Gaziantep Dish · Smoky Eggplant & Lamb

Ali Nazik

Photo: Mence / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Its name is wrapped in competing folk stories, from a polite cook named Ali to an Ottoman sultan's praise, and none is firmly documented.

Eggplants are charred over open flame until smoky, peeled, and mashed with garlicky yogurt, then topped with a sauté of minced lamb and butter-fried peppers. Gaziantep's esnaf lokantası (tradesman's diners) serve it as a hearty, smoke-scented lunch.

Why it's made this way: Gaziantep's eggplant-and-yogurt cooking traditions, refined under centuries of Ottoman court and craft-guild influence, produced this specific combination of smoky puree and spiced meat now considered one of the city's signature dishes.