Islim Kebabi is a delicious Turkish dish made with fried eggplant strips wrapped around juicy meatballs, baked in tomato sauce. It is also known as Kurdan Kebabi, after the toothpick that holds each wrap together.
I make these Turkish eggplant meatball wraps when I cook for guests, since you can assemble them ahead. The recipe takes a bit of time, but none of the steps are hard.
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If you'd rather watch than read, here's a quick video that walks through the whole process.
Why This Recipe Works?
- The eggplant strips hold the kofte together and soak up the sauce as they bake.
- It reheats well, so the leftovers make a proper lunch the next day.
- You don't need any special equipment, just a frying pan, a baking dish, and a few toothpicks.
- There is nothing fancy on the shopping list. If you have eggplants and ground beef, the rest is probably in your kitchen already.
- This is the dish I bring out when I want people to think I worked much harder than I did.
What is the Secret to Good Juicy Meatballs?
The most important thing is the fat in the beef. I use ground beef with around 30% fat, and I wouldn't go below 20%. Lean beef makes the meatballs dry and chewy.
If you can't find fattier ground beef, add a little more olive oil to the meatball mixture. Also, chop the onions and garlic very finely. Bigger pieces burn when you fry the meatballs and give the dish an unpleasant taste.
Use a food processor or a grater for chopping the onions and garlic, unless you have very good knife skills! Make sure you mix the ingredients very well when preparing the meatballs.
Ingredients You'll Need
Please scroll down to the recipe card below for the full ingredients list with measurements, complete recipe method, recipe notes, and nutritional information.
- Ground beef - Fattier beef makes juicier kofte. You can also use ground lamb or a mixture of both.
- Eggplant - Pick slightly firm but not hard eggplants with shiny and smooth skin. Longer ones are easier to wrap around the meatballs. Smaller ones have fewer seeds and thinner skin, and they taste sweeter and less bitter.
- Onion - It adds extra flavor and moisture to the meatballs. You can substitute it with shallots.
- Garlic - It is another great flavoring for kofte dishes and is absolutely essential. You can substitute the fresh garlic with the garlic powder.
- Egg - It helps to bind the meat, breadcrumbs, spices, and herbs. For up to one kilo of meat, you usually won't need more than one egg.
- Breadcrumbs - They keep the meat juices inside the meatballs as they cook, and they give them a nice soft texture.
- Kofta spices - Most kofte recipes call for a blend of black pepper, cumin, paprika, and/or chili but you can also add coriander powder, cayenne pepper, or a touch of cinnamon.
- Oil - You can use sunflower oil, vegetable oil, canola oil, or peanut oil for frying the eggplants.
- Tomato paste - It is the staple of Turkish cooking and adds an umami flavor to the dishes as well as a bright red color. You can buy it from Turkish/Mediterranean shops or online.
How to Make Islim Kebabi?
Don't let the wrapping put you off. The steps are simple, and the photos below show you what each stage should look like.
Prepare the Eggplants
Wash the eggplants and dry them with a paper towel. Peel them vertically in a zebra pattern, do not completely peel them.
Slice the eggplants vertically and make sure each strip is dry before frying them to avoid oil splashing. Set them aside.
Fry the Eggplant Strips
Heat the sunflower oil in a frying pan. Fry each side of the eggplant strips until they get slightly brown. Place the fried eggplants on paper towels or on a colander to get rid of the excess oil and then set them aside.
Make the Meatballs
Place the ground beef, egg, breadcrumbs, olive oil, onion, garlic, salt, black pepper, cumin powder, and paprika into a deep mixing bowl.
Use your hands, as if you are kneading dough. It will take around 5 to 6 minutes for all ingredients to completely combine.
Divide a little piece from the mixture and roll it into a meatball the size of a walnut. These meatballs should be able to fit into eggplant wraps. Depending on the size of your eggplant strips, you can make the meatballs slightly bigger or smaller.
Heat a frying pan with a splash of olive oil. Fry the meatballs in the pan until they turn into slightly golden color.
You don't need to make sure the meatballs are completely cooked at this stage as they will cook further in the oven. A few minutes in the pan should be enough at this stage.
