If Mirza Mohammad Qasem Khan Qajar had not become the ruler of Rasht, we might never have had the chance to taste Mirza Ghasemi from the north or even begin the story of this delicious Gilani dish! Mirza Ghasemi is not a high-calorie dish, but the recipe for a healthy Mirza Ghasemi is even healthier, following the authentic Gilani method.
In this article from Foodex magazine, we aim to teach you various ways to prepare Mirza Ghasemi. There are mirza ghasemi recipe without an oven, Mirza Ghasemi with an oven, Mirza Ghasemi without tomatoes, Mirza Ghasemi for special occasions, and more. You will find some of these recipes below.
Mirza Ghasemi Recipe
Preparation and cooking time for healthy Mirza Ghasemi is approximately 1 hour.
Ingredients for 5 servings:
Eggplant: 1 kilogram
Tomatoes: 1 kilogram
Eggs: 3
Tomato paste: 1 tablespoon
Garlic: 7 cloves
Turmeric, salt, and pepper: as needed
Oil: as needed
Instructions:
In the preparation of healthy Mirza Ghasemi, it is recommended to use as little oil as possible. Grilled eggplant, oven-roasted eggplant, and boiled eggplant are suitable options for preparing Mirza Ghasemi. Cooking Mirza Ghasemi with boiled eggplant is a method recommended for people on a diet. Choose a method that suits your taste and prepare the eggplants accordingly. After preparation, remove the skin.
In the recipe for healthy Mirza Ghasemi, similar to Mirza Ghasemi with tomatoes, tomatoes are used. Dice half of the tomatoes and grate the other half. Chop the garlic cloves and set aside.
Take a frying pan, add the chopped garlic with a few drops of oil, and sauté. Add tomato paste and spices, and mix them thoroughly. Now add the tomatoes to the mixture and let the water evaporate. Remove the tomato sauce from heat and set it aside.
Proceed to the peeled eggplants, chop them with a knife, and sauté them in the frying pan with very little oil. Then add the previously prepared tomato sauce to the eggplants.
Mix the eggplants and tomato sauce thoroughly. At this stage, the aroma of garlic will fill your kitchen. After about 10 to 15 minutes, add the eggs to the eggplant and tomato mixture and mix well.
After approximately 5 minutes, your healthy Mirza Ghasemi is ready. Mirza Ghasemi is typically enjoyed with fresh Barbari bread. If you want to serve Mirza Ghasemi as an appetizer at a party, learn how to prepare garlic bread and serve a few pieces alongside the dish.
Mirza Ghasemi Recipe in the Oven
Grilling eggplant in the oven is very convenient, but it lacks the smoky aroma and enticing flavor of smoked eggplant. Of course, in an apartment setting, it’s difficult for most people to start a charcoal grill. That’s why making Mirza Ghasemi in the oven is an excellent option for these circumstances.
:Ingredients for 2 servings
Eggplant: 2 pieces
Tomato: 1 piece
Tomato paste: 1 tablespoon
Egg: 1 piece
Garlic: 2 cloves
Turmeric, salt, and pepper: as needed
Oil: as needed
Instructions:
The preparation and cooking time for Mirza Ghasemi in the oven is approximately 50 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Wash and dry the eggplants, then use a fork to poke holes all over their surface. Place them on a baking tray in the oven for 30 minutes to grill. During this time, rotate the eggplants a few times to ensure the entire surface is grilled.
Now remove the tray from the oven and let the eggplants cool. The skin of the eggplants will easily peel off after they have cooled. Then mash or puree the eggplants using a fork or a blender.
These plain eggplants can be eaten as a simple and healthy dish with a little seasoning. In an article about preparing quick and easy meals, we mentioned several dishes like this.
In the recipe for Mirza Ghasemi in the oven, grated tomatoes are used for a two-person serving. Grate the tomato and mince the garlic cloves.
Next, heat a pan and sauté the minced garlic with spices and salt. Once the garlic changes color and its aroma fills the air, add the grated tomato and eggplant to the pan. It doesn’t matter which one you add first, but in any case, wait for the tomato to release its juice.
