Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Tepsi Baytinijan
An Iraqi tray bake of fried eggplant, potato, tomato and spiced meatballs braised together in a tangy tomato sauce.
Iraqi · medium · serves 6
prep 30 min · cook 60 min
~331 cal · 24g protein · 29g carbs · 13g fat · 7g fiber · 8g sugars · 5g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Tepsi baytinijan is Iraqi comfort food at its most generous: tepsi means the baking tray, baytinijan the eggplant. Rounds of fried eggplant, potato and tomato are layered with lightly spiced meatballs, then bathed in a tangy tomato sauce and baked until everything melts together.
The eggplant turns silky, the potatoes tender, and the sauce, sharpened with a little or lemon in many Baghdad homes, ties it all into one soft, savoury dish. It is served straight from the tray with timman rice or flatbread to mop up the sauce.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
2 large eggplants, sliced into rounds
1 lb ground lamb or beef
3 medium potatoes, sliced into rounds
3 tomatoes, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced into rings
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp paste
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 cup olive oil
2 cups water
to taste salt
Instructions
1
Brush the eggplant and potato rounds with oil and fry or roast in batches until golden on both sides, then set aside. Lightly fry the pepper rings too.
2
Mix the meat with half the garlic, the cumin and coriander and a little salt, and roll into small meatballs. Brown them briefly in the pan.
3
Soften the onion and remaining garlic, then stir in the tomato paste, tamarind and water with salt to make a light, tangy sauce.
✎ Chef’s note
The tamarind (or pomegranate molasses) gives the sauce its characteristic Iraqi sour edge; add a little more to taste.
4
Layer the potatoes, eggplant, tomato and pepper slices and meatballs in a baking dish and pour the tomato sauce evenly over the top.
✎ Chef’s note
Press the layers down gently so they sit snugly in the sauce and cook evenly.
5
Cover and bake at 375F for 40 minutes, then uncover and bake 15 to 20 minutes more until bubbling and lightly caramelised. Rest 10 minutes and serve with rice.
Baghdad home cooking.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Baghdad. Baghdad cooks along the Tigris, layering rice and meat into timman and quzi, and searing masgouf carp upright beside an open fire. Iraqi cooking loves sweet-sour depth, using tamarind, dried lime, and pomegranate in its stews.
🗺️
Iraq. Sourness here comes from three directions at once: tamarind in some stews, dried lime in others, and pomegranate or verjuice elsewhere, often against the sweetness of dates. Masgouf is the Tigris tradition, carp split flat, propped upright around a fire of apricot or orange wood so it cooks by radiant heat, then laid over the coals at the end.
🌍
Asia. A grain line runs across the continent. Rice dominates the wet south and east, wheat the drier north and west, and the tools follow it: the wok and the steamer where rice is milled, the tandoor and the griddle where wheat is ground. Tea travels the other way, drunk green, black, salted, buttered or with milk depending how far it got from China.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Iraq
Iraqi DolmaVine leaves and vegetables stuffed with tomato-and-pomegranate rice, packed tight and steamed until sweet-sour and tender.
Kahi with GeymarFlaky layered pastry baked crisp, soaked in syrup, and topped with rich clotted geymar cream.
MasgoufButterflied river fish marinated and slow-grilled over open flame, Iraq's national dish and the pride of Baghdad.
Browse all Iraq recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Oven, Rolling pin.
Storing it: Keeps 3 to 4 days refrigerated and reheats covered in the oven. Most bakes can be assembled a day ahead and baked when needed.
Make it a Iraq meal
Iraqi ChaiDrink
KleichaDessert
MasgoufLunch
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Frequently asked questions
What is Tepsi Baytinijan?
An Iraqi tray bake of fried eggplant, potato, tomato and spiced meatballs braised together in a tangy tomato sauce.
Where does Tepsi Baytinijan come from?
Tepsi Baytinijan is a Iraqi dish from Baghdad, Iraq.
Can Tepsi Baytinijan be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Tepsi Baytinijan recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Tepsi Baytinijan safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Tepsi Baytinijan take to make?
About 90 minutes total (30 minutes prep, 60 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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