Assemble and Bake the Wraps
Prepare the cherry tomatoes and green peppers by cutting the tomatoes in halves and slicing the peppers into chunks. Set them aside on a plate, as we will put them on skewers to secure the eggplant wraps.
Lay 2 fried eggplant strips on top of each other to form a cross and place one meatball in the middle.
Bring first one end of the eggplant up to the top and then in turn the other three ends to form a wrap.
Place a piece of green pepper and half a tomato on a toothpick and secure the wrap with it. Repeat the same process until you finish all the ingredients.
In a bowl or glass jar mix the tomato paste and the water until well combined. Preheat the oven to 180° C (356° F). Place the eggplant wraps in a baking dish.
With a tablespoon gently pour the tomato sauce on the eggplant wraps. Do not pour the sauce directly on the wraps as this will cause them to fall over in the dish.
Place the baking dish in the oven, and bake the meatballs until the cherry tomatoes and green peppers look cooked. It will take 20 to 25 minutes depending on your oven.
Give it 5 minutes to cool down before serving. Garnish with chopped parsley.
Serving Suggestions
I always serve these with something to spoon the sauce over. Buttery Turkish Rice is the classic choice, and Bulgur Pilaf works just as well. For something different, try them over Pomme Puree.
Add a fresh salad on the side. Gavurdagi Salatasi and Greek Cucumber Salad both work, and Potato Salad without Mayonnaise makes it a bigger meal.
If you want more on the table, add Chicken Shish Kebab or Lamb Shish Kebab.
Recipe Tips From the Chef
- Pick the longest eggplants you can find. Long strips wrap around the meatballs much more easily.
- Be careful when frying the eggplant strips. They are delicate and cook quickly, and over-fried strips turn soggy and tear when you fold them.
- The eggplants keep cooking in the oven, so don't worry if they look underdone after frying. Two to three minutes on each side is enough.
- Use ground beef with at least 20% fat, ideally 30%, for soft and juicy kofte. Lean meat makes the meatballs dry and tough.
- Just like when making Kadınbudu Köfte - Turkish Meatballs with Rice, it helps to wet your hands slightly when shaping the meatballs to keep the mixture from sticking.
- If your eggplants are out of season, soak the strips in salted water for 30 minutes and pat them dry before frying. This gets rid of any bitterness.
- Pour the tomato sauce around the wraps with a spoon rather than over the top, so they don't fall over in the dish.
Storage and Make Ahead Instructions
This dish is great for making ahead. Assemble the wraps up to two days before, keep them covered in the fridge, and bake them with the sauce when you need them.
Leftovers keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, and they freeze well for up to 3 months.
Thaw frozen wraps in the fridge overnight and reheat them in the oven at 180° C - 356° F until warmed through.
Recipe FAQs
Islim is another form of istim, the Turkish word for steam. The name most likely comes from the way the parcels steam as they bake. This meatball version is also called islim kofte.
Eggplants out of season are the usual cause. They are at their best from July to September. A soak in salted water before frying fixes it.
Yes. Brush the strips with a little oil and cook them in a hot oven until they are soft enough to fold. You will use less oil this way.
The strips are usually either too short or over-fried. Short strips can't wrap all the way around the meatball, and over-fried ones tear when you fold them. Push the toothpick right through the pepper, the tomato, and both eggplant ends so everything is pinned together.
Yes. Some versions use small cubes of beef instead of kofte. Brown the cubes with onion and a little tomato paste until tender, then wrap and bake them the same way.
Related Recipes
For more eggplant dishes, why not try:
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I hope you enjoy the process of making this delicious Turkish dish "Islim Kebabi - Kurdan Kebabi (Eggplant Meatball Wraps)" as much as you enjoy eating it! 🙂
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Islim Kebabi
Ingredients
Eggplant Strips
- 4 eggplants (medium size, preferably long ones to create long strips)
- sunflower oil (amount depends on the pan that you will fry the eggplant strips)
Meatballs
- 1 lbs ground beef (450 grams)
- 1 egg
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
- 1 large white onion (finely chopped, preferably with a food processor or a grater)
- 3 cloves of garlic (preferably finely diced with a food processor or a garlic press)
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon sweet paprika powder
Tomato Sauce
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 ¼ cup warm water
Garnish
- 1 handful of fresh parsley leaves (finely chopped, for garnish)
- 10 cherry tomatoes (sliced in half)
- 3 green Spanish padron peppers or Turkish chilies (sliced into 2 cm cubes)
Instructions
Prepare and Fry the Eggplant Strips
- Wash the eggplants and dry them with a paper towel.
