Kizartma Recipe: deep-fried vegetables with tomato sauce and yogurt

Hopefully there's room for deep-fried vegetables with tomato sauce and yogurt. Nobody will regret it...

Of course, this is all a nice way of saying "fries for breakfast". They have a permanent place at the Turkish breakfast table. And we also admit it: we eat fries for breakfast. Sometimes at least.

At this point, of course, it must also be said that Turkish breakfast can simply be very heavy. Sausages and sucuk are just as popular with fries. In addition to heavy dishes, it can also be hearty, for example with soup or scrambled eggs with tomato (menemen) at the breakfast table.

Our Karişik Kizartma is the incredibly delicious deluxe version of fries and other fried vegetables. It is very popular in Turkish cuisine for breakfast, but also as a snack. A piece of fresh bread and black tea - perfect. 

In addition to the homemade fries, this Turkish recipe usually involves deep-frying eggplants, green and red peppers, zucchinis and carrots. We used eggplants and green pointed peppers. The fried vegetables are topped with a garlic and tomato sauce and a little yogurt in the middle. Of course, you can also garnish everything with parsley and serve with a few grilled tomatoes.

Healthier alternative: deep-fried vegetables in the oven

Originally, the Kizartma recipe is deep-fried in a pot of oil. However, we only did this with the potatoes and fried the rest of the vegetables in a pan with (plenty of) olive oil. A healthier alternative is to prepare them in the oven or air fryer. You can simply drizzle the vegetables with olive oil and grill them. It also tastes delicious, but fat is and remains a flavor carrier...

Afiyet olsun!

Deep-fried vegetables with tomato sauce: Kizartma recipe

Preparation

Step 1: Peel the potatoes and cut them into the shape of fries. To do this, first cut them into slices and then into strips. You can also dice the potatoes. Clean the pointed peppers and cut them into strips about 2 cm thick. Cut the eggplants into large cubes too. The vegetables must not be cut too small, as they will lose size during frying.

Step 2: Fry the potatoes in hot oil or in the deep fryer. You can fry the eggplants and peppers together in a pan with plenty of olive oil, not too hot (keyword: smoke point). They are ready when the eggplants have lost volume and are soft.

Step 3: While the vegetables are frying, put the chopped tomatoes and crushed garlic cloves in a saucepan with salt and pepper. Cook the mixture directly for a few minutes over a medium heat so that the tomato sauce thickens and the water evaporates.

Step 4: Arrange the finished vegetables on a platter, season with salt and garnish with the tomato sauce and a few spoonfuls of greek yogurt to taste.