fan). Lay the fried eggplants in the baking dish, side by side. With a small knife, slit each lengthwise down the center, cutting about three quarters of the way through and leaving 2 cm (3/4 in) uncut at each end. Gently press the flesh apart with a spoon to make a pocket, without tearing the bottom skin.

  9. Step 095 min

    Spoon the filling into the pockets, mounding it generously. Lay 2 tomato slices and 1 pepper half over the filling of each eggplant.

  10. Step 102 min

    Whisk the 20 g tomato paste and 1.5 g salt into the hot water until smooth. Pour it carefully around the eggplants, not over the filling.

  11. Step 1135 min

    Cover the dish loosely with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 15 to 20 minutes more, until the sauce is bubbling, the peppers have softened and a knife slides into the thickest part of an eggplant with no resistance.

  12. Step 1210 min

    Rest the dish for 10 minutes so the sauce settles. Serve each eggplant with some of the pan sauce spooned over and a dollop of yogurt on the side.

Kitchen notes

  • Timing: allow about 2 hours 15 minutes in total, because the eggplants are fried in two batches and the filling is cooked before baking.
  • Storage: cool leftovers and refrigerate within 2 hours of cooking. Keep covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in a 180 C (350 F) oven or a covered pan until steaming hot all the way through.
  • Make ahead: the filling can be cooked up to 2 days ahead and kept in the refrigerator. Fry and fill the eggplants on the day you bake them for the best texture.
  • Less oil: instead of frying, brush the peeled eggplants with a little oil and roast at 220 C (425 F) for 30 to 35 minutes, turning once, until very soft. The flesh will be less creamy but the dish still works.
  • Variations: add a teaspoon of dried mint or a pinch of ground cumin to the filling, or swap the walnuts for toasted pine nuts.
  • Serve with rice or bulgur pilaf, a simple salad of tomato and onion, and bread for the sauce.

Diet and allergens

Suitable for: Vegetarian, Gluten-free.

Contains: tree nuts, milk.

Labels come from the ingredient list by fixed rules. If you cook for someone with an allergy, check the labels of packaged ingredients such as stock, spice blends, tahini and bread, since brands differ. How labels work.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to salt the eggplants before frying?

Not for this recipe. Modern eggplants are rarely bitter, and frying them whole until very soft gives a creamy texture. The filling and sauce are seasoned, so the dish will not taste bland.

Why do my eggplants split open or fall apart?

Usually they were cut right through or pressed too hard. Leave the ends and the bottom skin intact when you slit them, and open the pocket gently with a spoon.

Can I use dried lentils instead of canned?

Yes. Simmer about 85 g of dried green or brown lentils in unsalted water for 20 to 25 minutes until tender but not mushy, then drain well. That gives roughly 200 g cooked.

Can I make this vegan?

Yes. The eggplants and filling contain no animal products. Serve it without the yogurt or with a plant-based yogurt.

References and sources

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