The Best Fluffy Pancakes recipe you will fall in love with. Full of tips and tricks to help you make the best pancakes.
This creamy, twice-cooked eggplant is blended with tangy kashk, fried onions, garlic, and dried mint—a staple on most Persian restaurant menus.
Kashk-o-Bādemjān (Persian Braised Eggplant With Kashk)
Course: AppetizersCuisine: PersianServings
5
servingsPrep time
10
minutesCooking time
1
hour15
minutesCalories
284
kcalIngredients
3/4 cup (177 ml) concentrated liquid kashk paste (see notes)
Extra-virgin olive oil, neutral oil such as vegetable or avocado oil, or a combination, for frying
2 pounds (about 900 g) eggplant (long, thin eggplant such as Japanese eggplant preferred), trimmed, peeled, and halved lengthwise (see notes)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 tablespoons (30 g) unsalted butter or extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons crushed dried mint leaves
3 or 4 medium cloves garlic (depending on garlic preference), finely minced or very well crushed
1/2 cup fried shallots
Lavash or pita bread for serving
Directions
- In a medium bowl, whisk kashk paste with 1/4 cup (60ml) water until well combined. Adjust consistency with additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it is thick but pourable (similar to a crêpe batter); set aside.
- Set a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet and line with a triple layer of paper towels. Fill a 12-inch cast-iron skillet 1/4 inch deep with oil, then heat over high heat until oil is shimmering but not smoking. Working in batches to prevent crowding the skillet, carefully add eggplant slices, flesh side down, and fry, flipping once halfway through, until eggplant is dark golden brown on both sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer eggplant to prepared rack. Add more oil to skillet, if needed, then repeat with remaining eggplant.
- In a separate large saucepan, add the fried eggplant, 3/4 cup water, pepper, and turmeric and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes, adjusting heat as needed to maintain simmer.
- Uncover and add half of the reserved diluted kashk. Using a fork or potato masher, gently stir to combine and break up the eggplant until halfway mashed. Cover and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally and continuing to gently mash and break down the eggplant mixture, until eggplant is broken down and sauce has thickened, about 30 minutes. Sauce should be chunky but well blended and emulsified into a cohesive mixture. If any undesired excess oil remains, use a spoon to remove from the mixture.
- Meanwhile, in a separate small saute pan, melt butter over low heat (or heat 2 tablespoons olive oil until shimmering). Add mint and garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Transfer braised eggplant mixture to a shallow serving bowl. Drizzle with remaining diluted kashk. Top with fried onions, then spoon garlic-mint mixture over top. Serve with lavash or pita bread.
Notes
- Thin eggplants labeled as Japanese eggplant or Chinese eggplant will both work well in this recipe. You may substitute fatter round eggplants such as globe eggplant; if using this type, slice them into 1-inch-thick (2cm) disks for frying.
- The recipe calls for concentrated liquid kashk, which is the easiest form of kashk to use for cooking. However, dry kashk—whether in powder form or chunks—can also be used. Substitute 7 ounces (200g) dry kashk for each cup of concentrated liquid kashk. The dry powder needs to be rehydrated with water. The dried chunks, which are rather hard, must be soaked in water for about six hours before they become malleable enough to work with. Both dry forms, after being rehydrated, need a bit of heavy-handed stirring (preferably using a food processor, blender, or immersion blender); otherwise, they may have a slightly gritty texture.
- Kashk is available at most Persian and Middle Eastern markets. If you don’t have access to kashk of any kind, you can create your own substitute by blending finely grated Parmesan cheese into crème fraiche, thinning with water as needed. Alternatively, you can stir 1 tablespoon lime juice into 3/4 cup sour cream.
- Steps 1 through 4 can be done a day or two ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container. When ready to serve, heat the cooked mixture of eggplant and kashk in a saucepan over medium-low heat or in a shallow serving platter in the microwave. Perform steps 6 and 7 a few minutes before you want to serve the dish.
- The braised eggplant and kashk mixture can be stored in an airtight container and frozen for up to 3 months.
- Pan-fried eggplants freeze quite well as long as they are stored in an airtight container. Whenever I see good-quality skinny eggplants at a reasonable price, I buy several pounds, pan-fry them, and store them in 1-pound portions in freezer bags for making this or other eggplant-based dishes later.
- Store bought thick liquid kashk typically comes in 16–fluid ounce glass jars. Once opened, it must be refrigerated and will last only two to three weeks. If you don’t think you will go through a whole jar within that time period, here is a proven technique to extend its life to months: Divide any leftover thick liquid kashk into small silicone molds or in ice cube trays and freeze. Once frozen, pop the kashk cubes into individual small airtight freezer bags (three or four per bag) and store them in your freezer for future use. When you want to use them, drop a few frozen cubes into a mixing bowl, let them defrost at room temperature for 10 minutes, and dilute to a drizzle-able state by adding a tablespoon or two of water.
