Traditional recipes from Turkey

Karniyarik 

Ingredients

1 lb eggplant, peeled in stripes lengthwise

1/2 ground meat

2 onions, cubed

1/2 bunch parsley, finely choppped

1 tomato, petite diced (for the stuffing)

1 tomato, sliced in half moons (for the top)

green banana peppers, as many as eggplants

ground pepper

salt

2 tbs olive oil

frying oil

1 cup hot water

Directions

-Peel eggplants leaving lengthwise stripes and then put them in salty water for 10 minutes. Dry them well and fry them as a whole in a deep pot with

canola or corn or vegetable oil, whichever you're comfortable with. (Make sure oil is really hot before you place eggplants, otherwise eggplants will

soak tons of oil)

-Once they're fried, first soak the excessive oil by resting them on a paper towel, and then place eggplants on an oven dish.

-In a deep frying pan, heat olive oil. Add onions and stir for 3-4 minutes.

-Add ground meat. Cook until ground meat soaks all the juice it lets out.

-Add diced tomato. Stir until cooked. Turn it off.

-Add chopped parsley, salt, and pepper. Mix well.

-With the help of two spoons, slit eggplants into two. But leave the tops and bottoms attached.-Stuff eggplants with ground meat mixture.

-Place a slice of half moon shaped tomato and a green pepper on top of each split belly eggplant.

-Pour 1 cup of hot water on top and bake them in preheated oven at 400F until green peppers are nicely baked.

Serve with rice and yogurt.

Bon apetit!

Lentil Balls 

Ingredients

1 cup of red lentils

1 cup of fine bulgur wheat

1 onion finely chopped

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon of paprika

1 tablespoon cumin

1/2 cup of parsley, finely chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

lettuce leaves to serve

lemon wedges to serve

Directions

1. Rinse the lentils,put in a pan with 3 cups of water and cook over a medium heat for 10 min. Add the bulgur and continue to cooking for a further 2 min. Remove from the heat and leave to stand for 20

min. The bulgur should absorb any surplus water.

2. When cool, add the onion, tomato paste, spices, chopped parsley and season with salt and pepper. Mix well to create a smooth paste and chill the mixture in the fridge for 1 hour.

3. With wet hands shape the mixture into balls the size of large walnuts and with your finger create a small indentation. Cover and refrigerate until required.

4. Serve on a generous bed of lettuce leaves decorated with lemon wedges.To eat, squeeze lemon juice into the indentations and roll up the kofte in a crunchy lettuce leaf.

Bon apetit!

Informer: Ozgur Boyaci

Excerpts from 'Ethno treasure hunt – Book of traditional recipes”, published by Velzys Gymnasium, Panevezys, Lithuania, coordinated by Rima Stongvilene, with the collaboration of Georgi Ivanov, Bulgaria, Domenica Crupi, Italy, Joanna Wilczynska, Poland, Daniela Buda, Romania, Ozgur Boyaci, Turkey, 2011.