Turkish Grilled Aubergines with Spicy Chickpeas and Walnut Sauce

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Turkish cuisine immensely evolved under the influence of Ottoman Empire over many centuries. Over hundreds of years, it blended influences from Middle Eastern, Europena, African and Central Asian cultures.

The cuisine is marked by the usage of vegetables like eggplant (aubergine), garlic, onions, and tomatoes while a number of spices like cumin and cinnamon bring out the taste in the dishes. Olives have been traditionally cultivated and hence usage of Olive oil is pretty common. The usage of yogurt is also fairly common along with lot of fruits and dry fruits. In this column we have earlier seen Turkish recipes like Pide & Lamb Pilau while some of the other common dishes include Menemen, Doner and other Kebabs, Yaprak Sarma, various types of Pilau, Kokorec etc.

For today’s recipe, I picked up a great vegetarian dish that uses a number of Turkish ingredients and is totally unmatched in taste. Turkish Grilled Aubergines with Spicy Chickpeas & Walnut Sauce does take some time to prepare, however, it looks beautiful on a meze table. It uses aubergine, chickpeas, tomatoes, yogurt and walnuts among other spices to bring out a perfect taste. You would just love this dish. So, go ahead and use this Turkish Grilled Aubergines with Spicy Chickpeas and Walnut Sauce Recipe today.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

For Grilled Aubergine

• Aubergine – 1 Medium sized (cut in slices)
• Olive oil – 1/4 cup
• Salt to taste
• Black pepper powder – 1/2 tsp

For Chickpeas

• Chickpeas – 2 cups (soaked in water for 6 to 8 hours)
• Olive oil – 2 tbsp
• Onion – 1 cup (chopped)
• Tomato – 1 cup (chopped)
• Green Chili – 1 (chopped)
• Red Chili powder – 1 tsp
• Coriander powder – 2 tsp
• Cinnamon powder – 1/2 tsp
• Roasted cumin powder – 1/2 tsp
• Salt to taste

For Walnut Sauce

• Yogurt – 1/2 cup
• Walnuts – 2 tbsp
• Garlic – 3 to 4 cloves
• Salt to taste
• Fresh Coriander for garnishing

Turkish Grilled Aubergines with Spicy Chickpeas and Walnut Sauce Recipe

For Grilled Aubergine

• Heat olive oil in a grill pan.
• Place aubergine in the pan.
• Sprinkle salt and black pepper powder.
• Grill from both sides until browned.

For Chickpeas

• Boil the soaked chickpeas until soft.
• Heat oil in a pan, add onion and fry until translucent.

• Add tomatoes and fry for 2 minutes.

• Add red Chilli powder, coriander powder, cinnamon powder, roasted cumin powder and salt and fry for 2 minutes.
• Add green Chilli and chickpeas with 1/2 cup water and cook for about 10 minutes.

For Walnut Sauce

• Add yogurt, walnuts, garlic and salt in a blender and blend until smooth.

For Assembly

• Place the aubergine slices in serving tray.
• Add chickpeas over the slices evenly.
• Spread the walnut sauce evenly.
• Garnish with fresh coriander.
• Serve.