Karniyarik inspired by Refika's Kitchen

Name: Karniyarik inspired by Refika's Kitchen
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Ingredients: 2 medium size Eggplants (not Japanese eggplants); 300 g lean ground beef; 2 onions, finely diced; 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped; 10–15 sprigs parsley, chopped; 1-2 Roma tomato chopped; 1 green pepper quartered; 1 tablespoon tomato paste; 2 tablespoons vinegar; 1 teaspoon sugar; Salt; Black pepper; Olive Oil; 1C greek yoghurt; 1Tbsp chopped mint; 1 Tbsp chopped parsley; 1 garlic clove, grated; Pinch of sea salt (or plain salt); 4 Roma tomatoes (any tomato is fine) chopped; ⅓ of an English cucumber or 3-4 Persian cucumbers chopped; ¼ of a red small red onion chopped; Squeeze of half of a lemon; 1-2 Tbsp olive oil; Parsley (use leftover parsley from Karniyarik)

May 23, 2026

Karniyarik inspired by Refika's Kitchen

Prep Time

45 minutes

Cook Time

45 minutes

Ingredients

Karniyarik

2 medium size Eggplants (not Japanese eggplants)
300 g lean ground beef
2 onions, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
10–15 sprigs parsley, chopped
1-2 Roma tomato chopped
1 green pepper quartered
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt
Black pepper
Olive Oil

Herbed Yoghurt

1C greek yoghurt
1Tbsp chopped mint
1 Tbsp chopped parsley
1 garlic clove, grated
Pinch of sea salt (or plain salt)

Tomato & Cucumber Salad

4 Roma tomatoes (any tomato is fine) chopped
⅓ of an English cucumber or 3-4 Persian cucumbers chopped
¼ of a red small red onion chopped
Squeeze of half of a lemon
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
Parsley (use leftover parsley from Karniyarik)

Directions

Karniyarik

Cut your eggplant length-wise (leave stem attached). Score your eggplant and rub about 1tsp of salt on each half. Leave for 30 minutes. This removes the water and some of the bitterness.

After 30 minutes, gently squeeze your eggplant to get rid of the water and wipe off salt with a paper towel.
Pre-heat Oven to 400F and drizzle olive oil over the “meat” of the eggplant and place each half face down on baking sheet. Quarter green pepper and place around eggplant. Place in oven once oven temp reaches 400F. Set a timer for 30 minutes.
In the. meantime prep all your ingredients:
Finely dice 2 onions
Finely Chop 3 garlic cloves
Chop 10-15 springs of parsely
Chop 2 roma tomatoes
Quarter a green pepper
Add some olive oil to pan and heat on med/high heat, add meat.
Once it starts to change colour, add the diced onions and half of the salt and black pepper. Sauté together until the onions completely soften, caramelised and almost nonvisible.
Add the garlic, tomato paste, vinegar, and sugar. Stir well to combine and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Turn off the heat and mix in most of the chopped parsley, saving a bit for garnish.
Take eggplant out of oven and test for readiness, “meat” should be soft and forgiving. Separate eggplant “meat” and make a little well in centre of each half.
Spoon meat mixture on top of each half, finish with a piece of the green pepper. Increase oven temp to 430F and place back in oven for 15-20 minutes.
Once 15 minutes is complete, take out of oven and gently break up meat mixture with a fork and sprinkle remaining parsley on top.

Herbed Yoghurt

Mix all ingredients in a bowl together.

Salad

Chop tomatoes, red onion and cucumber so they are roughly the same size, place in serving bowl, add red-onion, squeeze of lemon and a drizzle of olive oil. Gently mix
Plate eggplant with one half on a plate, a dollop or two of yoghurt and salad on the sid.