Kashke Bademjan, Persian eggplant dip

By now everyone knows Baba Ganoush, the delicious Arabic eggplant dip. But do you also know Kashke Bademjan?
A Persian specialty made from eggplants and yoghurt. Deliciously seasoned with mint and saffron. Really tasty with flatbread or grilled vegetables. Topped with crispy caramelized walnuts and onions.

What exactly is Kashke Bademjan?

Kashke Bademjan, Kashk Bademjan, alternatively Kashk-e Bademjan or Kashk o Bademjan, is a basic Persian dish made from “Kashk and eggplant”. A full-bodied eggplant cream seasoned with saffron, onion and mint.

Kashk is a dried Iranian yogurt, which I replace here with soy yogurt. For the sake of simplicity without dehydrating it beforehand.

What does Kashke Bademjan go with? What can I serve it with?

Kashke Bademjan is a very versatile dip that can be served with many dishes and at plenty of occasions. The easiest way to enjoy the eggplant cream is as a starter or snack with flatbread. But it also makes a great dip for vegetables.
And of course, this dish also works great on a mezze platter.

More recipes from Levante cuisine

Are you looking for more vegan, Levante recipes? Then I have got some for you here:

• Borek with spinach and feta stuffing
• Hummus – creamy and full-bodied flavoured
• Piyaz – a Turkish white bean salad
• Beetroot hummus – simple, delicious and pink!

Vegan Kashke Bademjan

If you don’t prepare this dish with the original Persian yogurt Kashk, Kashke Bademjan can easily be prepared vegan. You can find out how that works in this vegan recipe.

I look forward to seeing your Kashke Bademjan if you try this recipe!

Feel free to follow me on Instagram or Facebook. And I would be delighted if you make this hearty aubergine dip, if you’d post the result on social media and tag my account there. This also applies to my other recipes, of course. I always find it really great and exciting to see how my recipes are prepared in other kitchens!

Ingredients for about 750 ml Kashke Bademjan:

3 medium-sized eggplants
1 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp black pepper, ground
75 ml water
1/2 tsp saffron
150 ml vegan yogurt
1 tbsp dried mint
Olive oil
Salt

Toppings:

2 tbsp walnuts, roughly chopped
1 onion, in strips
2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp dried mint
Olive oil

Flatbread

Preparation:

1. Halve the eggplants lengthways. Cut these halves into thick slices.
2. Heat plenty of olive oil in a pan, then place the eggplant slices next to each other. Fry covered on medium heat for about 7 minutes.
3. Turn over and fry again with the lid on the other side for about 7 minutes. Be careful, the eggplants burn easily.
4. In a second pan, fry the onion in olive oil until golden brown.
5. Your pan is probably not big enough to fry all the eggplant pieces at once. You can simply do this in two steps one after the other. Once all the eggplant pieces are fried, they will have become smaller. Then you can put them all back together in a single pan.
6. When all the eggplants are put in one pan, add the water, turmeric, saffron and pepper to the fried eggplant.
7. Season with salt to the taste and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
8. Put it into a bowl and puree roughly.
9. Ar last stir in the onions, 1 tablespoon of dried mint and the vegan yogurt.
10. Season with salt and serve.

Toppings:

1. For the toppings, roast the walnut pieces in a pan and add 1 teaspoon of sugar so that they caramelize slightly.
2. Fry the onion in a little olive oil and mix in 1 teaspoon of sugar. Fry while stirring until the onions are golden brown.

Garnish the finished Kashke Bademjan with the toppings and enjoy with flatbread.

Enjoy!