Greek Main Courses
Melitzanes se Saltsa Giaourtiou Recipe (Aubergine in Yogurt Sauce)
Μελιτζάνες σε σάλτσα γιαουρτιού meh-leed-ZAH-nes seh SAHL-tsah yah-oor-TYOO · Melitzanes se saltsa giaourtiou
Photo: Karisik kizartma.jpg by E4024, CC BY-SA 4.0. Placeholder until original photography is shot.
In short
Melitzanes se saltsa giaourtiou is fried aubergine slices layered under a thick, garlicky yogurt sauce and finished with a drizzle of paprika-tinted melted butter. It is a genuine crossover dish, pairing two of Greek and wider eastern Mediterranean cooking's most iconic ingredients, aubergine and yogurt, in one plate.
This dish plays two of the region's most iconic ingredients directly against each other: fried aubergine slices, crisp at the edges and soft within, layered under a thick, cold, garlicky yogurt sauce, with a final hot drizzle of paprika-stained butter poured over just before serving. The contrast of textures and temperatures, hot fried aubergine, cold yogurt, hot butter, is really the whole point.
It reflects the same crossover between Greek and wider eastern Mediterranean and Anatolian cooking found in dishes like manti and imam bayildi, and it is genuinely quick once the aubergine is fried, needing only a good yogurt and a properly hot paprika butter to finish.
This is excellent as a light main course with bread, or as a substantial part of a meze spread, and it is a good way to use up aubergine differently from the more familiar fried slices with plain tzatziki.
Key preparation steps
- Salt and fry aubergine slices until golden.
- Mix thick yogurt with crushed garlic.
- Layer the fried aubergine and top with the garlic yogurt.
- Finish with hot paprika butter poured over just before serving.
The aubergine
Slice, salt and drain the aubergine exactly as for melitzanes tiganites, then fry in a generous depth of hot oil until deeply golden on both sides. This step can be done ahead and the aubergine reheated briefly, though it is at its best fried just before serving.
The garlic yogurt
Mix thick, strained Greek yogurt with a good amount of crushed raw garlic and a pinch of salt, and keep it properly cold until serving, since the contrast between the cold sauce and the hot fried aubergine and butter is exactly what makes this dish work.
Assembling
Arrange the warm fried aubergine on a serving plate, spoon the cold garlic yogurt generously over the top, and, right before serving, melt butter with a good amount of paprika until it turns a deep red-orange, and pour this hot over everything. The three temperatures and textures, hot crisp aubergine, cold garlicky yogurt, hot spiced butter, should all be distinct rather than blended together.
Tips from my kitchen
Keep the yogurt properly cold
The contrast between cold sauce and hot aubergine and butter is exactly what this dish is built around.
Add the paprika butter right at the end
Pour it over hot, right before serving, so it stays vivid and the temperature contrast is at its sharpest.
Salt and drain the aubergine properly
This is what lets the slices fry crisp rather than absorbing oil and turning soggy.
Melitzanes se Saltsa Giaourtiou Recipe (Aubergine in Yogurt Sauce)
Μελιτζάνες σε σάλτσα γιαουρτιού · by Kalliopi Andreou · updated 2026-07-31
- Prep
- 30m
- Cook
- 25m
- Total
- 55m
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
Ingredients
Method
- Salt the aubergine slices and leave in a colander for 20 minutes. Pat thoroughly dry.
- Heat a generous depth of oil in a pan to 175 to 180C. Fry the aubergine slices in batches for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until deeply golden. Drain on kitchen paper.
- Mix the cold yogurt with the crushed garlic and a pinch of salt.
- Arrange the warm fried aubergine slices on a serving plate.
- Spoon the cold garlic yogurt generously over the top.
- Just before serving, melt the butter with the paprika in a small pan until it turns a deep red-orange.
- Pour the hot paprika butter over the yogurt and aubergine immediately, and serve at once.
Nutrition, per 1 portion
- Calories
- 312
- Protein
- 8 g
- Carbs
- 16 g
- Fat
- 24 g
- Sat fat
- 9 g
- Fibre
- 4 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 se saltsa giaourtiou
Is this dish Greek or Turkish?
It reflects a genuine crossover found across Greek, Turkish and wider eastern Mediterranean cooking, where fried vegetables, garlic yogurt and paprika-tinted butter appear together in closely related forms across several cuisines in the region.
Can you make this dish ahead?
The aubergine can be fried and the yogurt mixed ahead, kept separately and cold, but assemble and add the hot paprika butter only right before serving, since the temperature contrast is central to the dish.
What can you serve with melitzanes se saltsa giaourtiou?
Good bread for scooping, and it works well as part of a wider meze spread alongside dips like tzatziki and tirokafteri.
