Wherever I travel, I love trying the local cuisine. When I visited Iran, a dish that I particularly enjoyed was mirza ghasemi, a hearty eggplant-based side dish. I immediately asked my friend’s mom to teach me the mirza ghasemi recipe so that I could make it at home.
It turned out that my version of the Iranian mirza ghasemi dish wasn’t as good as my friend’s mom, but it wasn’t too bad either.
My mirza ghasemi recipe is very affordable and not difficult at all. It will take a bit of time to cook the eggplants but if you just place them in the oven, while they bake, you can prepare the rest for great time optimization.
First, a bit of history
Mirza ghasemi is an eggplant stew topped with eggs. As palatable and precious as it is, its origins couldn’t be anything less than illustrious. Mirza Ghasemi, in fact, was invented by Mohammad Ghasem Khan, a former ruler of Rasht, the capital of the northern Iranian Gilan province, and the Iranian ambassador in Russia during the Qajar dynasty, nonetheless.
Mohammad Ghasem Khan was a great chef and he created the dish when he was on duty in Saint Petersburg. He then introduced it to his native Gilan in 1860 when he returned home. Here, it quickly became a widely popular dish.
Quite fortunately, I had the chance to taste Mirza Ghasemi in Lahidjan, a city in the Gilan province. I’m positive that you will like the dish in any Persian restaurant you might go to, but I think it will hardly be like a proper homemade delicacy.
Thanks to the legendary Iranian hospitality, I could directly ask a local to unveil to me the most traditional mirza ghasemi recipe. It’s made of smashed baked eggplants cooked with stir-fried garlic and freshly peeled tomatoes and finally mixed with scrambled eggs. The dish is actually not difficult to make, here’s the recipe.
Mirza ghasemi recipe – Ingredients tips
- Tomatoes. While they are not the main ingredient and flavor, they play an important role. It would be much better to use fresh tomatoes that you peel yourself, instead of canned ones. If they are not in season and you can’t find them, then go for organic canned tomatoes.
Mirza ghasemi recipe – Instructions + tips
- Have everything ready. There are quite a few ingredients and steps close to each other so I suggest having everything ready and easy to access. This will avoid burning ingredients or having to stop to prepare the next thing.
- Cooking the eggplants. After piercing the eggplants with a fork, you can either bake them in the oven to make them more tender. Or, if you have the chance, you can do as Madi’s mom does: bake them directly on the fire of the stove to give them a more genuine smoky flavor.
- Garlic. I included 5 cloves in the recipe but if you like the taste, you can add even more, depending on how strong you want the dish to be.
- Cooking the eggs. You can cook the eggs either by scrambling them in a separate pan and then adding them on top, or for an ideal result, by adding them at the end after frying eggplants and tomatoes. This way, they won’t be scrambled and the yolk will remain softer. Alternatively, you can fry them in oil in a different pan and add them at the end. This last solution is recommended if you have guests and want the dish to look nice.
How to eat mirza ghasemi
Mirza ghasemi is a side dish and this is where you will find it on the menu of Persian restaurants. Iranian cuisine relies heavily on meat so restaurants will serve mirza ghasemi on the side of the main courses.
Since it’s quite a flavorful and complete dish, my favorite way to enjoy mirza ghasemi is simply by eating it with zereshk polo. This is the absolutely delicious saffron rice with sour cranberries typical of Iranian cuisine served together with meat stews, grilled kebabs, or spit-roasted lamb or chicken.
If you are a traveler and happen to go to Lahidjan, some of the best places to try out mirza ghasemi are Mahtab Restaurant on Imam Reza Boulevard, right in front of the city’s big lake, Ziba Restaurant, on the same Imam Reza Boulevard, and Vali Restaurant in Langrud Road. If you are in Rasht, try it at Muharram Restaurant on Imam Khomeyni Boulevard, famous for its Gilaki cuisine.
On another note, if you are not going to Iran any time soon but the recipe and the pictures are tempting you to try it at home, go ahead and let me know the outcome!
Mirza Ghasemi Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Sheet pan
- 1 Fork
- 1 Large pan
- 1 Normal pan
Ingredients
- 2 large eggplants
- 6 eggs It can be even 8 eggs, up to you.
- 6 tomatoes peeled and chopped
- 5 garlic cloves
- 2 tsp turmeric
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 3 to 4 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
Instructions
- Pierce the eggplants with a fork and bake them until tender.
- Add the olive oil to the pan, add the finely chopped garlic and the turmeric, and stir-fry for a couple of minutes.
- Add the roughly chopped eggplants and tomatoes until cooked and blended in.
- While these are cooking, in a separate pan, scramble the eggs and then add them to the main pan with the eggplants to better blend the flavors.
- Serve it hot making sure the scrambled eggs remain on top.
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