- Peel the eggplants vertically in a zebra pattern. Do not completely peel them.
- Slice the eggplants vertically. Make sure each stripe is dry before frying it to avoid oil splashing. Set them aside.
- Heat the sunflower oil in a frying pan.
- Fry each side of the eggplant strips until they get slightly brown.
- Place the fried eggplants on paper towels to get rid of the excess oil. Set them aside.
Make the Meatballs
- Place the ground beef, egg, breadcrumbs, onion, garlic, salt, black pepper, cumin powder, and paprika into a deep mixing bowl.
- Mix them with your hands until all ingredients are well combined, and knead for about 5 to 6 minutes.
- Divide a little piece from the mixture and roll it into a meatball the size of a walnut (these meatballs should be able to fit into eggplant wraps. Depending on the size of your eggplant strips, you can make the meatballs slightly bigger or smaller).
- Heat a frying pan with a splash of oil.
- Fry the meatballs in the pan until they turn into slight golden color (you don't need to make sure the meatballs are completely cooked at this stage as they will cook further in the oven. A few minutes in the pan should be enough at this stage).
Make the Tomato Sauce
- In a bowl or glass mix the tomato paste and the water until well combined. Set aside.
Assemble and Bake the Wraps
- Prepare the cherry tomatoes and green peppers by cutting the tomatoes in half and slicing the peppers into chunks. Set them aside on a plate, as we will put them on skewers to secure the eggplant wraps.
- Lay 2 fried eggplant strips on top of each other to form a cross and place one meatball in the middle.
- Bring the first one end of the eggplants up to the top, and then, in turn, the other three ends to form a wrap.
- Place a piece of green pepper and half a tomato on a toothpick and secure the wrap with it. Repeat the same process until you finish all ingredients.
- Preheat the oven to 180° C (356° F).
- Nicely arrange the eggplant wraps in a baking dish.
- Gently pour the tomato sauce on the eggplant wraps using a spoon. Do not pour the sauce directly on the wraps, as this will cause them to fall over in the dish.
- Place the baking dish in the oven, and bake the meatballs until cherry tomatoes and green peppers look cooked. It will take around 20 to 25 minutes depending on your oven.
- Give it 5 minutes to cool down before serving. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve with buttery Turkish rice pilaf.
Video
Notes
- Pick the longest eggplants you can find; long strips wrap around the meatballs much more easily.
- Out of season, soak the strips in salted water for 30 minutes and pat them dry before frying to remove any bitterness.
- Fry the strips 2 to 3 minutes per side. They keep cooking in the oven, and over-fried strips turn soggy and tear.
- Use ground beef with at least 20% fat, ideally 30%. If your beef is leaner, add a little more olive oil to the mix. Ground lamb or a beef and lamb mix works too.
- Wet your hands when shaping the meatballs to stop the mixture sticking.
- Pour the sauce around the wraps, not over the top, so they don't fall over.
- You can assemble the wraps up to two days ahead and keep them covered in the fridge, then add the sauce and bake.
- Leftovers keep 5 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer in an airtight container. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat in the oven at 180° C - 356° F.
- To use less oil, brush the eggplant strips with oil and cook them in a hot oven until soft enough to fold.
- No onion? Use shallots. No fresh garlic? Garlic powder works.
Lisa says
Super tasty, my Turkish husband and me loved it!
Ayla Clulee says
So happy to hear that, Lisa!
Frances says
I made this last night for the first time and will definitely be making this again!
Amandine says
Second time making this. This is by far the best eggplants recipe ever. The whole family loved it!
Jeanine says
This was fantastic! My whole family loved it and will definitely be making it again. Thank you!
Sophia says
A huge eggplant fan here! Love the way you combine eggplants and meatballs. Thanks for the tips you share about preparing eggplants.
Ayla says
I made this last night and it was delicious! I followed your recipe exactly. Thanks for another great recipe!