Whole aubergines, split and fried, filled with onion, garlic and tomato and baked in olive oil until they collapse — eaten cool.
What makes it i̇mam bayıldı
Aubergines fried or roasted whole first.
A soft filling of onion, garlic and tomato — no meat.
A lot of olive oil; served cool.
Where it comes from
The name means 'the imam fainted', and the stories disagree about why: from delight at the taste, some say, or from shock at how much olive oil it took. It belongs to the zeytinyağlı family of olive-oil vegetables served at room temperature.
How it varies
Karnıyarık
The same split aubergine filled with minced meat and eaten hot.