Karnıyarık with Fluffy Rice

Ingredients

• half a cup olive oil
• half a kilogram crumbled ground meat
• 1 large onion
• 2 medium tomatoes
• a handful parsley
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp dried pepper
• 1 tsp mixed spices
• 5 large tomatoes for the sauce
• half tsp salt for the sauce
• half tsp black pepper for the sauce
• 3 cups / 600 grams short-grain rice
• 3 3/4 cups / 750 ml water
• 1 tbsp ghee
• 1 tsp salt for the rice
• half a cup vermicelli
• unspecified, as a possible substitute butter

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C with top and bottom heat, or 220°C with top and bottom heat. Place the baking tray or Pyrex dish on the middle rack until the eggplant is cooked.
2. Trim both ends of the eggplant, peel it in striped bands, then split it in half while keeping it intact.
3. Place the eggplant in a bowl of cold water if working with a large quantity, so it does not darken, then drain it.
4. Brush the eggplant with olive oil, then arrange it in the baking tray or Pyrex dish.
5. Roast the eggplant in the oven until tender but still holding its shape, then remove it from the oven.
6. Heat a frying pan with a little oil, then add the crumbled ground meat and sauté it in batches until browned without releasing its juices.
7. Add the finely chopped large onion to the pan, then add the salt, mixed spices, and dried pepper. Stir until the onion wilts.
8. Add the 2 chopped medium tomatoes to the pan, then cook them with the filling.
9. Turn off the heat under the pan, then add the chopped parsley and stir.
10. Fill the roasted eggplant with the filling, then arrange the stuffed eggplants in the baking tray or Pyrex dish.
11. Grate 5 large tomatoes for the sauce, then mix them with half tsp salt and half tsp black pepper.
12. Pour the sauce over the stuffed eggplant in the baking tray or Pyrex dish.
13. Return the baking tray or Pyrex dish to the oven on the bottom rack, with top and bottom heat at 220°C, until the flavors meld and the edges are cooked through.
14. Wash the short-grain rice several times in a bowl until the starch runs clear, then soak it for 1 hour.
15. Heat the ghee in a pot, then toast the vermicelli, if using, until golden.
16. Add the soaked rice to the pot, then gently stir it with the ghee and vermicelli until coated.
17. Add the water and salt to the pot, then let it come to a boil; once boiling, reduce the heat.
18. Cover the pot with a kitchen towel over the lid to trap the steam, then leave the rice until cooked and fluffy.
19. Serve Karnıyarık hot with the fluffy rice on a serving platter.