Minty Kashk with Baked Eggplant + Caramelized Onions

Name: Minty Kashk with Baked Eggplant + Caramelized Onions (Kashk-o Bademjan-e Baluchi)
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 1 h 55 min
Yield: Serves: 6 to 8
Cuisine: Iranian
Ingredients: ¼ cup/20 g fresh mint leaves; 2 tablespoons liquid kashk ¼ teaspoon ground saffron threads dissolved in 1 tablespoon warm water; ¼ cup/30 g coarsely ground walnuts; 4 Medjool dates, any remaining hard stalk parts removed, pitted and sliced; ¼ cup/20 g crispy fried onions; 1 cup/240 g liquid kashk diluted with 1 cup/240 ml water; 2 Medjool dates, any remaining hard stalk parts removed, pitted and chopped; 3 tablespoons dried mint flakes; 12 Chinese eggplants (about 5 lb/2.3 kg); 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper; ¼ cup/60 ml oil; 1 teaspoon turmeric; 4 small onions, peeled and thinly sliced; 10 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced; 1½ teaspoons fine sea salt

Kashk-o Bademjan-e Baluchi

Preparation info

Serves:
6 to 8

Difficulty
Medium
Ready in
1 hr 55

Appears in

Cooking in Iran

By Najmieh Batmanglij

Published 2020

About

Many regions of Iran claim that this eggplant dish/kashk-o bademjan belongs to them. The beautifully decorative Baluchi version tastes as good as it looks. The combination of eggplant, garlic, and dates makes it mouth-wateringly delicious.

Ingredients

eggplants

12 Chinese eggplants (about 5 lb/2.3 kg)
¼ cup<

Asia
Iran
Main course
Vegetarian

Method

For the eggplants: Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Peel and cut each eggplant lengthwise into quarters, place them, side by side, on the lined sheet pan, and generously paint with the oil.