Mirza Ghasemi

Mirza Ghasemi is a vegetarian dish originated in north of Iran. It's made of very few ingredients and spices but it's absolutely delicious and very easy to make. Like many other Iranian recipes which cooks on a charcoal grill, eggplants in this recipe can be grill on a charcoal grill as well. But if charcoal grill is not in your options, no worries because oven works perfect too. You will loose the smokey taste but it will still be as tasty.

Mirza Ghasemi is made out of 4 ingredient: eggplant, tomato, onion and garlic. Egg is also something that most of the people add to this dish but you can totally skip that and make it vegan, like this recipe. You can serve it this dish with rice or bread. Fresh herbs and Torshi (pickled vegetables) would be a perfect pair for Mirza Ghasemi as well.

This recipe serve 3-4 people. Feel free to multiply it!

You can refrigerate the leftovers of Mirza Ghasemi in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Ingredients:

• 4 Chinese Eggplant or 2 Large Eggplant

• 1 tablespoon Olive Oil

• 5 Roma Tomatoes (chopped)

• 2 Large Onions (finely chopped)

• 3 Cloves Garlic

• 1 teaspoon Turmeric

• Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Poke some holes all over the eggplants with a fork. Place the eggplant on a tray covered with parchment paper.

2. Bake the eggplants for 30-40 minutes or until cooked and soft. Flip them occasionally.

3. Take the eggplant out of the oven and let them cool down. In a meantime, heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium hight heat. Add the onions and cook until soft and golden brown.

4. Add in the chopped tomatoes, minced garlic, turmeric, salt and pepper. Mix everything well together and cook for about 6-7 minutes.

5. Peel the eggplant and chopped them finely. Add the chopped eggplants to the tomato mixture, cover the pan with lid, turn the heat down to simmer and let it cook for 25-30 minutes.

6. Add water to the mixture if it felt too dry and stir occasionally.

7. After 30 minutes, check if the vegetables are cooked and mixed well together, adjust the seasoning to your taste.

8. Serve Mirza Ghasemi with rice or bread and enjoy.

Note: If you like to add the egg to Mirza Ghasemi, add it right before serving (in step 7). Add the egg and mix well, cook for couple minutes and serve.