Greek Main Courses
Melitzanes Imam Recipe (Greek Aubergine Baked with Onion and Tomato)
Μελιτζάνες ιμάμ meh-leed-ZAH-nes ee-MAHM · Melitzanes imam
Photo: Imam bayıldı.jpg by E4024, CC BY-SA 4.0. Placeholder until original photography is shot.
In short
Melitzanes imam is a Greek dish of whole aubergines, split and filled with onion, garlic and tomato cooked down slowly in olive oil, then baked until the aubergine turns completely soft and silky. It shares its name and origin with the wider Ottoman imam bayildi tradition, adapted into Greek ladera cooking.
Melitzanes imam shares its name and its basic idea with imam bayildi, a dish found in various forms across the former Ottoman world, and the Greek version has fully naturalised it into the ladera tradition: whole aubergines, split and filled with onion, garlic and tomato slowly cooked down in a generous amount of olive oil, then baked until everything turns meltingly soft.
It is entirely vegan by nature rather than as an afterthought, since the whole dish is built from vegetables and olive oil, and it is a genuine main course in its own right, not simply a side, eaten with good bread to mop up the rich, oil-and-tomato sauce that pools around the aubergine.
The technique that matters is the same generous use of olive oil found throughout ladera cooking, since the oil becomes part of the finished sauce rather than simply a cooking medium, and the long bake that follows is what lets everything turn properly soft and silky rather than merely cooked through.
Key preparation steps
- Fry whole aubergines briefly to soften the skin.
- Slit and fill with a slow-cooked onion, garlic and tomato mixture.
- Arrange in a baking dish with the sauce around them.
- Bake until completely soft, basting occasionally.
Preparing the aubergine
Choose smaller, slim aubergines if you can find them, which cook through more evenly than very large ones. Fry them whole briefly in oil, turning, until the skin softens and blisters slightly, which makes the next step, slitting them open to hold a filling, considerably easier.
Once cooled enough to handle, slit each aubergine lengthways without cutting all the way through, opening it like a book to make room for the filling.
The filling
A generous amount of sliced onion and garlic, cooked slowly in olive oil until soft and sweet, mixed with chopped tomato and a little sugar to balance any sharpness. This filling should be genuinely well cooked down before it goes into the aubergine, not simply softened, since the aubergine's own baking time will not fully finish an underdone filling.
Baking and basting
Arrange the filled aubergines in a baking dish, spoon any remaining filling and a generous amount of olive oil around and over them, and add a little water to the dish to keep things from drying out. Bake, basting once or twice with the pan juices, until the aubergine is completely soft and the sauce has thickened around it, forty-five minutes to an hour depending on size.
Serve warm or at room temperature, which is how this dish is traditionally eaten, with plenty of bread for the sauce.
Tips from my kitchen
Choose smaller aubergines if possible
They cook through more evenly than very large ones and are easier to fill neatly.
Cook the filling down properly before baking
The aubergine's baking time will not fix an underdone, watery filling. Get the onions and tomato properly cooked down first.
Baste as it bakes
Spooning the pan juices over the aubergine periodically keeps the exposed filling from drying out.
Melitzanes Imam Recipe (Greek Aubergine Baked with Onion and Tomato)
Μελιτζάνες ιμάμ · by Kalliopi Andreou · updated 2026-07-31
- Prep
- 25m
- Cook
- 55m
- Total
- 1h 20m
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
Ingredients
Method
- Heat a little olive oil in a wide pan and fry the whole aubergines, turning, for 5 to 6 minutes, until the skin softens and blisters slightly. Set aside to cool.
- Once cool enough to handle, slit each aubergine lengthways without cutting all the way through, opening it like a book.
- Heat the remaining olive oil in the same pan. Cook the onions and garlic over a low heat for 15 minutes, until completely soft and sweet.
- Add the tomatoes, sugar, salt and pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes, until thickened.
- Heat the oven to 180C fan 160C.
- Arrange the slit aubergines in a baking dish and open them slightly. Fill generously with the onion and tomato mixture, letting any extra pool around them.
- Add a splash of water to the dish and drizzle with a little more olive oil.
- Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, basting once or twice, until the aubergine is completely soft.
- Scatter with chopped parsley and serve warm or at room temperature, with bread.
Nutrition, per 1 portion
- Calories
- 268
- Protein
- 3 g
- Carbs
- 20 g
- Fat
- 20 g
- Sat fat
- 3 g
- Fibre
- 6 g
These figures are calculated estimates based on the ingredients listed, not laboratory analysis. Actual values vary with brands, cuts and portion size.
Frequently asked questions about Melitzanes imam
What does imam mean in this dish's name?
It references imam bayildi, a related dish found across the former Ottoman world. The Greek version, melitzanes imam, has been fully adapted into the ladera, oil-based cooking tradition.
Is melitzanes imam vegan?
Yes, entirely, made only from aubergine, onion, garlic, tomato and olive oil, with no animal products at all.
Can you make melitzanes imam ahead?
Yes, it keeps well for two to three days refrigerated and is traditionally eaten at room temperature, making it a good dish to prepare in advance.
