Mirza Ghasemi: The Best Persian Smoked Eggplant Dip

Mirza ghasemi is my favorite eggplant dish. And that’s saying a lot because I’ve never met an eggplant recipe I didn’t love. But this one – oh, this one – is a world apart from the rest. It’s good with bread, delicious with rice, and amazing on its own. Often, I scoop it directly into my mouth.

It’s one food that I have no limit for. So what’s so great about? It uses simple ingredients – most of which you probably already have in your kitchen. There are no fancy spices you need and the whole recipe comes together pretty quickly.

But despite its simplicity, it is so incredibly flavorful.

It has an addictively rich, smoky taste that’s made deeper with the addition of garlic and the acidity of tomatoes. It’s like eating a vegetable campfire. But one that’s nutritionally dense and so, very satisfying. So what exactly is it?

What is Mirza Ghasemi?

The first time I heard of mirza ghasemi, I was like: “who dat?” It does sound like somebody’s name, doesn’t it? And turns out I was kinda right.

• Mirza (میرزا): A surname or prefix for a historically royal and noble title, i.e. prince, nobleman, scholar, and so on.
• Ghasemi (قاسمی): The name of the governor and foodie, Mohammad Qasim Khan, who did us all a solid by creating this dish.

Mirza ghasemi is also spelled mirza ghassemi or mirza qassemi. In the west, it’s often referred to as Persian eggplant dip. But it’s far more than a dip. It can be an appetizer, a snack, a light main meal, or even a delicious addition to a sandwich.

Even better, it’s vegetarian. And it can very simply be made vegan by removing the eggs.

The best part? It doesn’t take much to make it.

Mirza Ghasemi Ingredients

For all its smoky, flavorful complexity – mirza ghasemi is a surprisingly simple recipe. You don’t need much. It’s just a couple major players and seasoning that most of us have in our kitchen cupboards.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 2 globe eggplants
• 2 tomatoes
• 1 egg
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1/8 cup olive oil
• 1.5 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp lemon juice

That’s it. Here’s a little deep dive into the ingredients.

Tomatoes

You can use canned or fresh tomatoes but I prefer fresh. There’s easy enough to peel yourself – just soak them in hot water for 2 to 3 minutes.

As for the tomato paste, it’s so important for flavor but equally important that you don’t overdo it. The best taste component in mirza ghasemi is the smoky eggplant. Too much tomato paste can overtake that essential smoky flavor.

Turmeric

Adding a pinch of turmeric rounds out the dish nicely. But just a pinch. Again, the dominant flavor of this dish is the charred eggplant – we don’t want anything to overpower that.

Garlic

I use around 4 to 5 cloves of garlic for this recipe but to be honest, I believe there’s no such thing as too much garlic (most of the time). Feel free to add more if you want.

Also, fresh garlic is best. Minced garlic is fine too – just make sure you add that in when you do the tomatoes and eggplant and not before. Burnt garlic is no fun.

Another great option if you have it is garlic confit. I’ve left it out of this recipe because it’ll add another hour to this recipe. But if you have some that you’ve already made? Perfect. Use that instead.

Eggs

Mirza ghasemi is usually served at restaurants with the eggs mostly scrambled and thoroughly blended into the dish. But you don’t have to do this. When it comes to the eggs in mirza ghasemi, you’ve got a lot of options.

Like so:

• No eggs. Without the eggs, mirza ghasemi is a totally vegan dish. So if you want to make it vegan, skip the eggs. Some recommend substituting tofu for the eggs as well.
• Scrambled eggs. You can either cook the eggs beforehand, scrambled-style, and mix them in afterwards. Or do it the traditional way by stirring in the beaten eggs right at the end. You make a hole or two in the cooked mirza ghasemi and add the eggs, let them sit a bit and then stir them in to add a different texture.
• Creamy eggs. You can also mix the egg mixture into the mirza ghasemi and blend it in, lett it all cook together. This results in a thicker, creamier texture.
• Shakshuka style. Last but not least, you can gently poach the eggs on top of the mirza ghasemi, shakshuka style, when the dish is done. Leave the egg yolks slightly runny for extra deliciousness.

As you can see, when it comes to eggs, you’ve got choices. Try them all out!

Lemon

For a long time, I wondered why my mirza ghasemi didn’t taste like the one I love at my favorite Persian restaurant. I tried it with sugar, more tomato paste, sumac, and butter. No luck.

Finally, I tried lemon. It did the trick. A little bit of lemon juice really deepens the flavor. That extra tang is the perfect complement to the smoky flavor. But use sparingly – too much can overpower the dish. And we want the smoky, earthy flavors to be predominant.

