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There is no cuisine in the world in which people do not preserve fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes at their seasonal best, and also, meats for future use. They are preserved in salt, sugar, vinegar, oil… dried, fermented, smoked, jam’d, pickled and so on. The invention of refrigeration/freezer gives us more options to store prepared food/ingredients which could be used at a later time in putting together in preparing dishes.
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Chose eggplants that are:
firm and shiny,have the fewest amounts of bitter seeds,
have unbroken, smooth skin,
heavy for their size
Eggplants: In summer, when Japanese eggplants are at their best and prices reasonable, a crate is purchased…. peeled, degorged [1], fried and stored, 6 pieces in each freezer plastic bag. (Other produce stored frozen: prepared herbs, okra, celery, green beans, zucchini, etc.).
Needed for this recipe:
• 6 Japanese eggplants
• salt
• vegetable oil
◊ Peel eggplants, keeping the hat-like top near the stem intact.
◊ Put peeled eggplants in a colander with a deep dish under it or put it in the sink. Sprinkle salt generously all over the eggplants and let them sweat for 30~ minutes to extract bitterness/toxins and excess liquid. This is called degorging [1].
◊ In a fry pan, pour oil (enough to cover the eggplants half-way while frying) and put on medium-high. When the oil ripples, it is hot enough to pat dry the eggplants with paper towels and put them in the oil [2]. Fry both sides until well-browned. Set aside for next step of cooking or pack to freeze for further usage.
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[1] Degorging: – The bitterness in eggplant is caused by toxins that build up if the eggplant has grown slowly (hence, it’s more of a problem in colder countries, less of a problem in sunny, Mediterranean climates). It is less likely to be a problem with smaller, heavier eggplants.
These toxins can also cause gastric upsets. Salt may be used to reduce bitterness/toxins. Cut eggplants as called for in the recipe. Then either soak in salted water for a couple of hours or sprinkle the dry, just peeled or cut pieces all over with salt. The eggplant will give off a brownish sweat, which before cooking, should be dried by paper towel or [2] rinsed off if too much salt is used and pat dried.
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Stew Meat: When good cuts of meat are on sale, I buy 9Kg/ 20 lbs and trim/cut/sear/simmer them. Since the meat cooks to about half its weight/size, it yields 10 plastic storage boxes/bags of cooked 545 g/ 1.2 lbs each (liquids included) to freeze.
Needed for this recipe:
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 900 g/ 2 lbs stew beef cut in 5cm/2″ cubes
• 1 bay-leaf
• 2 cups water
◊ Add oil to a medium-sized saucepan and place it on high-heat. As soon as oil is hot, add cut onions and stirring constantly, sauté for 2 minutes. Add meat and sear all around. Add water, bay-leaf and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium-low and simmer for 1.5~2 hours, until meat is done, but not over-cooked. There should be ½ cup of liquid left. Set aside for next step of cooking or pack to freeze for further usage.
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Caramelized onion: In my opinion, crispy caramelized onions are “the” secret taste of more dishes than we can imagine. It is best to make them when sweet onions are in season. Store several bottles of them in the freezer (if not “crispy” caramelized, because they stick together, best to store them in 1~2 Tbsp individual packet).
Recipe: Crispy Caramelized Onion.
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Eggplant Stew • Khoresh'e Bademjan • خورش بادمجان
Recipe by: Fae’s Twist & Tango (fae-magazine.com)
— One of the most requested dishes in Persian households, and the one non-Iranians want to learn.
INGREDIENTS
• 545 g/ 1.2 lbs cooked stew meat/beef with liquid (lamb, veal or poultry may be used)
• 6 Japanese eggplants, fried
• 6 small cloves garlic in their skin
• 1½ Tbsp quality tomato paste
• 1 tsp hot pepper paste
• ½ tsp salt
• ground black pepper to taste
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• smidgen (1/32 tsp) ground saffron dissolved in 1 Tbsp hot water
• 1/2 cup verjuice
• 1 cup hot water
• 2 ~ 3 Tbs caramelized onion (equivalent 1 large onion, caramelized in 3 ~ 5 Tbsp oil)
◊ Position rack in middle of oven and preheat to 175°C/350°F.
◊ In 33 cm x 23 cm x 5 cm deep (13” x 9” x 2”) oven-safe dish, line eggplants all around edges.
(It also may be simmered in a pot on very low heat. You may need to add a little more hot water to make sure it does not dry up.)
◊ Put garlic in the middle. They are kept in their skin only to give the dish subtle flavor/aroma.
◊ Pour cooked meat pieces with its liquid over garlic pieces.
◊ In a small bowl, mix well the next 8 ingredients and pour all over eggplant and meat pieces.
◊ Sprinkle caramelized onion all over, cover tightly with foil and bake for 1 hour.
◊ Stew/khoresh is almost always served with Persian rice / polo.
Note: To avoid choking, please remove skins of garlic cloves before plating or tell diners to do so.
Vegan Option: This dish may be made vegetarian by skipping meat and using vegetable bouillon.
~ Noushe jan • نوش جان ~
~ نوش جان • Noushe jan! ~
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A few important points in making an outstanding Persian/Iranian stew/khoresh:
♦ Don’t skimp on oil… use as much as needed for frying/sautéing. Boiling oil also cooks and adds flavor. It can be skimmed off before serving.
♦ Brown/sear onion and meat very well.
