Aab Goosht E Baadenjaan Recipes

Steps:

• Peel and thinly slice onions. Fry in oil until slightly golden.
• Wash split peas and fry slightly with onions.
• Cut meat into small pieces, add to onions and split peas, and fry over medium heat until colour changes.
• Add salt, black pepper, and turmeric.
• Follow with six glasses of hot water and cook over low heat for about 30 minutes.
• The pot should be covered with a tight lid so that little steam escapes during cooking.
• Peel eggplants and cut perpendicular to their major axis to a thickness of 1 cm.
• Add a bit of salt and fry in oil over medium heat on both sides until colour changes.
• Wash and peel potatoes.
• Add eggplants, potatoes, and tomato paste.
• Cook over low heat with the pot again tightly covered for another 30 minutes. If necessary, add more hot water during cooking.
• When cooked, pour the juice into another container. With the back of a fork or spoon, fully crush the ingredients and mix well.
• Serve both the ingredients and the juice separately with Iranian, middle-eastern, or pita bread.
• Rice is not served with aab-goosht.
• When eating, cut bread into small pieces and briefly soak in the juice or form morsels by wrapping a small piece of bread around some of the food.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, season lamb with turmeric, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Set aside.
• Peel the eggplants but leave the green skin on the stem end intact. Trim the tips of the stems and make an incomplete lengthwise cut in each eggplant from the bottom, leaving both halves attached at the stem. Place eggplants in a colander set inside a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and let sit for 30 minutes.
• In the meantime, set a large Dutch oven or similar pot over medium-high heat. When the pot is hot, add 3 tablespoons oil. When the oil shimmers, add onion and cook, stirring regularly, until softened and browned, 16 to 18 minutes.
• Add the meat and cook, turning regularly, until it browns evenly on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes. Add 4 cups water and increase heat to high. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour.
• In the meantime, rinse the eggplants, dry thoroughly and set aside. Remove stems and halve tomatoes through their cores and set aside. Line a baking sheet with two layers of paper towels and set aside.
• Set a large frying pan over high heat. When the pan is hot, add 1/4 cup oil and carefully lay eggplants in the pan in a single layer. It's crucial to leave space between each eggplant for steam to escape, so brown in batches if necessary. Reduce heat to medium-high and cook, turning regularly, until eggplants are browned on all sides, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove browned eggplants to lined baking sheet and allow to drain.
• Use the same pan to brown tomatoes, cut-side down, in remaining 2 tablespoons oil for about 5 minutes. Flip and cook tomatoes on skin side until lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes, then remove to lined baking sheet.
• Once the meat has cooked for 1 hour, stir in the tomato paste, saffron and 1/4 cup lime juice. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Carefully arrange the browned eggplants and tomatoes atop the stew and then sprinkle on the young grapes. Allow the stew to come to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer, uncovered, until meat is falling apart and stew is thick and unctuous, about 1 hour. Without jostling the eggplants too much, taste a spoonful or two of the stew. It should be pleasantly tart, so adjust the seasoning with salt and lime juice as needed.
• Serve hot, with Persian rice and mast-o khiar, as well as pickles, fresh herbs, scallions and radishes, if desired.