As you can see, it doesn’t take a whole lot to make mirza ghasemi. And yet it is so incredibly flavorful. The thing that makes it so unique, so addictive? It’s the tantalizingly smoky flavor of eggplant. And it’s crucial that you get this right. It’s the make-it-or-break-it factor to this dish.

What Makes a GREAT Mirza Ghasemi

The single most important thing is getting that delicious smoky flavor. To accomplish that, the eggplants must be charred. Not just a little bit of roasting, mind you – you want the eggplant peels blackened to a crisp and flesh that’s soft and juicy.

So how do you get this? Traditionally, it’s done by grilling the eggplant over hot charcoal until it blisters. But are you out of luck if you don’t have a barbecue? Not at all.

Because charred eggplant is the most crucial make-it-or-break-it element of this dish, I’ve experimented with several methods to see what gets you that wonderful smoky flavor. Here are the most common methods, how long they take, pros and cons and exactly what to do.

Open Flame Stovetop

Time: Around 10 to 12 minutes

If you don’t have a charcoal barbecue, the next best method is fire roasting the eggplant. It’s a good, quick way to get that crispy black blistered skin that gives mirza ghasemi its characteristic flavor.

It may be messy but it’s worth it for that smoky flavor and juicy meat. As the skin gets charred to a crisp, the inside is being cooked to buttery soft perfection. Win win.

Pros: It’s quick, takes just 10 – 12 minutes to char and cook even fat and fleshy globe eggplant. Plus, it results in that authentic smoky flavor.

Cons: It’s messy – your stovetop will end up with eggplant juices that drip and charred skin that falls as the eggplant is roasting. Oh, and it’s not hands off. You’ll have to turn the eggplant every 3 to 5 minutes until it’s fully roasted.

Despite the drawbacks, this is my favorite way to roast eggplant for an authentically smoky mirza ghasemi. Just remember to turn the stove fan on and open some windows.

Bake Them

Time: Around 50 minutes

One option is to bake the eggplant. To do this, preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F. Place the eggplant in foil or a roasting tin and roast them them for 45 minutes.

Pros: Easy to do, eggplant flesh gets very juicy.

Cons: Takes a long time. But the biggest downside is that the skin gets crispy but never gets that char that gives the mirza ghasemi the crucial smoky flavor.

The picture below is an eggplant baked in the oven for 45 minutes. It’s fully roasted and the flesh is dark and juicy. But the skin is papery – not crispy charred like we want.

So if you’re using the oven bake method, you’ll still need to hold them over an open fire, like the gas burner on the stovetop. It takes just a couple minutes so it’s not time consuming.

But the reason I personally don’t like this method is because the eggplant is already cooked and juicy within from the oven baking. So even a couple minutes over the stovetop results in a lot of juice being leaked. Read: it gets messy.

Better to just do it over the stove top to begin with and skip the oven step.

Grill in the Oven (Using a Broiler)

For this, we’ll stick the eggplant in the oven again. But instead of baking them, we’re going to use the broiler. It mimics the inside of an outdoor grill and it’s a much faster way to roast the eggplant. My broiler reaches 250 °C (482 °F) so that’s what I go with.

Let it preheat for 10 minutes. Stick the eggplant in and let broil for around 20 minutes.

Pros: Much faster. You’ll have slightly crispy skin and a juicy cooked eggplant in about 15 to 20 minutes.

Cons: The eggplant cooks quickly and the skin gets a bit crispy – but it does not get that smoky charred skin that we’re looking for in a good mirza ghasemi.

As you can see in the below picture, even after a good 20 minutes in an oven broiler at 250 °C, this eggplant does not have the crucial charring.

So again, even after grilling the eggplant in the oven, you’ll still have to char them over fire to crisp off the skin. It’s a couple extra minutes but because the charred flavor is a major player in this recipe, it’s a step you don’t want to skip.

Jarred pre-grilled eggplant

Of course, for those of us who appreciate a good shortcut, there is always the ready-to-eat option. I’m talking jarred or canned roasted eggplant. You can get these babies on Amazon or from Middle Eastern supermarkets.

I’m lucky enough to live close by an Iranian supermarket and being a fan of shortcuts, I tried a couple options from there.

Pros: Quick and easy. No prepping, roasting, or cutting eggplant. Just use it straight from the jar.

Cons: Not the best taste and can be quite watery.

My overall verdict is that it’s not worth the time saved. It can do in a pinch if you really, really don’t want to be smoking your own eggplant.

But it tends to be more watery than I’d like and the taste is hit or miss. Even if they promise that “smoky flavor,” it’s often bland or overshadowed by the sour, acidic taste of citric acid.

