Meatless Ali Nazik Recipe
Meatless ali nazik with lentils is a nice alternative for those who love ali nazik but have a vegan or vegetarian diet. Lentil is one of the best vegan equivalents of meat for me. Of course not in terms of flavor. Lentils and meat flavors are very different from each other. It is not possible to be indistinguishable. But in all the recipes that use lentils instead of meat, the resulting product is delicious even if it has a different flavor.
I can count dozens of examples to this, but I will mention two of my favorites. Hashasli mercimekli borek and vegan içli köfte. I prefer both to the original versions with ground beef.
Ali nazik is a classic Turkish dish prepared with roasted eggplants and yogurt and a ground beef topping. In this vegetarian version of classic ali nazik, I used green lentils. I have another vegetarian ali nazik, ali nazik kebap with artichokes.
You can use vegan chickpea yogurt or rice yogurt instead of yogurt to make both recipes vegan. Both yogurt recipes are very suitable recipes for using in ali nazik base or in making any kind of yoghurt salad.
Roasting Eggplant in the Microwave
You can roast eggplants on the stove on fire, in the oven or in microwave. After making holes on the eggplants with a knife, you can cook them in the microwave for 10-15 minutes at the highest setting. Of course, it turns out to be a roasted eggplant devoid of smoked smell. But if you do not have a gas stove, I would say enjoy this practicality instead of complaining, as you will be deprived of this smell anyway.
Enjoy ...
Ingredients
For topping;
- 1 cup of green lentils,
- 1 onion, chopped,
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste,
- 1 teaspoon of sweet paprika,
- 5-6 tablespoons of olive oil,
- 1 cup of water,
- 1/4 teaspoon of cumin,
- 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper,
- Salt to taste.
For the base;
- 2 eggplants,
- 1 cup of greek yogurt / vegan yogurt,
- 1 clove of garlic,
- Salt to taste.
Preparation
- Roast the eggplants on the stove, peel and mash,
- Add yogurt, crushed garlic and salt and mix,
- Cover it with cling film and rest in the fridge,
- For the top dressing, wash and drain the lentils and take them into a sauce pan,
- Add enough water to cover them and cook until soft, then drain,
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan, add the onion and stir fry until tender,
- Add the tomato paste and stir fry until smells good,
- Add paprika, cumin and black pepper and mix,
- Add the lentils, water and salt, mix and cook until the water is evaporated in the desired consistency,
- Remove the base out of the refrigerator and divide it into serving plates,
- Share the lentil mixture on top,
- Sprinkle chopped parsley over.
Bon Appetit...