İmam bayıldı

İmam bayıldı^[1][2] (literally: "the imam fainted")^[3] is a dish in Ottoman cuisine consisting of whole aubergine stuffed with onion, garlic and tomatoes, and simmered in olive oil. It is a zeytinyağlı (olive oil-based) dish and is found in most of the former Ottoman regions. The dish is served at room temperature or warm.^[4][5]

İmam bayıldı

A plate of İmam bayıldı served with yogurt and rice
Alternative names	İmambayıldı
Place of origin	Ottoman Empire
Region or state	Former Ottoman countries (Turkey, Greece, Albania, Kosovo, Bosnia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Armenia)
Associated cuisine	Ottoman
Serving temperature	Room temperature or warm
Main ingredients	Aubergine, onions, garlic, tomatoes, olive oil
Media: İmam bayıldı

Origin of the name

The name supposedly derives from a tale of a Turkish imam who, for one reason or another, lost consciousness over the dish. In one version it is said that he swooned with pleasure at the flavour when his wife presented him with this dish, although other more humorous accounts suggest that he fainted upon hearing the cost of the ingredients or the amount of oil used to prepare it.^[6] Another version claims he ate so much of it that he passed out.

Another folk tale relates that the imam married the daughter of an olive oil merchant. Her dowry consisted of twelve jars of the finest olive oil, with which she prepared an aubergine dish with tomatoes and onions each evening until she had used all the oil, so she could not serve the dish on the thirteenth day. In response, the imam fainted.^[7]

Geographic distribution

Imam bayildi is also well-known under minor variants of the Turkish name in Bulgaria, North Macedonia, southern part of Romania (Brăila, Constanța etc), Greece (ιμάμ μπαϊλντί imám baildí),^[8] Albania and Kosovo (imam ballajdi), Armenia, and the Arab world (إمام بايلدي, imām bāyuldi),^[9] and in English as "Imam bayeldi". During Ottoman times, the dish also spread to Anatolia's Pontian minority; in their language, it's called imam-bayildin.^[10]

Variants

An imam bayıldı made with ground meat becomes a karnıyarık.

See also

• Caponata
• List of eggplant dishes

References

1. Speake, Jennifer & LaFlaur, Mark (2002). "imam bayildi". The Oxford Essential Dictionary of Foreign Terms in English (Published online from original 1999 print publication). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acref/9780199891573.001.0001. ISBN 9780199891573. Archived from the original on 7 June 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2020 – via Oxford Reference.
2. "TÜRK DİL KURUMU". Tdk.gov.tr. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
3. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (15 October 2010). "Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's aubergine recipes". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
4. "Imam bayildi with BBQ lamb & tzatziki". BBC Good Food. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
5. "Aubergines 'imam bayildi'". Financial Times. Retrieved 11 January 2019.(subscription required)
6. John Ayto, The Glutton's Glossary: A Dictionary of Food and Drink Terms, Routledge, 1990, ISBN 0-415-02647-4, p. 146.
7. Gregory McNamee Movable Feasts: The History, Science, and Lore of Food, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2006, ISBN 0-275-98931-3, p. 82.
8. Less commonly known as μελιτζάνες ιμάμ, melitzánes imam, aubergines "imam"
9. Marie Karam Khayat and Margaret Clark Keatinge, Food from the Arab World, Khayats, Beirut, 1961.
10. "Imam-bayildin". Pontos World. 7 February 2017.