
Mirza Ghasemi
Persian roasted eggplant
serves 2 / time 60 min +
Recipe from The Lotus and the Artichoke – WORLD 2.0
(Rezept auf Deutsch unten)
- 1 large (350 g) eggplant (aubergine)
- 2 medium (180 g) roma tomatoes chopped
- 2–3 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 2–3 Tbs vegetable oil
- 1/2 tsp black pepper ground
- 1/2 tsp turmeric ground
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 3–4 Tbs water more as needed
- fresh parsley or mint leaves chopped, for garnish
- Oven method: Preheat oven to 425°F / 220°C / level 7. Poke whole eggplant (aubergine) several times with a fork. Rub it with some oil and roast it on the middle rack in oven until charred, shriveled, and soft, 40–60 min. Remove from oven. Let cool 10 min.
Stove method: Roast eggplant whole, directly on a gas burner on a low flame, turning it regularly
with tongs until outsides are charred and insides are soft and cooked, 10–15 min. Set aside to cool. - Cut off and discard stems and bottom ends of roasted aubergine. Slice in half lengthwise, scoop out soft, cooked insides into a bowl and discard outer peels. Mash well with a fork.
- Heat 2–3 Tbs oil in a large frying pan on medium heat. Add chopped garlic, and ground black pepper. Fry until richly aromatic, stirring constantly, 2–3 min. (If cooking variation below, add crumbled tofu now.)
- Stir in chopped tomatoes. Cook, until they fall apart, stirring regularly, 7-10 min.
- Add mashed, roasted eggplant, ground turmeric, sugar, and salt. Mix well.
- Simmer on medium low, partially covered, stirring often, until thickened and oil separates, about
10–15 min, adding water gradually as needed. Remove from heat. - Garnish with chopped parsley or mint. Serve with fresh sangak, lavash, pita or other bread.
Variations:
Tofu Egg: Mirza Ghasemi is traditionally made with eggs. Recreate the taste by adding 3.5 oz (100 g) crumbled tofu after frying garlic. Fry tofu until browned, about 5–7 min, before adding chopped tomatoes. In the final minutes of simmering, stir in 1/4 tsp black salt (kala namak).
Mirza Ghasemi
Persische geröstete Aubergine
2 Portionen / Dauer 60 Min. +
Rezept aus The Lotus and the Artichoke – WORLD 2.0
- 1 große (350 g) Aubergine
- 2 mittelgroße (180 g) Roma-Tomaten gehackt
- 2–3 Knoblauchzehen fein gehackt
- 2–3 EL Pflanzenöl
- 1/2 TL schwarzer Pfeffer gemahlen
- 1/2 TL Kurkuma gemahlen
- 1/2 TL Zucker
- 3/4 TL Salz
- 3–4 EL Wasser bei Bedarf mehr
- frische Petersilie oder Minze gehackt, zum Garnieren
- Im Ofen: Ofen auf 220°C / Stufe 7 vorheizen. Aubergine mehrere Male mit einer Gabel einstechen, mit Öl einreiben und auf mittlerer Schiene 40 bis 60 Min. rösten, bis sie weich, verschrumpelt und die Haut leicht angekohlt ist. Aus dem Ofen nehmen und 10 Min. abkühlen lassen.
Auf dem Herd: Ganze Aubergine mit einer Zange unter regelmäßigem Wenden 10 bis 15 Min. direkt über der Gasflamme (niedrige Stufe) rösten, bis die Außenhaut angekohlt und das Fruchtfleisch weich ist. Auf einen Teller legen und abkühlen lassen. - Oberes und unteres Auberginenende abschneiden und wegwerfen. Aubergine halbieren.
Fruchtfleisch mit einem Löffel herauskratzen und in eine Schüssel geben. Verkohle Außenhaut wegwerfen. Fruchtfleisch in der Schüssel mit einer Gabel zerdrücken. - 2 bis 3 EL Öl in einer großen Pfanne auf mittlerer Flamme erhitzen. Knoblauch und schwarzen Pfeffer hineingeben. 2 bis 3 Min. unter Rühren braten, bis es aromatisch duftet. (Für die Variation unten jetzt auch den zerkrümelten Tofu zugeben.)
