Stuffed eggplants imam-bayildi

Prepare the necessary ingredients.

Cut part of the skin from the eggplant, leaving longitudinal stripes.

Then cut each eggplant in half, make several deep longitudinal cuts in the flesh, generously salt it, and let it sit for 15 minutes.

Then rinse the eggplants from the salt, squeeze them out, and thoroughly dry with paper towels.

Heat vegetable oil in a pan and fry the eggplants on high heat until they are evenly covered with a golden crust.

Transfer them to paper towels to get rid of excess fat.

Mix sliced onions, minced garlic, 30 ml olive oil, dried mint, salt and pepper by hand. This way the onion will release juice and slightly soften the mint.

Then add diced tomatoes and chopped parsley, and mix.

Make indentations in the eggplants and tightly pack them with vegetable filling. Transfer the stuffed eggplants to a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Mix 125 ml of water, the remaining oil, juice of half a lemon, and sugar; pour this mixture over the eggplants, cover with a lid, and cook for 40-50 minutes over medium heat.

Then remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Serve with a slice of lemon, sprinkled with fresh parsley.