This is a typical eggplant dish that goes well with plain basmati rice.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 2 hrs 46 mins |
| Total Time: | 3 hrs 1 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon salt, divided
- 5 Japanese eggplants, peeled, tops left intact
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 large white onion, chopped
- 1 ½ teaspoons chopped garlic
- 1 pound cubed stew meat
- 1 cube beef bouillon
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon saffron
- ½ (6 ounce) can tomato paste
- 2 cups water
- 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
Instructions
- Sprinkle 2 teaspoons salt over eggplant.
- Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook eggplants until soft and browned, about 3 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook and stir onion and garlic until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in stew meat, beef bouillon, cumin, and saffron; cook meat until browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste until well mixed.
- Pour water and tomato sauce into the saucepan. Reduce heat to low and cover; cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce is reduced by half, about 2 hours 20 minutes. Stir in eggplants. Cook until heated through, about 10 minutes.
- We have determined the nutritional value of oil for frying based on a retention value of 10% after cooking. Amount will vary depending on cooking time and temperature, ingredient density, and specific type of oil used.
- Nutrition data for this recipe includes the full amount of salt. The actual amount of salt consumed will vary.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 523 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 53 g |
| Cholesterol | 63 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 26 g |
| Protein | 28 g |
| Saturated Fat | 8 g |
| Sodium | 2742 mg |
| Sugars | 25 g |
| Fat | 26 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Before anyone freaks out because it isn’t a traditional Khoresh Bademjan recipe and doesn’t bother to make it before rating it low I wanted to review the recipe the way it is written. If you are fortunate and happen to live somewhere you can lay your hands on some Persian limes or sour grapes then by all means make the traditional recipe. I have had the traditional recipe many many times and miss it greatly. This recipe was a nice uncomplicated option and still has a nice umami to it even if it isn’t traditional. So it is day 3 of a 14 day Covid 19 quarantine for our house. Thankfully it’s a precaution and no one is ill yet. Coming up with recipes that don’t require going out for something can be a challenge. I had all the things including 2 American eggplants that needed to be used. I taste the eggplant to check for bitterness. American eggplants get bitter as they get older. I don’t bother with salting. I remove the skin if its bitter. I prefer anything but American eggplants but when living in the rural south you get what you get. I made the recipe exactly as written served over rice. Although I avoid frying eggplant. It is an oil sponge. I recommend baking it after dredging in oil 400* 15-20 min until its tender. I cubed mine for this recipe. I did add 2 tbs butter when the eggplant was added at the end. I would have served it with fresh lime slices or even bottled lime juice if I had some. I don’t even have turmeric. lol
Will make again. My only complaint was that I didn’t think it had enough kick. I did simmer it an hour or two longer due to having to make it ahead. I will try again timing it better or adding more spice. Thanks for the ideas.
I substituted the tomato sauce with 3 vine tomatoes quartered, 2lbs chuck, 3/4 of a 6oz can tomato paste, 7 5-6 in Chinese eggplants and 1 1/2 tsp saffron. I also used chef John’s recipe for tzaziki sauce and omitted the dill. It came out AWESOME. My whole family loved it.