Kashk-e Bademjan
Eggplant and whey dip with fried mint · کشک بادمجان
- 20 min Prep
- 50 min Cook
- 6 Servings
- Easy
Soft fried eggplant mashed with golden onions, garlic and tangy kashk, topped with fried mint and walnuts. Persia's favourite dip.
Kashk-e bademjan is on the table at almost every Persian party, scooped up with warm bread. Eggplant is fried or roasted until meltingly soft, mashed with caramelised onions and garlic, and finished with kashk, which gives it a savoury tang somewhere between sour cream and aged cheese.
The topping is part of the dish: lines of kashk, fried onions, mint fried briefly in oil, and chopped walnuts.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Salt the eggplant slices, leave them for 20 minutes, and pat dry. Fry in hot oil until deep golden and very soft (or brush with oil and roast at 220°C / 425°F for 30 minutes).
- Fry the onions in 4 tablespoons of oil for 20 minutes until deep golden. Set aside a third for garnish. Add the garlic and turmeric to the pan for 1 minute.
- Add the eggplant to the pan and mash it with a potato masher or fork. Stir in half a cup of water and simmer on low for 10 minutes, stirring, until thick.
- Stir in the kashk and cook 2 minutes more. Taste for salt (kashk is salty).
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil, take the pan off the heat and stir in the dried mint for 10 seconds.
- Spread on a plate and garnish with lines of kashk, the reserved onions, mint oil and walnuts. Serve warm with bread.
Tips & variations
- Roasting or air-frying the eggplant makes a lighter dip with nearly the same flavour.
- No kashk? Use sour cream or thick yogurt with a little crumbled feta.
Where to buy the ingredients
Persian grocers carry the saffron, dried herbs, spices and long-grain rice that Persian cooking depends on:
Rather eat out?
Persian restaurants that serve it:
Mirza Ghasemi
Kuku Sabzi
Ash Reshteh