Other savoury dishes
Mirza Ghasemi
میرزا قاسمی
The pattern above is ornament, not a photograph of the dish.
- Hands-on time
- 20 min
- Cooking time
- 40 min
- Makes
- 4 servings
- Makes
- 4 servings (Estimated)
- Kind
- Other savoury dishes
- Where it is eaten
- Provincial
- Serving
- 250 g
Ingredients
Makes 4 servings
- aubergines, slender ones 6 medium
- tomatoes, ripe 3 medium
- garlic, grated 4 cloves
- eggs 2 large eggs
- tomato paste 1 tbsp
- turmeric 0.5 tsp
- oil 5 tbsp
- salt 0.5 tsp
- black pepper 0.5 tsp
Method
Char the aubergines whole, directly over a gas flame or charcoal, turning them until the skin is blackened all over and the flesh has collapsed. This is the dish — an oven bakes them through without smoke, and without the smoke it is no longer میرزا قاسمی. Pierce each one first so it does not burst.
Put them in a covered bowl while still hot for a few minutes; the trapped steam loosens the skin. Peel them, and if the aubergines are seedy scrape the seeds out and discard them — they are the usual reason a میرزا قاسمی turns out bitter.
Chop the flesh with a knife, then crush it with a masher. Coarse, not a purée: the texture is part of the dish.
Drop the tomatoes into boiling water for five minutes, lift them out, cool them and slip the skins off. Chop them very fine or grate them.
Warm the oil in a wide pan and fry the grated garlic gently until it softens and smells sweet — do not let it colour, or it turns bitter. Stir in the turmeric and fry a few seconds more.
Add the aubergine and fry it, stirring often, for about twenty minutes. Then add the tomato and keep going until the water has gone and the oil rises clear at the edges. That separation is the sign it is ready, not the clock.
Fry the tomato paste in the oil at the side of the pan for a minute until it darkens, then stir it through. Season with the salt and pepper.
Push the mixture to one side, break the eggs into the clear space, let them set, then fold them through in ribbons rather than beating them in. Let it sit a few minutes off the heat and serve warm with fresh bread, or with rice.
Cook's notes
Cooks disagree about the tomato paste. It deepens the colour, which is why it is here, but a good number of Gilani cooks leave it out and hold that it masks the smoke. Ripe tomatoes alone are the older version; omit it freely.
The egg is treated three ways and all three are current: folded through at the end as here, cracked over the surface and left to set under a lid, or fried separately and laid on top at serving.
Garlic, not onion. Some cooks substitute onion because they dislike garlic, but every source we read is clear that the dish is built on garlic and smoke.
Frying the aubergines instead of charring them is a real alternative for anyone without a flame, and the sources offer it — but it gives a different, milder dish. Be generous with the oil either way; that is what carries it.
We consulted authoritative Persian cooking sources to prepare this recipe. Visit them for more detail and for regional variations of this dish.
Sources consulted:
- Parsiday — طرز تهیه میرزا قاسمی رستورانی خوشمزه و مجلسی به سبک رشتی 2026-08-13
- Chi Shi — طرز تهیه میرزا قاسمی خوشمزه و مخصوص رستورانهای گیلان 2026-08-13
- Beytoote — طرز تهیه میرزا قاسمی به روش سنتی 2026-08-13
Reviewed: 2026-08-13
Background
Mirza Ghasemi is one of Gilan's best-known dishes. Its smoky eggplant, garlic, and tomato profile is strongly associated with the food culture of the humid southern Caspian region.
Nutrition
| Energy | 280 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 12 g |
| Fat | 18 g |
| Carbohydrate | 18 g |
Where this comes from
Dish-specific official Visit Iran page supports the record; Grade A does not certify laboratory nutrition.
Record: IR0080 · Evidence: A (Directly documented)
Open the source page https://visitiran.ir/fa/cuisine/%D9%85%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%B2%D8%A7-%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%85%DB%8C