Mirza Ghassemi

The aubergines are grilled whole until the skins blacken, so the finished dish tastes smoked.

Egg. Vegetarian, but not vegan — contains egg, dairy (butter).

Ingredients

• 4 large aubergines
• 10 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 4 tomatoes, skinned and chopped
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 60 g butter, or 60 ml oil

Method

1. THE AUBERGINES ARE GRILLED WHOLE UNTIL THE SKINS BLACKEN, SO THE FINISHED DISH TASTES SMOKED. Its article specifies aubergine that is tandoori or grilled, and that is not a detail of convenience -- the smoke is the flavour of the dish and there is no other route to it. Whole aubergines straight onto a gas flame, a barbecue or under a fierce grill, turned until the skin is blistered black all over and the inside has collapsed, twenty to twenty-five minutes. Then the flesh is scooped out and the skin thrown away. Aubergine that has been fried or roasted in a dish instead gives you a perfectly pleasant garlic and tomato mash with no smoke in it, which is a different dish wearing this one's name.
2. THE FLESH IS CHOPPED AND BEATEN, NOT BLENDED. Scoop it out, chop it on a board and then beat it in the pan with a wooden spoon until it is a rough stringy pulp. A processor makes a smooth grey puree and loses the texture entirely.
3. IT IS LET DRAIN BEFORE IT GOES IN THE PAN. Grilled aubergine holds a lot of water. Ten minutes in a sieve, or the dish will be soupy and nothing will fry.
4. THERE IS A GREAT DEAL OF GARLIC AND IT IS FRIED FIRST. Ten cloves for four aubergines, chopped fine and cooked gently in the butter until just gold before the aubergine goes in. It is one of only four flavours here, and its article names it first after the aubergine itself.
5. THE TOMATO IS COOKED DOWN UNTIL IT IS NO LONGER WET. Added after the aubergine and fried hard for ten to twelve minutes. The dish should hold its shape on a spoon.
6. THE EGGS ARE STIRRED IN AT THE END TO BIND IT. Its article's wording is that the aubergine is bound together with eggs. Four, beaten, poured in and stirred through over a low heat for two or three minutes until just set. They are structure rather than a layer -- this is not an omelette with aubergine in it.
7. IT CAN BE BAKED AS A CASSEROLE INSTEAD. Its article allows it. Everything up to the eggs in a dish, the eggs poured over, 180C for twenty minutes.
8. THE COURGETTE VERSION HAS ITS OWN NAME. Its article notes that made with courgette rather than aubergine it is called kadoo ghasemi. It is served with bread or rice, as an appetiser or a main.

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