This time a dish which is one of my own favorites. You can prepare these eggplant wraps with either meatballs, boneless chicken, lamb or beef chunks. I really cannot decide which I prefer; I like them both with meatballs and with lamb meat. This recipe is with lamb meat. If you choose to prepare this recipe with meatballs, use the home made meatballs recipe, but shape them round and flat.
As usual with eggplants peel them in stripes, like they are wearing pyjamas. Brine the eggplants by soaking them up in water to cover with salt. You may want to put a heavy pot to make sure every part of the eggplants stay soaked in the water. This brine is done to get rid of the black and sour water in the eggplants. Do not slice the eggplants before putting them in the water. Keep the eggplants in the water for about half an hour. When time is up rinse the eggplants under running water. Then squeeze out the excess water and dry the eggplants with either a clean kitchen towel or a paper towel. Then slice the eggplants into 2 mm thin, vertical slices. Finally fry them either in the air fryer, oven or on the stove with olive oil. The air fryer and oven options will be will be less messy. Just put them in a glass oven proof dish and brush them with olive oil. Flip sides if necessary.
Meanwhile start cooking the meat as described in the recipe below. Do not forget to add a bay leaf to eliminate the lamb smell, as some one might not like it. Also make fat peel cuts of tomato, to use for garnish on top of the eggplant wraps. Use the remaining seedy part of the tomato in the meat stuffing. Also prepare the green peppers, cutting to similar sizes to tomatoes.
When the meat is done, it is time to assemble; first put everything on your worktop as seen in the picture below. The easiest way to make a nice wrap is to use a small bowl. Place the fried eggplant slices criss cross in the small bowl. In the middle put a tablespoon of meat mixture. Cover the slices up. Turn the eggplant wrap upside down. First stick a garlic clove, then a piece of pepper and then a slice of tomato and finally the eggplant wrap.
You can cook on the stove or in the oven. I would go for the oven if I chose to fry in the oven in the first place, as the oven will be warm any way. If not the stove is just as fine.
I strongly suggest to serve this dish together with a Pilaf with Orzo and Cucumber Yogurt Salad – Cacık.
Eggplant Wrap Kebab / İslim Kebabı
Ingredients
Eggplants
- 4 eggplants long, thin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- water to cover eggplants
Meat
- 300 g lamb meat small cubes
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 tomatoes
- ½ green pepper
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1-2 bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon cummin
- ½ teaspoon all spice
Combining
- ½ green pepper
- 1 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tomato
- 6 garlic cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 12 wooden tooth picks
Instructions
Eggplants
- Wash and peel the eggplants in vertical stripes. Prepare a large bowl of water and a teaspoon of salt. Toss in the eggplants. Keep them in this water for about 30 minutes to rid of the bitter taste and the dark water.
- 30 minutes, drain the water, wash and pat dry with kitchen paper towels. Cut into vertical slices, thin about 2 millimetres thickness.
- Fry in a skillet with slightly heated olive oil, for a couple of minutes until the eggplants become soft and easily bendable. Switch sides so both sides are fried the same amount. Take them out on to a plate with a paper towel on it, so the extra oil is soaked up.
- If you do not want to fry, use a pre-heated oven at 200° Celsius. Place an oven paper on an oven tray. Place the eggplant slices side by side and brush both sides with olive oil. Cook both sides until the eggplants become soft and easily bendable.
Meat
- It is faster to use a pressure cooker to prepare the meat. If you choose to use a normal pan increase the amount of water by at least 200 millilitres. This recipe is suggesting lamb pieces, however you can choose to put beef pieces (cook a little longer) or meat balls or even chicken pieces (cook a little less). What ever meat you are using, make sure that there are no bones in your meat.
- Add olive oil to your pot. Heat it up slightly. Add your meat, cook stirring until the meat leaves and then soaks up its water and changes color.
- Add a teaspoon of flour and mix well with the meat.
- Chop the onions and add. Continue to stir and cook until the onions are translucent.
- Add 3 sliced garlic cloves. Sauté for 2 more minutes.
- Take out the seeds and chop to small pieces half of the green pepper and add.
- To stick on the tooth picks peel the tomatoes really thick cutting also most of the tomato flesh but leaving out the seeds. Grate the parts with the seeds and add to the pot.
- Add salt, black pepper, cumin, all spice, and bay leaves.
- Add 200 millilitres of water if the tomato has not already given out enough water and cover the lid.
- Cook for about 5-10 minutes if you are using a pressure cooker. If not using a pressure cooker cook for about half an hour, until the meat is well done.
Combining
- While the meat is getting ready, cut medium sized square pieces from the remaining green pepper.
- Peel and cut into two 3 garlic cloves.
- Place two pieces of eggplant slices criss cross into a small bowl. Put a tablespoon of the meat mixture in the middle and fold over the sides to cover up. Gently turn it upside down and place this little bunch into an oven tray. You can also cook in a wide, medium height pan. Get a tooth pick and stick a half garlic clove, and then a green pepper piece and a slice of thick tomato peel. And finally stick it into the eggplant bunch. Repeat until the eggplant and the filling is finished.
- There will be some remaining water in the pot/pressure cooker you have cooked the meat in. Add some more warm water to cover the bottom of the oven tray, a grated tomato and/or tomato paste to color if necessary and some salt and pour this mixture around the eggplant wraps.
- Cook in a preheated oven to 200° Celsius or on the stove.
- Cook until the peppers on the toothpicks are cooked. Should take about 10 minutes.
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