♦ Adding 1/16 ~ 1/8 tsp of ground saffron, dissolved in 1 Tbsp hot water, will substantially add to taste.
♦ Don’t use too much water for cooking, just enough to steam and condense. –Simmer on low heat for a long time. This helps flavor fusion of ingredients.
♦ Best if stew is made a day in advance and refrigerated for taste to meld.
♦ Almost all stews can be frozen. Exception: If stew includes potato(es), potato pieces to be removed before freezing.
♦ There are red [1] stews (using tomato paste) and green [1] stews (using herbs). Garnishing red stews sparingly with caramelized onion before serving not only further enhances taste but visually enhances the dish.
[1] Slang: ‘red’ and ‘green’ are used to specify types of stews or mixed rices, using tomato paste vs. herbs respectively. This concept also helps host/hostess plan an event menu and serve a balance of reds and greens.
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So, what’s cooking in your kitchen?
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Fabulous recipe–I love eggplant, but had never heard of degorging. Thanks!
Your attention is in the right place. This makes the eggplant tasty and healthy!
Persian food! Yes! I have a wonderful friend from college who used to cook for me and who still does whenever we get to see each other…one of my favorite types of food. Glad I found you
Hi Joy, I’m glad you like Persian food. They are time consuming, but as you know, all well worth it. Thanks for the visit. Visit again!
GOD!!! I need this. I’ll eat it right now. The meat and everything!
Darling Nargess, I will make it for you when you visit California!
I love persian food and this recipe looks wonderful, I have a friend who taught me how to cook the rice with oil and potatoes which is a big hit with my friends. thanks for the recipe. bnb hanoi
Hi BNB Hanoi, I appreciate that you are one of the courageous people who actually challenged making polo with tah-dig. Now serving eggplant stew would make you more popular with your friends.
Oh, looks and sounds delicous! I didn’t know the eggplant toxin. Thanks for the tip. Many westerners shy away from dishes with eggplants as they tend to be greasy and mushy. I usually cook eggplants in a little water first and then add oil later. That way they don’t get too oily. Some salt them before cooking to take water out, but it needs more preparation time. I miss good Indian food!
I learned something interesting from you… cooking eggplant in water before cooking (frying?) with oil. I heard, now there are eggplants that don’t need to be degorged. Before that, the Japanese use to soak them in salt water, pad dry and then fry. Can’t you get good Indian food in Istanbul?
The city that lies over two continents doesn’t offer many varieties in food. That’s why I got into the kitchen in the first place. I hope it will change. I miss all the yummy exotic food I had while living in Sydney.
As for eggplants, yes, my mum cooks in a little oil first and then adds a little water but I change the order depending on my mood. 😉
Looks like exactly the right dish for this dark, cold fall weather!
I have made your aubergine stew & my husband & I both loved savouring this dish! It was superb even. X
Thank you so much Sophie. I love to hear feedbacks like this! 😀 I’m so glad that you enjoyed it! Did you have it with rice?
No, I had it with quinoa! x
It looks delicious, I always enjoy to read your posts!
Cheers!
Delicious!
i like to preserved eggplant in oil or eggplant cofit
btw, i think your eggplant stew won’t last longer……
everybody loves to digg’in the dish, it’s drollling loooks with kick’in spice….
It looks perfect and so delicious!
Looks lovely (particularly with those garlic cloves on top). And don’t you wonder what food would be like without onions? I love the idea of caramelizing them ahead and then putting them in the stew mixture.
Your eggplant stew looks good. I love meat stew with rice.
Fae, your posts are always so informative and interesting! Eggplant stew…such an intriguing recipe … perfect for the season.
Looks delish!
YUM!! Looks delicious as usual~
I love Japanese eggplants. I grew up eating them and helping to cook them. My dad grows them and I can’t wait until it is time to harvest them. I visit them every month so I will put this recipe on my to-do list. Looks really tasty 😀
Yum, that looks delicious Fae!
Akh joon!
Your recipes are always so interesting and informative.
I love Caramelized onions! They smell sooooooooo good!
This is my all time favorite stew, I love it. I will have to try your recipe.It looks so delicious, do you ever place the potatoes at the bottom of the pot you steam the rice in? Thats the way I always made it.
Yes, the potato slices you see in the photo are tah-digs. Check out this >> post for other tah-digs.
Yes thats it!! I love it. I have never seen tah dig made with lavash I must try that. Thank you!
My jaw dropped all the way to the ground when I saw this photo….I will have to retrieve it soon….This is gorgeous! And one of our favourite Persian dishes (I know I seem to be saying that for every Persian dish you’ve been showcasing here!!) 😀 Love this. Definitely going to share it! Much love, Sharon
As I read down the page I got hungrier and hungrier. Oh for a dish of Khoresht’e Bademjan.
Greeks and Persians, we love our eggplant dishes. 😀 )))
This sounds like a great dish and one that I would love to try — especially since I have a large bottle of verjus in the fridge and I have been on an eggplant roll. Love the Persian recipes Fae!
Ohhh yum! That sounds awesome! 😀 x Veena
This looks so yummy,I love eggplant
I was surprised to know eggplants have toxins. My father and I have some sort of allergy everytime we eat eggplants. LIke red marks on our faces and necks.
Unfortunately, some foods cause allergies to more people than the other foods. One of those is eggplant. Do you degorge your eggplants?