Piaz Dagh!

If you ask my mother what is the key to Iranian cooking she will say: good rice, good saffron and good "piaz dagh"! Piaz Dagh is nothing expensive or complicated; it's just fried onion but the way onions are fried is one indicator of a cook's experience. Piaz Dagh is a basic ingredient for almost every Iranian dish. I have learned how to make "piaz dagh" from my mom and she makes the best. In lots of parties, the host politely asks my mom to bring some of her magic piaz dagh. I write this post for futre reference:

1- cut the onion to half. Take a half in your hand and cut along the edges.

2- Take a deep frying pan. The oil should cover your onions.

when you are adding the onions, the oil must be hot but after 2-3 minutes reduce the flame. Stir every 3-4 minutes.

3- When golden, take out the onion with an skimmer. Spread them in large plates or on a clean surface. If you do it carefully, there is no need for towels to absorb the oil; piaz dagh should be tender and a bit oily at the same time.

Well... there you go! You can keep this in the fridge for a week or freeze it for future use. In Iranian houses, large amount of piaz dagh are stored in the freezer.
Nowadays you can find ready made piaz dagh in Tehran but the quality is still far from the home made one. Piaz dagh has become a sign to describe if a woman still believes in torturous kitchen work. I remember how my mom spent hours and hours of her weekend chopping onions and fry them in large pans... she hated it. She would smell awful afterwards and her only days off her work were dedicated to her family's admiration for how she perfectly fried onions. Nobody ever praised her for the hard work she did as a teacher; in parties when everyone thanked her for the amazing food, I could see her face shining with the feeling that at least she has achieved something... people loved her food.

Kashk-e-Bademjan

One thing to warn you about Iranian food is that making it is time consuming and it needs a lot of patience. The easiest recipes for Iranians, seem to be far too detailed for Westerners. We slowcook our food and a normal stew might take three to four hours to cook. If you ever need a funny face, talk with an Iranian about sushi and observe how we get traumatised by the idea of uncooked fish!  


Kashk-e-Bademjan is cooked aubergine (Bademjan) served with Kashk. Now what is kashk? It is a byproduct of butter. In Iran, yoghurt is put inside the goat's skin and shaken by rural women. The fat that gets separated is butter and what is remained is boiled again to make Kashk. Kashk is a rich source of calcium and is used in Iran, Lebanon and Syria for different dishes. You might not find it at Tesco here, but any Iranian shop will have it. In case they have dried Kashk, just add some water and let it boil. And if thee are no Iranian shops in your neighbourhood, use greek yoghurt.


What you need: (4 people)
3 Aubergines
1 Large onion
6 Garlic cloves
dried mint, salt, pepper, turmeric, olive oil, walnuts
Kashk or Greek Yoghurt


peel and cut the aubergines. fry them in olive oil. Put them aside on paper towel to drain. 
Chop the onion. put half of the chopped onion aside and fry the rest until golden. chop 4 garlic cloves like flakes. fry them. put them aside.
in a deep pan, fry the other half of onion until it softens. add the remained two chopped garlic cloves. add the aubergine, add a little water. cook till aubergine is tender. mash the whole thing slightly, it shouldn't be mashed perfectly, add a little bit of kashk (if you are using Greek yoghurt, you shouldn't add it here). let it boil and then pour it in the dish.
meanwhile the food is cooking, put a tablespoon of oil in a sauce pan, add two tablespoons of mint and as soon as the colour turns dark green, turn off the heat. Be careful not to burn the mint.
Decorate the aubergine then with Kashk, fried onions, garlic flakes, walnuts and mint. If you are using Greek Yoghurt, just decorate the aubergine with the aforementioned and eat it with yoghurt. Don't add the yoghurt to the food in any stage!


What you eat (with pita, lavash or tortilla bread):

Kashk-e-Bademjan is used as an appetiser in parties but also can be the main food when there are no guests around. My mum is a Kashk-e-Bademjan goddess. Before going to Iran, when I put up my menu-on-arrival (a gift from her to spoil me), I always put Kashk-e-Bademjan. And insist: "maman! make it like old times! forget about Cholesterol!" and it means everything is fried generously... and as Iranians love, a centimeter of oil stands over the food!


P.S. 1. I found out that my beloved Firoozeh Dumas also has written about Kashk-e-Bademjan and her mum's cooking. Firoozeh is undoubtedly one of the funniest Iranians ever and her book "Funny in Farsi" is an amazing autobiographical account of Iranians living outside Iran. Don't read it at night, your laughter will wake the neighbours up!


P.S.2. Some sites say Kashk is liquid whey protein. No idea what is Whey? Do you?

Birthday

I would wake up with the sound of my grandma singing in the kitchen... the day would arrive slowly; from under my thick blanket I could see sparrows singing. The light would fill the garden and oranges would shine through snowy trees. This blog is dedicated to my dear grandma and all those moments that I felt warm listening to her singing and felt secure watching her make food. She is my Tehran; her strong hands always my home.