- Tomaten hinzufügen und 7 bis 10 Min. unter Rühren braten, bis sie zerfallen.
- Zerdrückte Aubergine, Kurkuma, Zucker und Salz zugeben und gut umrühren.
- Auf mittlerer Flamme halb abgedeckt circa 10 bis 15 Min. unter Rühren köcheln, bis die Mischung eindickt und das Öl sich trennt. Dabei je nach Bedarf nach und nach Wasser einrühren. Vom Herd nehmen.
- Mit frischer gehackter Petersilie oder Minze garnieren. Mit frischem Sangak, Lavash, Pita oder anderem Brot servieren.
Variationen:
Tofu-Ei: Mirza Ghasemi wird traditionell mit Eiern zubereitet. Für einen ähnlichen Geschmack nach dem Anbraten des Knoblauchs 100 g zerkrümelten Tofu einrühren. Tofu circa 5 bis 7 Min. braun braten, dann die Tomaten hinzufügen. Während der letzten Kochminuten 1/4 TL Kala Namak (Schwarzsalz) einrühren.
It’s times like this that my eggplant sensitivity really bums me out. I love those purple veggies, but they don’t love me! I’ll have to see how this works out with zucchini instead.
Hannah, that is a bummer with the eggplant sensitivity. I wonder if Asian eggplants or salting them (to remove some of the bitter oils) makes a difference. Is it an allergy or irritation? Years ago I used to have a mild allergic reaction to eggplant, and similarly to pineapple– weird fuzzy sensation or numbness in my mouth. I’ll be curious to hear how the recipe works out with zucchini instead, please let me know.
I also love this sort of recipe a lot! I have made similar recipes like this one before & loved it too! :) I am so going to make it!
PS: I also have made your zucchini lasagna 2 times & my husbnad Peter & I loved it so much! :) Happy Cooking & eating! ;)
Sophie, that’s great that the zucchini lasagna is such a popular hit! I’m always especially pleased when I hear that non-veg eaters also enjoy the vegan recipes. Let me know how it goes with the persian eggplant. Several people have made it so far and I’ve heard great things!
This sounds so good! Need to try…
You’ll love it, I’m sure! I already got a bunch of feedback from others who had great results! Can’t wait to hear how it goes! And btw, I really like your site… love the travel aspect! :)
I heart this recipe! I think it would be ok to even leave the skin on. Extra fiber!
It certainly is possible to do it with the skin still on, it just tends to put the flavor in a more bitter direction. I’ve experimented with both. Glad you like the recipe! It’s a tasty one, for sure! Good eggplant is great!
I was so delighted to find a Vedic version of Mirza Ghasemi that I subscribed to your site. I cook Vedic vegetarian Iranian cuisine for my husband and have yet to find recipes on the web that are both Vedic and Iranian. I am so grateful! Looking forward to more recipes and advice from you.
Hi Jyoti, I’m thrilled you found the recipe. It’s a great one. It’s actually very similar to Bengan Bhartha, the Indian dish, which is also a favorite of mine I cook often. Thanks for subscribing to the site. I’ll be posting some info soon for the mailing list and on the Facebook page on how to order the cookbook which is coming out next month. Let me know if you cook any other of my recipes, I love to hear it. :-)
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I had about 10 min to add an eggplant side dish to our impromptu Persian-inspired dinner (forgot about it and cleaned up while other things were cooking instead of working with the eggplant). I didn’t want to make my usual eggplant with Italian or Asian seasoning and found this recipe. I read the ingredient list, yes, I had everything needed! I didn’t have time to read the instructions or I may have stopped. Instead I peeled and cubed the eggplant, tossed olive oil and eggplant in a cast iron pan alone for a few minutes, prepped the garlic & tomatoes, then dumped them in with the other ingredients as quickly as I could gather them up. I used a spatula to turn the eggplant occasionally to cook evenly, keep it from becoming mush, and mix the ingredients. I only had dried mint, so I crumbled that in the last 2 min of cooking. We loved it! The pepper added a nice kick. Thank you for giving me another option for eggplant!
Glad you enjoyed it! You’re welcome. :-)
I made this simple dish yesterday and I loved it! Thank you for the recipe.
You’re welcome!! :-)