If you can spare 15 minutes, smoke the eggplant yourself. Because again, that smoky flavor is crucial. So whatever you do – get it into the eggplant. The success of this dish depends on it.

How to Make Mirza Ghasemi

The preparation takes a while. But the whole cooking process goes quite quickly. Here’s what to do.

Prep the Ingredients

Place the tomatoes in a bowl of boiling water and let sit for two minutes. Peel the tomatoes – the skin should slide right off.

Chop the tomatoes. Chop the garlic. Set both aside.

Char the Eggplant

Place two eggplant on top of the stove and turn the heat to medium-high, making sure the eggplant are in direct contact to the open flame. Using tongs, turn the eggplant every 3 to 5 minutes until the skin is charred and crisping off and the flesh is cooked.

As the eggplant flesh cooks and it becomes mushy, you’ll have to readjust to keep it from folding into the open fire.

Note: It typically takes me about 12 minutes to get a good char on both eggplants. But if you want to keep it on a bit longer until they’re absolutely incinerated on the outside – more power to you.

It’s usually not feasible to go over 20 minutes, though, because there will be quite a lot of juice leakage as the eggplant flesh cooks.

Peel and Prep the Eggplant

Transfer the charred eggplant into a big bowl or pot of cold water for about two minutes to help cool them down.

Use your hands to peel the blackened skin off the eggplant. There will be tiny bits of blackened skin scattered all over the eggplant. To get rid of most of it, just put it under running water for a couple seconds, that will get most of it off.

As for the little specks that are left, it’s totally okay to leave a bit of it on – in fact, I recommend it.

Last but not least, chop off the top of the eggplant and cut the eggplant into small pieces. Set aside.

Combine and Cook

Heat a generous amount of olive oil on very low heat. I use 1/8 cup of olive oil. Just make sure there’s more than enough olive oil to coat the garlic. The last thing we want is for the garlic to burn.

Stir continuously to make sure the garlic doesn’t burn for about 3 to 4 minutes. Then add the tomatoes and the eggplant. Stir to mix.

Add the tomato paste, turmeric, salt, pepper, and sugar. Stir to combine.

Cover with a lid and let cook for 10 minutes.

Add the Eggs

Make a hole or two in the eggplant mixture and pour the beaten egg into it. Let it set and solidify for 4 to 5 minutes and then stir them into the rest of the mixture.

Turn off the heat and add the lemon juice. Give everything a final stir to get all the ingredients incorporated. Serve warm.

What Else Can I Add to Mirza Ghasemi?

This mirza ghasemi is already delicious but sometimes you just want a little…more. So what else plays nicely with this dish?

A bit of spice. Add a tiny bit of harissa sauce to taste. Mix it in. It gives the mirza ghasemi such a yummy, spicy kick.

Sun-dried tomatoes. One addition I love is sun-dried tomato paste. The intense flavor plays really nicely with the smokiness of mirza ghasemi – a little bit of fire and a little bit of sun. Yum.

What to Do with Leftovers

Mirza ghasemi leftovers are the best because it tastes even better after marinating in its own juices for a day in the fridge. The best way to reheat is on a stove top over low heat. If further caramelization happens – yay!

But the microwave works fine as well. Just a minute or two will do it. If it’s too dry, add a drizzle of olive oil once it’s heated.

Not going to eat it anytime soon? Everything in mirza ghasemi – cooked eggplant, tomatoes, even the eggs – freezes well. You can keep it in an airtight container in the freezer for up to a year, but I do recommend consuming it within six months.

What to Serve with Mirza Ghasemi

Mirza ghasemi is a super versatile dish. Here are the many, many ways you can enjoy it.

With Bread

You can have mirza ghasemi as a starter or snack with a side of Persian flatbread, Barbari. Don’t have that? It’s also good with flatbread of any sort. A pita goes well. I’ve even had it with toasted tortilla. All good.

Sometimes, I’ll cut a tortilla wrap into quarters and make little wraps for my kid.

With Rice

No need to only have mirza ghasemi as an appetizer or side dish – it works really well as a main meal. Serve it with Persian saffron rice. Or barberry rice (zereshk polo). Or even better – alongside Tahdig. Yum.

As a Sandwich

One of my current favorite ways to enjoy mirza ghasemi is in sandwich form. Instead of flatbread, I use foccacia. Spread a generous layer of mirza ghasemi and then top it off with a couple slices of sundried tomatoes. It’s so, very delicious.

Here’s what you need:

• 4 globe eggplants
• half a large garlic bulb (~6 to 7 garlic cloves)
• 4 tomatoes, medium (vine)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp salt (might need more)
• 1/2 tsp pepper