First, prepare the Turkish meatballs:

1. Make the köfte mixture. Peel the onion, slice it in halves and rub the cut sides of the onion halves against the largest holes of a box/cheese grater. Discard most of the onion juice and keep the pulp. Finely chop the onion if you don’t have a box grater. Add it to a mixing bowl and add the rest of the ingredients for the meatballs.  Mix well and knead the mixture for 4 min. If you press a bit of mixture in your hands, it should hold its shape. If not, it might be too moist and you should add more breadcrumbs.

    

2. Shape the meatballs. Lightly oil a plate. With slightly wet hands, take a small handful of the meat mixture (about the size of a big walnut). Pat it into a flat elongated meatball, about 1 cm thick (½ inch) and put it on the plate. Repeat until you run out of meat. You should have around 20 meatballs. Cover the meatballs with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.

Fry everything in stages:

1. Prepare the vegetables. Trim the stems off the eggplants and peel them. Cut them into 3 cm (1 in) cubes. Place the cubes into a large colander and sprinkle 1 tbsp of fine sea salt over them. Mix with your hands and set the eggplants aside for now. The salt will draw out the bitter juice from the eggplants and will soften them. Peel the potatoes and cut them into long thin strips. Place them into a mixing bowl and cover them with cold water. Stir in 1 tbsp of fine sea salt and let the strips soak while you get on with the rest. This helps to remove excess starch and to prevent the fries from sticking together when frying. Trim the stems off the zucchinis and peel them. Slice them into 1 cm (½ inch) coins. 

    

2. Fry the zucchinis. Line 2 large trays or several plates with double layers of paper towels. Cover the surfaces of 2 large frying pans with 4 cm (1 ½ in) of oil and place over high heat. When the oil reaches 160°C (320°F), or until it’s hot enough to brown a cube of bread in 1 min, split the zucchini coins evenly between the 2 pans. Reduce the heat to medium-high and fry the zucchini coins until golden brown on both sides (around 10 min), turning them occasionally using a slotted spoon. Once cooked use the slotted spoon to drain the the zucchini coins and put them on the paper-lined tray or plate. Cover them with more paper towels to absorb the excess oil. It’s fine if the zucchini coins aren’t crispy, they should be soft for this recipe.

    

3. Fry the potatoes. Drain the potato strips and pat them dry thoroughly with paper towels or a tea towel. If they are wet when placed into the oil, they will spatter dangerously. Make sure the oil temperature is at the right temperature, 160°C (320°F). If it’s too high then turn off the heat for a while or if it’s too low increase the heat. Then, split the fries evenly between the 2 pans. Fry over medium-high heat, turning the fries from time to time with a slotted spoon, until golden brown on all sides (around 15 min). Place the fries on the paper-lined tray and cover with more paper towels to absorb the excess oil. Again, no worries, if they become soft since they will get soggy anyway after resting covered with the sauces for hours. 

    

4. Fry the eggplants. Rinse the eggplant cubes over under cold running water and pat them dry. Check the oil temperature again and then split the cubes evenly between the 2 pans. Fry over medium-high heat, turning them from time to time with a slotted spoon, until golden brown on all sides (around 10 min). Pierce one cube to make sure the inside is soft and cooked. Place the eggplant cubes on a paper-lined tray or plate and cover with more paper towels.

    

5. Fry the meatballs. Remove the meatballs from the fridge and check the oil temperature. Split the meatballs between the 2 pans. Cook the meatballs over medium-high for 2 to 3 min. Flip them and cook them for 2 min on the other side. Put the meatballs on a paper-lined tray or plate and cover with more paper towels. Turn off the heat under one of the pans.

    

6. Fry the green peppers. Pierce the peppers all over with a sharp knife (half a dozen cuts should do). Check the oil temperature in the pan that has not been removed from the heat. Fry the green peppers in that pan for 4 min, turning them halfway. Be careful, the oil will spatter more while frying the green peppers than the rest. Turn off the heat and remove the green peppers to a paper-lined tray or plate. Well done, you’re finally done frying!

    

Then, make the sauces and assemble:

1. Make the tomato sauce. Slice the tomatoes in half and rub the cut sides against the largest holes of a box/cheese grater. I usually place the box grater on a plate with ridges so that I can collect all the grated tomatoes without any risk of overflowing. If you don’t have a grater, peel the tomatoes and puree them using a blender or finely chop them. Pour out most of the oil from one of the pans into the other one until there is just enough oil left to coat the base of the pan. Place the pan with the smallest amount of oil over medium heat. Stir in the Turkish red pepper paste (or tomato paste) and cook while mixing the paste into the oil with a wooden spoon for 2 min. Add the grated tomatoes and 1 tsp of fine sea salt and mix until combined. Let the sauce simmer for 12 min. It should be reduced a bit. Transfer the sauce to a heatproof bowl and let it cool down for 20 min.

    

2. Make the garlic yogurt sauce. Peel the garlic cloves and roughly chop them.  Place the chopped garlic into a mortar and stir in 1 tsp of fine sea salt. Crush into a paste using the pestle. Add the yogurt to a bowl and stir in the salty garlic paste. Mix until properly combined. If you don’t have a mortal and pestle, finely chop the garlic cloves and stir them into the yogurt along with the salt.

    

3. Assemble the kızartma. Layer the fried vegetables and meatballs into a large dish that is at least 8 cm (3 inches) high. I use my lasagna pan. Spread the yogurt sauce all over the fry-up. Pour the tomato sauce over the top and stir just a little to help distribute the sauces. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 2 hours at least before serving. You can leave it overnight, as the flavors will meld and develop but I can never wait this long before digging in!  Or you could skip the chilling process and eat your kızartma warm. It won’t be as good as if it had time to rest but you do you.