Turkish Şakşuka Recipe (Shakshuka): Easy & Homemade
Turkish şakşuka is a cold eggplant appetizer: fried eggplant cubes topped with garlic yogurt and reduced tomato sauce. Serves 4 to 6.
Turkish şakşuka is a cold eggplant appetizer made by frying cubed eggplant in olive oil, then layering it with garlic yogurt and a reduced tomato sauce. The version below serves 4 to 6 and comes together in three parts: the fried eggplant, the garlic yogurt, and the tomato sauce.
Şakşuka, one of the famous flavors of the Mediterranean, is a kind of appetizer prepared by frying vegetables and pouring sauce on them. Although its production varies from region to region, its main ingredients are eggplant, pepper, and tomato. It is also made with yogurt in some regions. For more vegetable-forward recipes, see our Turkish recipes hub, and read up on the role of olive oil in Turkish cuisine.
Turkish Şakşuka Recipe:
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
- 1 kg eggplant
- 4 medium tomatoes
- 3 cloves garlic
- 500 gr yogurt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
Method
- Peel the eggplants in a striped fashion (keeping some of the skin on so the eggplants have a striped appearance).
- Cut the eggplants into 2cm cubes.
- In a large bowl cover the diced eggplant with water and 1 tablespoon salt and leave to soak for 2 hours.
- Meanwhile, peel the tomatoes and puree them in a blender.
- Add the tomato puree to saucepan with 1 teaspoon salt and sugar. Cook over low heat until the juice evaporates and the mix reduces.
- Crush your garlic and mix with yogurt.
- Drain your eggplants and dry well.
- Fry your eggplant in olive oil until soft, and drain on paper towel.
- Place your eggplant on a serving plate. Top with garlic yogurt. Finally, pour your tomato sauce over the garlic yogurt.
- Once it reaches room temperature, your shakshuka is ready to serve.
Want to taste eggplant mezes done by people who make them every day? On our Taste of Two Continents tour we eat our way across both sides of the city, from the Spice Market breakfast to a ferry across the Bosphorus and into Kadıköy. We have run food tours since 2013 for more than 50,000 guests, with groups capped at 10 people.
