Kashk Bademjan

It is a dip rather than a stew, and the kashk goes in off the heat.

Vegetarian, but not vegan — contains dairy (kashk), dairy (yogurt).

Ingredients

• 4 large aubergines, peeled and sliced lengthways
• 2 tablespoons salt, for drawing the aubergines
• 200 g kashk, as on its own page
• 3 onions, sliced
• 8 cloves garlic, sliced
• 80 g walnuts, coarsely ground
• 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads, ground and steeped in 3 tablespoons hot water
• 2 tablespoons dried mint
• 150 ml sunflower oil
• flatbread, to serve

Method

1. IT IS A DIP RATHER THAN A STEW, AND THE KASHK GOES IN OFF THE HEAT. Its article is explicit on the first point: the dish is served as a dip, eaten as an appetiser or a main, with fresh bread. So it is thick enough to scoop and it is not served over rice. And the kashk -- the sour dried dairy that gives the dish half its name -- goes in once the pan is off the flame. It has already been boiled and fermented in its making, and boiling it again makes it seize into grains that will not smooth out.
2. THE AUBERGINES ARE SALTED AND FRIED, THEN CRUSHED. Peeled, sliced lengthways, salted heavily for an hour, rinsed and dried, then fried in oil until deep gold on both sides. The salting collapses the sponge so they take up far less oil. Then crushed with a fork or the back of a spoon to a rough pulp -- rough, not smooth.
3. SOME KASHK IS HELD BACK AND SWIRLED ON TOP. Thinned with a little hot water and drizzled over the surface in a spiral, which is how the dish is presented. Its article names liquid saffron, sauteed onion, garlic and often walnuts as the garnishes.
4. THE ONIONS AND GARLIC ARE FRIED SEPARATELY AND SOME ARE KEPT FOR THE TOP. Three onions fried slowly to deep brown, the garlic separately until gold. Two-thirds goes into the mixture and a third onto the top.
5. THE WALNUTS ARE GROUND AND GO IN AT THE END. Eighty grams, coarsely ground, stirred through with the kashk. They thicken it and give it a slight grit that is part of the texture.
6. THE DRIED MINT IS BLOOMED IN HOT OIL AND POURED OVER. Ten seconds in hot oil until it darkens, then spooned over the top with the saffron water.
7. IT IS SERVED WARM OR AT ROOM TEMPERATURE, NOT HOT. Warm enough to be soft, cool enough to sit on bread without sliding off it.
8. THE NAME IS THE INGREDIENT LIST. Its article points out that kashk bademjan translates literally as kashk and aubergine, which is the dish in two words.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Iran · All recipes