kashk e bademjoon

a finger-licking eggplant Persian side dish

Iranians are crazy about eggplant dishes - or at least I am. Eggplants show up in lots of Persian dishes as main and sides. This is a vegetarian dish that can be made vegan if plant-based yoghurt is used instead of the Persian sauce kashk. Kashk is a very salty, dairy-based and truly Persian sauce that is used to give an umami flavour to dishes and is mainly used as a garnish on top of Persian legum soup.

In Isfahan plenty of dishes are served with kashk. In case there is no time or we want to have a hearty meal with minimum effort and maximum flavour, we warm up some kashk and add some water to thin it a bit. Then we shred some bread, add some walnuts and fried onion and mint oil and that is our simplest ever Persian meal.

Kash e bademjoon is one of the most delicious Persian side dishes that I am personally in love with. It almost always shows up in Persian restaurants' menus and no Persian side dish platter is complete without it.

ingredients

• 1 large eggplant, baked in the oven until softened or barbecued on charcoal, peeled and chopped
• 4 large garlic cloves, chopped finely or cut in circles
• 1 large onion, chopped julienne
• olive or sunflower oil 100ml (1/3 cup)
• dried mint 1tbsp
• kashk (Persian sauce) or plain thin yogurt or plant-based yogurt (125ml) 1/2 cup
• turmeric 2tsps

optional ingredients

• some Persian rose petals for garnish
• chopped walnuts 10g (1tbsp)

preparation

• add the oil into a pan
• add in the chopped onions
• put the lid on the pan and set it on medium heat
• once in a while take the lid off, stir gently and put the lid back on
• this takes 10-15 minutes
• once the onions are caramelised, add in 1/4 cup of water and put the lid back
• this softens the onions and gives them a very meaty texture
• at the end when the water is evaporated, add 1 tsp of turmeric
• fish them all out of the oil
• set aside
• in the same pot add the garlic and stir-fry until slightly coloured
• fish them all out of the oil
• set aside
• in the same pot, add the dried mint and immediately add 1 tsp of turmeric
• turn the heat off otherwise the mint will burn and become bitter
• transfer half of the mint oil into a little jar and set aside
• to the remaining mint oil, add the chopped eggplant and turn and put the pan on medium heat
• add half of the onion and half of the garlic you fried before
• then add half of the kashk or your chosen yogurt
• the other half of everything is garnish
• add half a cup of water, mix through and put the lid on
• let them all simmer together for 5-7 minutes or until the water is evaporated and the oil comes off
• turn the heat off and place the mix in a serving dish
• add the remaining half of kashk or your desired youghurt, garlic, mint oil and fried onion on top or on the sides of the dish
• optionally garnish with walnuts and rose petals
• serve with naan lavash

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