If a Persian restaurant has one stew on the menu besides ghormeh sabzi, it is usually this one. Golden fried aubergines sit on top of a rich lamb and tomato sauce, sharpened with sour unripe grapes.
It looks impressive and tastes better. The only trick is frying the aubergines well, which takes patience and a fair amount of oil.
At a glance: serves four. About two hours. Medium.
Ingredients
- 500g lamb or beef, cut into 3cm cubes
- 4 to 6 long aubergines, peeled
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 fresh tomatoes, halved
- ½ cup ghooreh (unripe sour grapes), or 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp turmeric
- A pinch of saffron, bloomed in 2 tbsp hot water
- Vegetable oil, salt and black pepper
Method
- Halve the aubergines lengthways, sprinkle with salt and leave for 30 minutes. Pat them dry.
- Fry the onion until golden, add the turmeric and brown the meat. Stir in the tomato paste and fry for two minutes.
- Add three cups of hot water, season, cover and simmer for about an hour and a half until the meat is tender.
- Meanwhile fry the aubergines in plenty of oil until deep golden on both sides. Drain them on kitchen paper.
- Lay the aubergines, tomatoes and ghooreh on top of the stew. Add the saffron, cover and cook gently for 30 minutes without stirring, so the aubergines stay whole.
Less oil. You can brush the aubergines with oil and roast them at 200C for 25 minutes instead of frying. They will be lighter and slightly less silky.
Finding ghooreh. Sour grapes are sold frozen or in jars in Persian shops. Our Persian pantry guide explains where to find them abroad.
Serve with saffron rice. Khoresh bademjan freezes well for up to three months.
