Stuffed eggplant with lamb or beef (Karniyarik)

Step 1

Peel each eggplant lengthways, in striped-pyjama fashion. Cut each one in half. In each half of eggplant, cut a deep split lengthways without cutting through to the skin on the opposite side.

Step 2

Soak them in salty water for 20 mins (to get rid of the bitterness) and tap them dry with paper towel.

Step 3

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the eggplants over high heat for 5 minutes, until lightly brown them evenly on both sides. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Step 4

Saute the finely chopped onion, pepper and grated garlic in vegetable oil in a separate skillet,

Step 5

Add the ground lamb and cook until all the moisture is absorbed.

Step 6

Add the garlic, chopped tomatoes, tomato paste and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, mix well. Cook for a further 5 minutes.

Step 7

Add parsley and mix well. Remove from the heat.

Step 8

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).

Step 9

Arrange your eggplants in a large baking tray with the split sides facing up

Step 10

Spoon the filling into the splits. On the top of each filled eggplant put a slice of tomato and a green bell pepper.

Step 11

Mix 1 tbsp pepper or tomato paste with 1 cup water and get a reddish water and pour over the filled eggplants,

Step 12

Cover and bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes. Remove the cover and continue baking for another 15 minutes or until the tomato and pepper slices are done.

Step 13

Serve hot with plain rice and a dollop of plain yoghurt by the side.