Smoked Eggplant W/ Egg (mirza Ghasemi) Recipe

Smoke and cool eggplants

Prick each eggplant a few times with a fork. Roast over an open flame on a gas burner, grill, or under a broiler, turning frequently, until skin is blackened and flesh is very soft, about 20–30 minutes depending on heat. For deeper smoke, char until some parts are lightly blistered and collapse. Transfer to a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap or a lid; let steam 10–15 minutes to loosen skin.

When cool enough to handle, peel away charred skin and remove stem. Drain any excess liquid. Chop or roughly mash the flesh with a fork until you have a chunky, spreadable purée (about 2–3 cups). Stir in 1 tsp salt and 2 tbs oil to round out the texture and flavor.

Fry garlic and onion

Heat 2 tbs oil in a wide sauté pan over medium heat. Add the thinly sliced garlic and cook, stirring, until golden and fragrant but not burned, about 1–2 minutes. Remove and reserve on paper towel to keep from overcooking. Add the finely diced red onion to the pan and cook until softened and translucent, 4–6 minutes.

Build tomato base

Push the onion to the side and add the tomato paste. Cook the paste, stirring, for about 1 minute to remove raw flavor. Add the chopped fresh tomatoes (or canned crushed tomatoes), turmeric, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Simmer the tomato mixture for 6–8 minutes until it thickens slightly and the oil separates a little.

Combine eggplant with tomato

Add the mashed smoked eggplant to the pan and stir to combine thoroughly with the tomato-onion mixture. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 8–10 minutes to meld flavors and remove excess moisture. Taste and adjust salt as needed (add up to the remaining 1 tsp salt). Stir in the lemon juice.

Prepare eggs

There are two traditional approaches: (A) Create wells and break eggs into the hot eggplant mixture to poach, or (B) Beat eggs and scramble into the mixture. For runnier yolks, use method A. For fully incorporated eggs, use method B.

Method A (eggs poached in mixture): Make four shallow wells in the simmering eggplant. Carefully crack one egg into each well. Cover the pan and cook over low heat until egg whites are set but yolks remain soft, about 6–8 minutes. Remove from heat, dot with butter and sprinkle reserved fried garlic over top. Garnish with chopped parsley or cilantro.

Method B (scrambled into mixture): Beat 4 eggs lightly with a pinch of salt. Push eggplant mixture to one side of the pan, melt 1 tbs butter, pour beaten eggs into the pan and scramble gently until just set. Fold the scrambled eggs into the eggplant. Sprinkle fried garlic and chopped herbs on top.

Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve hot with bread (sangak, lavash, or crusty bread) or rice.