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Ali Nazik Kebabı (Smoked Aubergine under Lamb)

Name: Ali Nazik Kebabı (Smoked Aubergine under Lamb)
Prep time: 55 min
Total time: 57 min
Cuisine: Turkish
Ingredients: eggplant — 900 g; lamb shoulder roast — 600 g; unsalted butter — 60 g; sunflower oil — 14 g; tomatoes — 220 g; sweet green pepper — 60 g; greek yogurt — 400 g; garlic — 12 g; salt — 10 g; maraş pepper flakes — 5 g; freshly ground black pepper — 3 g; mint — 1 g; flat-leaf parsley — 12 g

Ali Nazik Kebabı (Smoked Aubergine under Lamb) reads umami 7.5, richness 7.3 and salinity 3.6 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Turkish main, about 57 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 8.1 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 4.0 / 10
Sour & Bright — 3.5 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 3.2 / 10
Rich & Fat — 7.8 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 4.0 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 7.5 · Richness 7.3 · Salinity 3.6 · Allium 3.5 · Sweetness 3.4 · Sourness 3.3 · Earthy 2.9 · Funk & Ferment 2.7 · Herbaceous 2.6 · Fruity 2.2 · Bitterness 1.6 · Nutty 1.6 · Warm Spice 1.4 · Heat 1.1 · Floral 1.0 · Citrus 0.6

What's in it (13)

eggplant — 900 g
lamb shoulder roast — 600 g
unsalted butter — 60 g
sunflower oil — 14 g
tomatoes — 220 g
sweet green pepper — 60 g
greek yogurt — 400 g
garlic — 12 g
salt — 10 g
maraş pepper flakes — 5 g
freshly ground black pepper — 3 g
mint — 1 g
flat-leaf parsley — 12 g

Time & effort: about 57 min (55 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 94.1 kcal, 8.3 g protein, 7.2 g fat, 3.7 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains dairy — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (7 steps)

Set the whole aubergines directly on a gas flame, over charcoal, or under a very hot grill. Turn them every few minutes for 20 to 25 minutes until the skins are blistered black all over and the aubergines have collapsed and feel weightless. The smoke is the dish; an oven-roasted aubergine will not do it.
Put the charred aubergines in a bowl, cover, and leave 10 minutes so the steam loosens the skins. Peel while still warm, discarding every scrap of blackened skin, and chop the flesh coarsely on a board with a knife — do not blend it, or it goes to glue. You should have about 400 g of smoky pulp.
Beat the strained yoghurt with the crushed garlic, the dried mint and 1 teaspoon of the salt until smooth, then fold in the warm aubergine pulp. Keep the bowl somewhere warm; ali nazik is served over a yoghurt bed that is barely warm, never fridge-cold.
Season the lamb cubes with the remaining teaspoon of salt and the black pepper. Heat the sunflower oil in a heavy pan over high heat until it shimmers, then sear the lamb in two batches, 3 to 4 minutes a batch, without stirring for the first minute so it takes colour.
Return all the lamb to the pan, lower the heat to medium, add the diced green pepper and cook 3 minutes until it softens. Add the tomatoes and cook a further 5 to 6 minutes, until the tomato juice has gone and the meat is glossed rather than wet.
Push the meat to one side, drop in the butter and let it foam and turn nut-brown, about 90 seconds, then stir in the Maraş flakes off the heat so they bloom red in the fat without burning.
Spread the warm aubergine yoghurt over a wide platter, spoon the lamb and its red butter into the middle, and scatter with parsley. Serve at once with flatbread.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Lamb Ragu over Pappardelle — Italian-American
Shepherd's Pie — British
Irish Lamb Stew with Root Vegetables — Irish
Sunday Sauce with Braised Meatballs — Italian-American
Old-Fashioned Beef Stew with Root Vegetables — American

Keep reading: what umami, richness, salinity mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.