February 11, 2009

Mirza Ghasemi


میرزا قاسمی Mirza Ghasemi is a tasty and delicious dish from the northern region of Iran. Once you taste this dish you are going to fall in love with it, especially if you like eggplants and garlic. It's one of my favorites but of course I love any dish that has eggplants in it. This is a vegetarian no meat casserole, a combination of tomatoes, lots of garlic, mashed grilled eggplants with salt and pepper and turmeric as the only spice. Some people fry chopped onion along with the garlic. But as I understand it the authentic mirza ghasemi is cooked without any onion. It is usually served as a side dish, an appetizer or a light lunch.

Ingredients:
Serves 4

2 large eggplants
3 large tomatoes, remove the skin and chop into small pieces
7 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon turmeric
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Pierce the eggplants and bake for 40 minutes in the oven until soft in the inside and the skin is crispy on the outside. Or grill them on a barbecue grill until eggplants are well cooked. Set aside to cool. 
  3. Remove the skin and mash the eggplant with a fork.
  4. In a skillet saute chopped garlic in hot oil until light brown on medium heat. Add in the turmeric and stir. 
  5. Add the mashed eggplant and cook for about 15-20 minutes, stirring thoroughly. 
  6. Add chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, salt and pepper to the mix, stir well and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes over medium heat. 
  7. Pour the beaten eggs over the eggplant mixture, stir until well blended. Cook for about 3-4 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary.
Serve on a platter with warm bread and fresh herbs.


Enjoy!

28 comments:

  1. mmmmm...this sounds delicious! I can't wait to make it :)

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  2. I leanred to make this traditional "Rashti" dish from my mother-in-law many years ago. It is a dish my family continues to enjoy! Along with baghali-ga-togh!

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  3. Dear anonymous thank you for visiting and leaving a comment. I am originally from the south of Iran. I learned making this dish from a dear Rashti friend long time ago. Mirza ghasemi is one of my favorite dishes too.

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  4. How's this for Post-Modern? An Italian ex-wife of mine first made this for me after she had learned how to make it from a former Persian boyfriend while living in Germany. Now, I, an American Jew, am planning to make this for tomorrow's Super Bowl party! What a world, what a world...

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    Replies
    1. I wish the whole world could be as Post-modern and tolerate each other's beliefs and race...

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  5. Yochanan, what a world indeed! Enjoy the Super Bowl tomorrow!
    Best wishes,
    Azita

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  6. Thank you for this recipe, it is the way my Rashti mother-in-law used to make. Especially the method of preparing eggplant for this dish was very helpful. :)

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  7. Hi,
    Thanks for your lovely recipes, your site has become the bible of persian cooking for me. :)
    Can you please clarify someething for me.

    In step 6, you say to add chopped tomatoes and tomato paste and stir,
    Then in step 8 you say to stir tomatoes into eggplant mixture.
    Isn't this already done in step 6?

    Also a question about step 10.
    When you pour the eggs on, do you keep it on the heat or take off? If keeping on, how long do you cook it for after adding eggs?

    Thanks in advance
    Sam

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  8. Sam, thanks so much for your kind words. I'm so glad that you find my blog useful. I have made the necessary changes and I tweaked it a little. I hope you give this delicious recipe a try! Please let me know how it turns out.

    Best wishes,
    Azita

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  9. I had this in a persian restaurant and fell in love. I was not sure if I would find a recipe online.. but here you are!! THANKyou for the recipe!

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  10. That will be my today's lunch! Thank you Azita for your lovely blog. whenever I am looking for a recipe the first place I check is your blog.
    Your are truly talented and I can feel good vibs through your recipe that comes from your heart.

    Peace
    Shekoufeh

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  11. Shekoufeh jan, thank you so much for your sweet comments.
    Best wishes,
    Azita

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  12. I have a party tomorrow and i am going to make it for the first time ... will let u know how good i made it thanks for the recipe

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  13. Would this be good without the eggs?

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    Replies
    1. Kim, yes, it would still be delicious without eggs.

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    2. Wonderful, thank you. I have four huge eggplants, so I may try it both ways. Your blog is fantastic! I wish I could buy it as a cookbook. Are you working on one, by chance?

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  14. Delicious! Especially with the egg. Thank you. I absolutely love your blog. I am new to Persian cooking, and I have tried your recipes for kashk bademjan, jujeh kaba, and khoresh bademjan. All of them were fantastic.

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  15. I will make this for my Persian love tomorrow! Kheili Mamnoonam.

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  16. Very nice blog... I am glad somebody is doing this right... love your photos.

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  17. I made it today with egg plant grilled and it is so good...and my boyfriend who is from NY loves it ....

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  18. My god, Mirza Ghasemi , my favorite one, I remember my grandma used to make this, no matter of the weather or season got i love this food. I recommend to everyone, now i have to get my grandma to make it again!

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  19. Thank you for sharing this recipe. As a Gilaani Chef I would like to give you a hint, Cook tomatoes before eggplants as far as I know this is a traditional way. Eggplants are already cooked but tomatoes are fresh with a lot of juice.

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  20. I've just discovered your wonderful blog. As a vegetarian this was one of my favourites when I traveled around Iran last October. Another was Ash Reshteh‏. Looking forward to trying both of your recipes.

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  21. I have seen recipes using onion for this same dish. I personally prefer garlic, but are those mere variations of the same dish??

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    Replies
    1. Giselle, the traditional mirza ghasemi recipe does not have onions.

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