Ali Nazik Kebab; tender lamb stew over smoked eggplant and yoghurt puree
Alinazik or Ali Nazik kebab is a scrumptious Gaziantep specialty and one of our favorites. It is a delicious marriage of char-grilled smoked eggplant puree mixed with yoghurt and topped with tender lamb stew. We serve Alinazik with rice pilaf and grilled vegetables aside. It really is a feast to all senses and a special dish to share.
I was curious where the name Ali Nazik came from and found two different stories. One of them dates back to 16th century Ottoman Empire, during the reign of Yavuz Sultan Selim. On a trip to the city of Antep, (today’s Gaziantep in Turkey), the Sultan was greeted with this local delicacy of delicious eggplant and yogurt mash with grilled lamb over. Sultan Selim liked the dish so much and asked “Who’s ‘gentle hand’ (“eli nazik” in Turkish) made this?” The story tells that the name, ‘ali nazik,’ has stuck since then.
Another story says that is that the name was adopted from the old Ottoman Turkish language, where ‘ala’ meant ‘beautiful’ and ‘nazik’ meant ‘food.’ Over the centuries, this turned to ‘ali nazik’ (In modern Turkish, ‘nazik’ means ‘polite,’ thus the meaning ‘polite Ali’).
Smoky eggplant puree with garlicy yoghurt is a match made in heaven.
The highlight of this dish for us is the delicious smoked eggplant puree, mashed with plain yoghurt (strained or thick, creamy yoghurt is recommended. Brand Fage works well). To get the smoky flavor for the eggplants, I highly recommend roasting them over a coal fire (here’s how to roast the eggplant over the burner) or over the gas burner (In Turkey, a very simple gadget called “Kozmatik” is used to cook the aubergines over the burner. It has a steel base with holes on it, a genius idea to cook if you can get it). It makes a bit of a mess but the smoky taste of the eggplants is well worth it. You can cook the eggplants a day ahead of time. Once mashed, mix with juice of ½ lemon to help retain its color and keep in the fridge, covered.
Ali Nazik Kebab; tender pieces of lamb stew served over the smoked eggplant and garlic yoghurt puree
Traditionally, stewed tender pieces of lamb in a sauce are used in Ali Nazik, though you may replace it with a meat of your choice. The creamy eggplant and yoghurt puree is just heavenly with the meat topping, hope you enjoy Ali Nazik.
Afiyet Olsun,
Ozlem
- For the eggplant and yoghurt puree:
- 4 medium purple eggplants
- 16 fl. oz. / 2 cup thick, whole milk yoghurt (brand Fage works well)
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed and finely diced
- 15ml/1 tbsp. olive oil
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
- For the meat topping:
- 450gr/1 lb. small chunks of lamb (or meat of your choice)
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- ½ tbsp. red pepper paste or 2 tsp. chili flakes (optional, if you like a spicy taste)
- 1 tbsp. tomato paste
- 30ml/2 tbsp. olive oil
- 30 ml/ 2 tbsp. water
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
- For the roasted vegetables:
- 3 medium tomatoes, quartered
- 1 green, yellow and red bell peppers, deseeded and quartered
- 1 onion, quartered and sliced
- 30 ml/ 2 tbsp. olive oil
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
- Handful of chopped flat leaf parsley to serve
- Preheat the oven to 180 C/ 350 F
- First prepare the eggplants. Place the eggplants or aubergines directly over the burner on medium heat and roast for about 15 - 20 minutes, turning occasionally.
- Use metal tongs to turn the eggplants around so that all sides would cook evenly and the skin is nicely chargrilled. Cook until the skin is burnt and the flesh is soft (you can also cook this way over barbeque).
- Remove the cooked eggplants to a colander to allow them to cool. Once cool, peel and discard their burnt skin and leave them in the colander to drain its bitter juices. I like to gently squeeze the eggplant flesh to drain as much water as possible.
- Chop the flesh of the eggplant and mix in the chopped garlic, season with salt and ground black pepper. Combine well, cover and set aside until the lamb stew is ready (If you’d like to prepare the eggplants a day ahead of time, then mix the eggplant mash with juice of ½ lemon to help retain its color and keep in the fridge, covered).
- To roast the vegetables, spread the quartered and sliced onions, tomatoes and peppers in a tray and stir in 2 tbsp. olive oil. Season with salt and ground black pepper and combine well. Roast at the preheated oven (180 C/ 350 F) for 30 – 35 minutes.
- For the lamb stew, cut the lamb into chunky, generous bite size pieces.
- Pour in 2 tbsp. olive oil in a wide, heavy pan and stir in the diced onions. Sauté over medium to high heat for 3 minutes, the onions will start to soften.
- Stir in the lamb pieces and sauté with the onions for 5 minutes, mixing regularly. The lamb will release its juice.
- Add the red pepper paste and/or red pepper flakes (if using) and tomato paste to the pan, combine well. Check the seasoning and turn the heat to low. Stir in 2 tbsp. water, combine and cover the pan. Simmer the lamb gently for about 20 minutes, until tender.
- Just before serving, pour in 1 tbsp. olive oil in a pan and gently reheat the eggplant & garlic puree until it is hot. Turn the heat off and stir the yoghurt to the eggplant pure and combine well.
