The Imam Fainted

The Imam Fainted, ımam bayıldı, is the most famous of Turkish eggplant meze. Imam bayıldı is an eggplant slashed down the middle and stuffed with onions, garlic, and tomatoes, then simmered in olive oil to cover. There are several apocryphal stories about the origins of the dish. The imam (Muslim prayer leader) fainted or swooned when he tasted how good it was; that the imam fainted when he saw how much expensive olive oil was used; that the imam was delighted when a shopkeepe