Kashk-e Bademjan (Persian Aubergine with Kashk, Fried Onions and Mint)
By Joe
Source: Serious Eats — Nader Mehravari, Kashk-o-Bādemjān (Persian Braised Eggplant With Kashk).
A kashk-o-bādemjān (persian braised eggplant with kashk) recipe for 8 servings, written from a single tested source, with times and temperatures kept as the source set them.
Always check the labels of the products you use.
Method
- 1
Melt. Beat kashk paste with 1/4 cup (60ml) water till everything is uniformly mixed in a mid-sized bowl. Adjust consistency with extra water, 1 tablespoon after another, till it is thick but pourable (similar in order to a crêpe batter); keep to one side. Set a rack in a rimmed baking tray plus line using a triple layer of paper towels. Fill a 30 cm cast-iron skillet 5–6 mm deep with oil, next heat over a high flame till oil is shimmering but not smoking. Working a batch after another to prevent crowding the skillet, with care tip in eggplant slices, flesh side down, plus fry, flipping once halfway through, till eggplant is dark amber brown on both sides, around 10 minutes. Move eggplant to ready rack. Add more oil to skillet, if needed, next repeat with leftover eggplant. Tip in the fried eggplant, water (3/4 cup), pepper, and turmeric and bring to the boil over a high flame in a separate big saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, plus simmer for 20 minutes, adjusting heat if you need to to maintain simmer. Uncover and tip in half of the set-aside diluted kashk. Lightly mix well and break up the eggplant till halfway mashed using a fork or potato masher. Put a lid on and keep to simmer, mixing now and then and continuing to lightly mash and break down the eggplant mixture, till eggplant is broken down and sauce has thickened, around 30 minutes. Sauce should be chunky but well blended plus emulsified in a cohesive mixture. Use a spoon to remove from the mixture if any undesired excess oil remains. In a separate little saute pan, melt butter over a low flame (or heat 2 tablespoons olive oil till shimmering) while that is happening. Add mint and garlic and cook, mixing, till fragrant, around 1 minute. Move braised eggplant mixture to a shallow serving bowl. Drizzle using leftover diluted kashk. Top with fried onions, next spoon garlic-mint mixture over top. Offer with lavash or pita bread.
Storage
Keep covered and eat within a few days; freeze leftovers if the dish allows it.
Free sugars
0 g per serving
0 % of the 50 g daily maximum · 0 % of the ideal 25 g
Free sugars under 50 g a day, ideally about 25 g, based on WHO free-sugar guidance (not endorsed by WHO). The share shown is the share of one serving. WHO
Equipment
- mixing bowl
- scales
- saucepan
Nutrition per serving Calculated from USDA FoodData Central
Approximate: no weight for concentrated liquid kashk paste, so it is not in the total. No nutrition labels are shown for this recipe until it is fixed.
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 64 kcal |
| Protein | 1.5 g |
| Carbohydrate | 8.7 g |
| of which sugars | 4.6 g |
| of which free sugars | 0 g |
| Fat | 3.3 g |
| of which saturates | 1.9 g |
| Fibre | 3.9 g |
| Salt | 0.01 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
2.3 g High protein needs ≥ 5 g per 100 kcal (20% of energy) and ≥ 10 g per serving
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
