Stuffed eggplant is a delicious and popular Persian dish. Inside of the eggplants is filled with ground beef and cooked in tomato sauce. It is one of the traditional foods in Iran, which is called GARNI YARIKH in Tabriz. Of course, it is also used as a main dish, with bread or rice.

It is similar to Dolmeh Bademjan; But they are different. Split peas and rice are used in the dolmeh along with ground beef. But in this recipe (stuffed eggplant), only minced meat is poured into the belly of the eggplants.

Stuffed eggplants taste great because they are cooked in tomato sauce. This is one of the good recipes that introduce in 15 ground beef Persian recipes.

If you are an eggplant lover, get started right now and make this traditional Iranian dish.

How to make stuffed eggplant?

Here, I will explain the recipe for stuffed eggplant in full, and at the end, I will give a summary of its recipe. Follow the steps below to make this delicious and lovely dish:

Step 1 – Prepare the eggplants

Peel the eggplants. They don’t need to be completely skinned, they look more beautiful if they are not completely cleaned (like what I did-like a zebra). You can take them in striped form. Do not remove the green cap of the eggplant completely, just shorten it a little if it is too long.

As you can see, 2 of my eggplants had their green caps removed.

Then make a longitudinal cut in the middle of them with a knife. It should not reach the other side of the eggplant and tear it completely. This chuck is so that we can put the ingredients inside the eggplant belly.

Then wash the eggplants. Sprinkle 1 spoon of salt on them. Let them remain like this for 30 minutes. By doing this, the bitterness of the eggplant and its excess water will be completely removed.

Step 2 – Prepare the eggplants filling

While you have salted the eggplants, go to the filling of the eggplants. Finely chop the onion and fry. Take half of it for tomato sauce.

Add the crushed garlic to the other half. Fry for a few seconds until the aroma of garlic comes out.

Add ground beef. Stir well. Add aromatic herbs. Use any vegetable you had at home; For example, basil, coriander, parsley, tarragon, thyme, etc.

Put them aside and pour some tomato paste into the pan. Fry it a little.

Then mix with the rest of the ingredients. Turn off the heat.

I pour the tomato paste in the last step so that it doesn’t burn.

In the end, add eggplant pieces. The Persian eggplant fillings are ready.

Step 3- Wash and fry the eggplants

After the dark water comes out of the eggplants, wash them with water and dry them completely with a clean towel.

Pour oil in a pan and fry them. It is better to turn the eggplant so that it is fried on all sides. Then let them cool.

Hollow them with a spoon. If necessary, use a knife carefully. Don’t empty their bellies too much so that they don’t tear and the contents come out.

Do not throw away the contents of the eggplants. Mash them with the back of a spoon, fry a little. Add salt and spices to them and combine them with ground beef. Of course, if your eggplant is not young and they are bitter, throw it away.

Step 4 – Pour the sauce into the eggplants

Pour the ground beef filling into the eggplants. If the shape of the eggplant is broken, use a toothpick to connect the two sides so that the ingredients do not fall out.

Step 5 – Cook the eggplants in tomato sauce

Put the fried onion from the previous step into the pan. Add turmeric, pepper, and curry powder to it. Add tomato paste and fry a little.

 Then pour water on it. Increase the heat a little to boil. Then reduce the heat.

Carefully place the eggplants in the sauce. The open part of the eggplant should be facing up.

You can use 4 grated tomatoes instead of tomato paste. You should let them roast well for about 5 minutes, until their water is evaporate and they become thick.

Then add salt. Leave the lid of the pan until the stuffed eggplants cook well for about 30 to 40 minutes and the sauce thickens. Your food is ready! Serve with bread or rice.

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How to prepare Shomali stuffed eggplant with pomegranate paste

Shomali stuffed eggplant has differences with stuffed eggplant in other parts of Iran. Sour pomegranate paste and pomegranate seeds are used to prepare it.

Conclusion

In this post, I taught how to prepare Persian stuffed eggplant. As I said, it is different from Dolmeh Bademjan. This dish is easy and quick to prepare. So be sure to make it and share the result with me in the comments.

Persian Rice and Lentils is an Iranian dish made with minced meat, I suggest you see this recipe. It might be interesting for guests to prepare an Iranian dinner for them. Treat them with stuffed eggplants for appetizers and lentil rice for the main course.