Kashk e Bademjan

Ingredients

3 Large Eggplants (or 4 medium)
1 big onion (or 2 medium) finely chopped
4-5 cloves of garlic (minced)
2 tbsp dry crushed mint
Olive Oil (Vegetable Oil or Canola Oil will work as well)
Less than Quarter Cup Walnuts (I prefer them finely crushed)
2-3 tbsp Kashk (dissolved in water) or Sour Cream (if Kashk not available)
Salt and Black Pepper


Steps

  1. Peel the eggplants and slice them (each 3-4 slices) to either fry them or bake them. I prefer baking because it's healthier (less oil less mess) but frying is faster.
    To bake them just coat them with oil and then place on a baking sheet in high heat oven (350 F) and turn them every 10 min or so until they're golden brown. Once done, move to a bowl and mash with a potato masher.
  2. Meanwhile, you can prepare the Onions, Garlic and Mint. You need to caramelize the onions so you need to fry them separately (because caramelizing is basically slowly frying them with a bit of oil until they turn brown otherwise they will burn). Once done, move to a dish and use the same frying pan with a bit of oil to fry the minced garlic and the dried mint just until the garlic starts turning golden (use low heat and don't over do it because garlic burns fast)
  3. Once the garlic/mint mixture is ready, add the caramelized onions and the mashed eggplants and cook on low-medium heat for 10-15 min (add salt n pepper to taste)
  4. While cooking the eggplant/onion/mint/garlic mix add the Kashk or Sour Cream a little bit at a time and taste to see how much you'd like to add (I haven't tried it with Sour Cream but even though it won't taste the same, people on the internet say it can be used as a substitute)
  5. Finally add the minced walnuts (1 or 2 tbsp or to taste). If you don't like the walnuts just skip this step

Msakka3a

Mom

Ingredients

1/2 kg eggplants
4 onions (thinly sliced)
4 garlic cloves (minced)
dried mint
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 can chickpeas
4 tomatoes (grated)


Steps

  1. Peel the eggplants and cube, add salt and let their water squeeze out. Drizzle with olive oil and bake for 30 min at 200 C until golden brown and soft
  2. In a large skillet, sauté the onions in a couple of tbsp of olive oil until translucent
  3. Add the garlic, chickpeas and dried mint and sauté for a couple of minutes
  4. Add the grated tomatoes and sauté, season with salt and pepper and taste
  5. Put everything in a casserole dish, place the eggplants and pour over the sauted mixture.
  6. Add water (until half covered), cover with tin foil and bake on low-medium heat (160 C) for 30 min (or until done)