Then add the tomato paste to make the Mirza Ghasemi more vibrant. Cover the pan and let the ingredients blend together for a few minutes. Finally, add the eggs and mix well.
The method of adding eggs to Mirza Ghasemi is somewhat subjective. In some recipes, instead of mixing the eggs with eggplant and tomato, they are placed on top. This method is also used for garnishing Mirza Ghasemi. Perhaps you are a vegetarian and do not use eggs in the preparation of Mirza Ghasemi. If you are a vegetarian or looking for healthy snacks, an article on preparing delicious plant-based snacks has been written for you.
Mirza Ghasemi Recipe Without Using the Oven
The traditional Gilani method of preparing Mirza Ghasemi is the same as making it without using the oven. In this method, the eggplants are grilled over fire or charcoal, without any involvement of the oven. Grilled eggplant adds an unparalleled taste and aroma to Mirza Ghasemi, and old-fashioned folks from the northern regions still prefer to preserve the authenticity of Northern-style Mirza Ghasemi with grilled eggplant.
To grill the eggplants, you can either place them directly on charcoal or skewer them. Either way, flip the eggplants every few minutes to ensure they are grilled evenly.
Once you try making Mirza Ghasemi without using the oven with grilled eggplants, you’ll never want to try another method again.
Do you know how to make a diet-friendly Kashk-e-Bademjan?
Recipe for Mirza Ghasemi without Tomatoes:
Mirza Ghasemi can be prepared in a simple way without tomatoes. Although tomatoes give a more appealing appearance to Mirza Ghasemi, there are also fans of making it without tomatoes.
In this method, you can use tomato paste instead of tomatoes. However, some people prefer to have no trace of tomatoes in Mirza Ghasemi. Mirza Ghasemi without tomatoes is suitable for this group of Mirza Ghasemi enthusiasts.
If you’re not fond of tomatoes in your food and enjoy trying new dishes, give the French omelette recipe a try. This simple dish can be ready in less than a few minutes.
Traditional Mirza Ghasemi Recipe
To make traditional Mirza Ghasemi like the one served in restaurants, it is essential to grill the eggplants. If you have access to a grill and charcoal, grill the eggplants over the fire. The aroma and flavor of the fire alone are enough to win over your guests’ hearts! Nevertheless, grilling the eggplants in the oven also adds a delicious taste to Mirza Ghasemi without the hassle of starting a fire.
For the traditional Mirza Ghasemi, the key ingredient is grilled tomatoes. In most recipes, the tomatoes are grated and then sautéed in oil. Give grilled tomatoes a try once. This shows your guests that they are experiencing professional cooking!
Finally, fry a whole egg in a separate pan and place it on top of Mirza Ghasemi to make the serving dish more appealing.
You can also learn some of the vegetable dips mentioned in the article “Diet-Friendly Vegetable Dips” and serve them alongside Mirza Ghasemi as an appetizer.
Northern-style Mirza Ghasemi
Mirza Ghasemi belongs to the northern region of Iran, specifically the Gilan province, and everyone knows it as Northern-style Mirza Ghasemi. In northern restaurants, Mirza Ghasemi is served as an appetizer or a simple dish with rice on the menu. Northern-style Mirza Ghasemi is made with grilled eggplants, grilled tomatoes, abundant garlic, and eggs.
Mirza Ghasemi with Walnuts
Walnuts add a royal taste and appearance to dishes. Although walnuts are not included in the original recipe of Northern-style Mirza Ghasemi, who can say that adding walnuts doesn’t make this dish even more delicious? You can add walnuts to Mirza Ghasemi either at the beginning or at the end of cooking, and it’s entirely a matter of taste. Be sure to use fresh walnuts to enhance the appealing flavor of Mirza Ghasemi.
Final words
The cuisine of Gilan is full of simple and delicious dishes, and Mirza Ghasemi is one of the thousands of food varieties. The use of simple and accessible ingredients has made Mirza Ghasemi a vibrant presence on the tables of people in the north. Whichever method you prefer, make this delicious dish and enjoy its taste. If you follow a plant-based diet, you can also include Mirza Ghasemi in your meal plan by omitting the eggs.
