Karniyarik – Turkish Stuffed Eggplants

Karniyarik is the perfect family dinner recipe! Featuring juicy eggplants stuffed with beef, tomatoes and aromatic Turkish spices. Easy to make, baked to perfection, and generous servings.

Why We Love This

Turkish stuffed eggplants is the ultimate comfort food. The aromatic spices in this recipe will fill your kitchen with their intoxicating scent well before your first bite. 

We love the combination of vegetables and meat in this dish. It creates a nice balance and doesn’t leave you feeling heavy. Serve it up as a standalone meal or pair with a side of rice and a dash of natural yoghurt.

What is Karniyarik? 

Karniyarik is a popular Turkish stuffed eggplant recipe, usually enjoyed in summer when eggplants (aka aubergines) are in season and at their most delicious. 

The name literally translates to ‘split belly’ or ‘riven belly’. This is because the small purple eggplants are split down the middle and stuffed with beef mince and aromatic spices.

While Karniyarik is similar(ish) in flavour and ingredients to Greek Moussaka, the difference is in the preparation. Where Greek Moussaka ingredients are layered, Turkish karniyarik eggplants are filled, just like little pockets of flavour.

Where We Learned This Recipe

We first came across this recipe in Istanbul while staying with our wonderful couch surfing hosts Gule and Chennar. Incidentally, they’re the ones who also taught us how to make homemade Ayran (Turkish Yoghurt Drink), too. 

We had quite the dinner feast together, and Gule made sure we were hands on right from the start, so we could master each technique and jot down every tip along the way.

What You’ll Need

This recipe uses familiar ingredients like beef or lamb mince along with veggies and staple pantry spices.

• Eggplants/Aubergines – We recommend the smaller Asian-style eggplants if you can get your hands on them. They tend to have a sweeter, milder flavour and softer texture than regular eggplants, and are a better size for Karniyarik. It’s best to buy fresh eggplants right before you cook them, since they don’t tend to last too long in the fridge.
• Beef Mince / Lamb Mince – You can use either according to your preference.
• Veggies – This recipe calls for onion, garlic, capsicum / bell pepper and tomatoes.
• Herbs & Spices – You’ll need chilli flakes, sweet paprika, ground cumin and ground cinnamon, along with fresh parsley.

How to Make Karniyarik:

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1. Prepare your eggplants by peeling 4 strips from the skin lengthways. Chop off the very tops and bottoms then slice through the middle lengthways (but not all the way). Pull apart to expose the inside and get ready to fry.
2. Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a large frypan and add your eggplants. Cover with a lid and fry gently until softened (around 5-10 minutes), turning occasionally so they don’t burn. Note the inside of the eggplant will turn darker and more transparent as it starts to soften.
3. Pop your beef or lamb mince in a separate saucepan over a medium heat. Allow it to cook down in its own juices for around 5 minutes (stirring frequently) until the liquid has evaporated and the meat is nicely browned. Add the corn oil, chopped onion, garlic and capsicum/peppers. Continue to fry for a few minutes or until the vegetables are soft, then add the tomatoes and cook down for another 5 minutes. Add the parsley, sweet paprika, cumin, cinnamon, salt and pepper and stir through evenly.
4. Arrange the eggplants in a large baking dish belly side up, then stuff with the beef mixture. If you have any meat leftover, you can either pop this around the outside of the eggplants, or serve separately.
5. Garnish each eggplant with a few extra long green peppers, slices of capsicum or tomato.
6. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, and be sure to serve hot!

Wandercook’s Tips

• According to our friend Gule, the trick to making Karniyarik is to peel thin strips from the outside of the eggplants before slicing them in half lengthways. After that they’re popped on a hot fry pan for a few minutes to soften juuuuust right before stuffing.
• Feel free to scoop out the eggplant seeds if you like, but it’s totally optional.

FAQs

Variations & Substitutes

• Eggplants – If you prefer not to fry your eggplants, you can grill them instead. For the ultimate smoky flavour, try grilling them on a charcoal grill or over an open flame. 
• Veggies – Use up other vegetables like carrots or celery.
• Leftover Sauce – Place any remaining filling mixture around the outsides of the eggplants before baking. Or freeze to use later in moussaka, pasta sauce or your own homemade creation.
• Garnish – Traditionally, Turkish stuffed eggplants are garnished with slices of red tomato and bright green chilli before baking. But you can easily switch it up with slices of fresh green capsicum/pepper instead.

Looking for more flavour packed dinner recipes? Here are our favourites:

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