A kebab without a kebab is made from eggplant.
You can use dried bread for eggplant Iskender. Iman and Leena safkaa
– Our hit recipe for autumn is eggplant iskender, says Iman and Leena of the safkaa channel Leena Ahokas.
It is a vegetarian version of the well-known Iskender kebab dish, where the meat was replaced with eggplant. Iskender kebab is one of the many subspecies of kebab. The portion usually includes pieces of pita bread, yogurt, tomato sauce and kebab meat.
Together with her husband Iman Gharagozlun Ahokas, who enjoys cooking with and has a popular Instagram account, says that their Iskender recipe has been saved thousands of times.
– The dish is topped with a wonderful spicy tomato sauce, garlic yogurt sauce and browned butter, which is poured over the bread, Ahokas describes.
The recipe was inspired when Gharagozlu and Akseli Herlevi developed the dishes of their newly opened and already popular DIF Döner restaurant.
– They thought that why couldn’t they do something similar at home, but only in a vegetarian version.
This dish was inspired by Akseli Herlev’s new kebab restaurant. Iman and Leena safkaa
Followers of the Ima ja Leena safkaa channel have been cooking the dish for a good month – and the feedback has been laudatory:
– Why didn’t I realize before that “kebab” can be made from eggplant!
– Psychedelic good.
– Ahh, the best kebab I’ve ever eaten.
– I made a double portion so that it was enough for a friend, but I ate it all.
– It was absolutely wonderful! I tried to eat the leftovers of this dish in the evening, but my husband, who hates eggplant, had already eaten them too!
– Oh, this eggplant “iskender” is a real comfort food aristocracy!
Eggplant Iskender
1 eggplant
olive oil
salt
a few handfuls of dry white bread (or pita from the store)
approx. 25 g of butter (or as much as you want))
Tomato sauce:
a couple of sprigs of rosemary
½ tsp hot (picante) paprika powder (or regular)
½ tsp salt
½ tsp coriander seeds (can be left out)
3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 teaspoons of tomato puree
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
3 dl pureed tomato
0.5 dl of water
Garlic yogurt sauce
4 generous tablespoons of Turkish yogurt
1 ball of labneh (can be left out)
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon dried dill
2 tablespoons of olive oil
½ tsp salt
1. Cut the eggplant into blocks and salt them (approx. 1 teaspoon of fine salt). Let stand for approx. 20 min. Rinse under water, transfer to a baking sheet and roll in olive oil. Roast in the oven on the middle-upper level at 240 degrees for about 25 minutes (be careful not to burn).
2. Prepare the tomato sauce: quickly roast the rosemary sprigs tied with string and other dry spices in a dry pot.
3. Add olive oil, tomato puree, garlic and shallot, cook for a couple of minutes and mix. Add the pureed tomato and water, mix and let it simmer on low heat under the lid until the food is ready.
4. Melt the butter in a pan on a fairly high heat and let it brown. When the color turns a beautiful caramel brown, pour into a bowl to wait.
5. Cut the bread into pieces and pour into the same pan. Add about ½ dl of olive oil, about 1 dl of tomato sauce from the pot and ½ dl of water on top of the bread. Let it roast for a couple of minutes.
6. Prepare the yogurt sauce by mixing the ingredients together in a bowl.
7. Spoon the bread into the serving dish, top with yogurt sauce, eggplants, browned butter and finally plenty of tomato sauce. Garnish with fresh herbs (e.g. parsley). Finally, if you wish, you can sprinkle sumac and Pul Biber chili seasoning on top.
Tip!
If you use regular paprika powder, you can add a pinch of dried chili flakes to the tomato sauce (or more if you like a hot sauce).