Khoresht Bademjoumn
Disclaimer: I am not of Persian descent. This recipe was passed down to my mother by Fatima in Tehran during our residence there in 1973. Having grown up savoring this dish and learning it under my mother's guidance, I discovered that even those who professed to dislike eggplant often relished this as a special company dish.
Ingredients
- 2 cups basmati rice
- 1 pound eggplant, sliced into 1-inch rounds
- 1 pound beef stew meat
- 4 cups water
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 (12 ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (12 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt as needed
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Rinse rice in a sieve until water runs clear. Pour into a bowl, cover with water. Leave to soak for 1 hour or overnight.
- Toss eggplant with salt in a separate bowl; let set for 1 hour. Rinse salt from eggplant in a colander; cut into 1-inch cubes.
- Toss stew meat with cinnamon and turmeric in a separate bowl.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add stew meat and cook until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove from pan; set aside. Add eggplant, onion, and diced tomatoes to the skillet; cook and stir until onion is translucent, about 7 minutes. Return stew meat to the pan; add tomato sauce. Cover skillet and lower heat to medium-low; cook until meat is tender, and sauce has thickened, about 40 minutes.
- While the beef is cooking, prepare the rice. Bring 4 cups water to a rapid boil in a saucepan; drain rice. Add rice and 1 teaspoon salt to saucepan: boil until partially cooked, about 11 minutes. Drain rice in sieve; return saucepan to medium heat. Melt 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon water together in the saucepan. Spoon rice back into saucepan a spoonful at a time. Dot remaining butter on top of the rice, cover tightly and lower heat to medium-low; cook for 30 minutes.
- Remove both the rice and the eggplant mixture from heat and let stand for 10 minutes. Before serving, carefully place a serving dish on top of the saucepan and invert rice onto serving dish. Transfer stew into a serving bowl and serve with rice.
Notes
- The rice is cooked Chelo-style; producing a crispy coating of rice called tahdig. This is intentional and a prized item at the Persian table. Gaining skill with this technique will allow the rice to turn onto a plate as if a cake and makes a lovely presentation.
- Salting the eggplant removes moisture and bitterness from the fruit, improving the taste and texture.
- Dry the eggplant and the beef by blotting with a clean kitchen towel or paper towel make sure you are drying the eggplant first. I prefer the kitchen towel to the paper towel so as to not end up with paper in the dish.
- To achieve a tight cover on the rice, some cooks will wrap the lid in a kitchen towel.
Nutrition
Calories: 527kcalCarbohydrates: 61gProtein: 19gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 62mgSodium: 865mgPotassium: 627mgFiber: 5gSugar: 7gVitamin C: 12mgCalcium: 59mgIron: 4mg
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