SMOKY EGGPLANT DIP with kefir

This smoky eggplant dip with kefir, topped with fried mint leaves is an adaptation of both the Mediterranean baba ganoush and khashke bademjan.  My Iranian neighbors introduced me to this type of eggplant dish many years ago.  I seem to prefer the khashke bademjan more as it is sweeter. My neighbor informed me that khashke is whey and bademjan is eggplant in Farsi. Khashke bhademjan is made with a lot of delicious caramelized onion for the sweetness.

I recently decided to make my own healthier version of eggplant because the store bought one had a lot of oil in it.  I decided to combine techniques that I learned from various Iranian neighbors and substitiuted a few ingredients.  Since the eggplant was on sale, I made a large quantity!  It was so good that it disappeared quickly and was told that this dip definitely needed to be on the blog!  So, here it is.

Tips for making smoky eggplant dip.

Eggplant.

The traditonal method of cooking the eggplant for this dip is either by oven roasting, oven gilling or boiling. However, I grill my eggplant directly on my gas stovetop.  It's a little messy, but the charred skin renders a smokiness that is subtle yet evident. It also takes a fraction of the time to roast on the stovetop than in the oven or on a BBQ grill. It's smokiness what makes this dip different and delicious.

Types of eggplant.

There are many types of eggplants available.  They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. For this recipe, I use the traditional large Italian eggplant, but don't get them too big as the older eggplants tend to have bigger and firmer seeds inside which need to be removed.  Chinese eggplants are thinner with less developed seeds.  When picking fresh eggplants, the eggplants should be firm rather than soft.  The smaller varieties have small seeds but removing the skin, once charred, will be a chore!

Once the eggplant is grilled and the skin is removed, coarsely chop the eggplant and add it to the pan with the caramelized onions so that it can absorb that delicious onion flavor.

Onions.

I love this dip because of the smokiness and taste of caramelized onions.  This recipe calls for a lot of sliced onions that are caramelized.  Some are mixed into the dip and some are used as a garnish.

Mint.

The traditional khashke bademjan recipes calls for dried mint.  Since I don't use much dried mint, I fry fresh mint from the garden and it is delicious.  The flavor is very light but it is more vibrant and crisp than store bought dried mint. Great for garnish as well.

Saffron.

Besides tumeric, this recipe uses saffron for both color and flavor.  To release the color and flavor of saffron, the saffron threads need to "bloom" or steep in water. You can either use hot but not boiling water or ice cubes. Boiling water is said to scorch the saffron, making it bitter. The saffron threads need to be ground into a powder either with a pestle and mortar or with a blender in order to maximize the infusion of the color and flavor into the water.

Kefir.

For this recipe, kefir is used to provide the tart undertone as well as the creaminess. Traditionally for the khashke bademjan, whey,  a by-product of the cheese and yoghurt making process, is used.  I don't think store bought whey has much nutritional value so I prefer to use homemade kefir.  Plain yoghurt can also be used.

Dip consistency.

This is personal preference.  If you like the dip to be smooth, you can blend it for a few seconds with an immersion blender.  If you like the dip to be chunky, blending is not necessary.  

Garnish.

Garnish the smoky eggplant dip with some of the caramelized onions and some chopped nuts.  Traditionally, chopped walnuts are used as a garnish, but I've also used chopped cashews.

Accompaniments.

Serve this dip as a trio dip with roasted red pepper hummus and cucumber tabouleh salad. This dip can be served with pita bread, sourdough pita chips or veggies.

Let me know what you think in the comment section.