Imam Bayildi

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly salt eggplant slices and allow to stand for 20 minutes. After twenty minutes

Step 2

wipe salt off

Step 3

pat slices dry and set aside. Heat a small amount of olive oil over medium heat; if you have a pan that can go from stovetop to oven

Step 4

choose to cook your eggplant in that. Pan fry the eggplant in batches until browned on each side. Add oil as necessary to the pan in between batches. Set aside. Put more oil if necessary in the skillet

Step 5

then add onion and cook until translucent. Add garlic

Step 6

Crushed Maras Pepper flakes

Step 7

Sea Salt

Step 8

Dried Mint

Step 9

Ground Sumac

Step 10

Ground Fenugreek

Step 11

and Ground Cardamom. Cook for about a minute

Step 12

or until fragrant. Add the tomatoes

Step 13

undrained

Step 14

and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in half the parsley. If using an oven-proof skillet

Step 15

remove ¾ of the sauce and leave a thin layer on the bottom of the pan. Otherwise

Step 16

add ¼ of the sauce to an 8x8 casserole dish. Arrange one layer of eggplant evenly in the bottom of pan. Put sauce on top

Step 17

and continue to layer the eggplant

Step 18

like a lasagna. Cover with foil and bake in oven for 45 minutes. The eggplant will be very soft and the sauce will be slightly reduced. Allow 10 minutes to cool before serving. Garnish with the remaining parsley and serve.