fattaneh's persian eggplant thing |
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My friend Fattaneh is an ABSOLUTELY AMAZING cook who doesn't have to measure anything, and does not do “shortcut/lazy-girl” cooking. Her eggplant dish (she says it doesn't really have a name) is a very rich side dish, perfect for rice or dipping with bread--it's not quite gravy, and definitely too rich to be soup.
*A word about Kashk. Kashk is a Persian dairy product that seems to be a cross between yogurt, butter and sour cream. It’s sold in a big jar in the refrigerated section of Persian markets, and you can freeze them in small portions for later use. Kashk would probably be in the 'obscure spices' category, so fear not, you can also use plain yogurt.
*A word about Kashk. Kashk is a Persian dairy product that seems to be a cross between yogurt, butter and sour cream. It’s sold in a big jar in the refrigerated section of Persian markets, and you can freeze them in small portions for later use. Kashk would probably be in the 'obscure spices' category, so fear not, you can also use plain yogurt.
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6 Japanese or Chinese or 3 Italian eggplants,
with no comments from the Peanut gallery, please ½ pound of ground beef (optional, and don't substitute in this case) 2-3 cloves of garlic 1 medium onion, chopped |
1 T dry mint
1-2 T Kashk* or plain yogurt Turmeric, enough so that it turns the color of curry Hawaiian Salt and black pepper, to taste Olive oil |
Peel, slice and salt eggplants to get them to weep a bit. Rinse, dry, and cook in oil until golden brown. Set aside to drain.
In a separate pan, cook onion, garlic and ground beef. Cook until the juice is completely gone. Then in a soup pot, heat a little bit of oil in a pot and put the dry mint and turmeric in. Turn off the heat after 30 seconds. Smash the fried eggplants, ground beef and onions into the mint/tumeric pot. Add about ½ a glass of water, and let cook for 15-20 minutes.
Turn off heat and add Kashk at the end.
In a separate pan, cook onion, garlic and ground beef. Cook until the juice is completely gone. Then in a soup pot, heat a little bit of oil in a pot and put the dry mint and turmeric in. Turn off the heat after 30 seconds. Smash the fried eggplants, ground beef and onions into the mint/tumeric pot. Add about ½ a glass of water, and let cook for 15-20 minutes.
Turn off heat and add Kashk at the end.
