A Taste of Adventure: Sneak Peek at Kashk Bademjan Recipe

ith the release of Exodus' cookbook, A Taste of Adventure, we're offering you a sneak previews of the recipes collated by our globetrotting gastronomes. This Kashk Bademjan recipe is straight out of Iran, and makes a delicious, quick mid-week treat, taking under 45 minutes from ingredients to plate. Each recipe comes with a story, sent to us by one of our travellers, leaders or staff members. This one, from Product Manager Tom Harari, takes us across to Iran, one of the biggest headline-grabbing destinations of the past two years since the FCO advice changed and travellers started to return. This recipe combines traditional ingredients with a refreshing twist to make a delectable aubergine stew.

Tom says, “Aubergine is the Iranian potato, and aubergine stew in various forms is very popular all over Iran. Without doubt, the best one we had was in the troglodyte village of Maymand. People have lived in the cave dwellings there for a long time and a few still live in them today. After exploring the village we were invited to one of the dwellings for lunch. Laid out on a rug on the floor were bowls of the most delicious aubergine stew. We all agreed it was the best meal we had in our two weeks travelling around Iran.”

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Make your own Kashk Bademjan at home...

Serves: 4 Prepare: 15 minutes Cook: 30 minutes Ingredients 3 tbsp olive oil 3 aubergines, peeled and thinly sliced 1 large onion, peeled and thinly sliced 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped 1 tsp turmeric 2 tbsp dried mint 2 tbsp kashk, Greek yoghurt or full-fat soured cream Salt and freshly ground black pepper to garnish 2 tbsp coarsely chopped walnuts Small fresh mint leaves Method Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan and when really hot, add the aubergine slices and fry until they have softened and are turning golden. Drain the slices from the pan onto a plate lined with kitchen paper towel. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan, lower the heat and fry the onion until softened. Add the garlic and turmeric and fry for a further 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the dried mint. Reserve a spoonful of the onion mixture for garnish. Mash or blend the aubergine to a purée. Add the purée to the frying pan and stir into the onion mixture with the kashk (or yoghurt or soured cream, if using) and dried mint. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Return the pan to a low heat to warm everything through. Spoon into a serving dish and scatter the chopped walnuts, mint leaves and reserved onion mix over the top. Serve as a light meal or as a dip with flatbreads.

The finished meal Kashk Bademjan

Got a taste for Iran?

See all holidays to Iran. Find out more about Exodus' cookbook, A Taste of Adventure.