Mirza Ghasemi

Mirza Ghasemi

In Persian: میرزا قاسمی. In Hebrew it is written “מירזא קאסמי” and also appears as “מירזא ע’אסמי” or “מירזא קסמי”. The dish is named after a 19th-century local governor of Gilan province, on the Caspian Sea coast, and according to the folk story he is the one who invented it, or at least loved it so much that it became tied to his name.

Mirza ghasemi is what happens when an eggplant dish gives up everything except the smoke. The eggplants are charred over an open flame until the skin is completely black, and only then peeled; the flesh inside absorbs an aroma you can’t get in an oven. Then an amount of garlic that sounds excessive is added, along with tomatoes and a few eggs, and everything blends into a rich mash eaten with bread or rice.

Prep time: 20 minutes · Cooking time: 45 minutes (including charring the eggplants) · Total: about an hour · Yield: 4 servings · Difficulty: easy

Gilan: a Persian cuisine that looks completely different

Gilan province, between the Alborz Mountains and the Caspian Sea, is the most humid and greenest region in Iran, and its cuisine differs from the rest of Persian cuisine in a few striking ways: massive use of garlic, strong sourness (pomegranate molasses, narenj), fish from the Caspian Sea, and rice grown locally in abundance. Fesenjan also comes from there.

This difference explains why mirza ghasemi is not seasoned with the complex spice blends associated with classic Persian cuisine. It has only four flavors — smoke, garlic, tomato and egg — and each of them comes through separately. This is a cuisine of abundant fresh ingredients rather than expensive spices, which is why in Iran it is considered “village cooking” even when it is served in Tehran restaurants.

Ingredients (for 4 servings)

• 3 medium-large eggplants (about 1 kg)
• 6-8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced — don’t skimp
• 3 very ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped (or 400 grams crushed)
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, salt and black pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive oil or oil
• Juice of half a lemon — optional, brings out the smoke

Choosing ingredients and substitutes

Regular eggplants or baladi eggplants work. Instead of fresh tomatoes you can use 400 grams of unseasoned canned crushed tomatoes, and cook until the excess liquid evaporates. There is no need for ready-made pasta sauce.

Method

1. Char the eggplants over a flame. Place the whole eggplants directly on the gas flame (or on a charcoal grill), and turn every 3-4 minutes until the whole skin is black and sooty and the eggplant collapses — about 15 minutes. This is the whole idea of the dish; an oven won’t do it.
2. Peel and mash. Place in a bag or a covered bowl for 10 minutes (the steam makes peeling easier), peel off all the charred skin, and mash the flesh with a fork — not in a food processor, which turns it into mush.
3. Fry the garlic. Heat the oil in a wide pan and fry the garlic slices over low heat until golden at the edges. Burnt garlic is bitter, so keep the heat low.
4. Add the tomatoes. Add the turmeric and the tomatoes, and reduce for 8-10 minutes until the liquid has almost disappeared.
5. Add the eggplants. Add the eggplant mash, salt and pepper, and cook together for 10 minutes, stirring — the mixture should dry out a little and darken.
6. Add the eggs. Crack the eggs directly into the pan and stir them in, as in Turkish menemen, until they set and blend in. Turn off the heat while they are still soft.
7. Serve hot or at room temperature, with flatbread or rice.

Nutrition facts and calorie estimate

The recommended serving is about 180 grams, a quarter of the pan.

This is an eggplant dish that sidesteps the usual calorie trap of this family. Eggplant soaks up oil like a sponge, and when fried it can absorb hundreds of calories — which is why Turkish imam bayildi reaches about 300 calories per half eggplant. Here the eggplant is charred over a dry flame and doesn’t touch oil at all in the first stage, so all the oil in the dish is the three tablespoons used for frying.

The nine grams of fiber per serving come almost entirely from the eggplant itself, and the eggs add complete protein. The garlic here is not just flavor: it is consumed in an amount of almost two cloves per serving — an amount considered meaningful in studies on allicin and the sulfur compounds in garlic.

Variations and tips

• Without gas: you can char in a blazing-hot cast iron pan or under the oven’s top broiler at maximum heat, until blackened. The result is close, but the intensity of the smoke is lower.
• Vegan version: leave out the eggs and add a tablespoon of tahini for body. This is common in modern versions and brings the serving down to about 210 calories.
• Making ahead: you can char and mash the eggplants a day ahead and keep them in the refrigerator; this is the long part of the recipe.
• Serving: in Gilan it is served as a cold or lukewarm appetizer alongside bread, not only as a hot main course.

Summary

Mirza ghasemi proves that an eggplant dish doesn’t have to soak up oil to be rich: charring over a flame gives all the depth, and the oil stays at three tablespoons. About 245 calories per serving with 9 grams of fiber and 9 grams of protein. A parallel Turkish eggplant dish, heavier in oil, is imam bayildi, and another Persian egg dish is kuku sabzi. More recipes in Persian cuisine.