This is a rustic and easy-to-make old family recipe for Persian Seared Eggplant with Tomato Beef. With just a few quality ingredients that make it really special, in my opinion, comfort food doesn’t get any better than this. It’s simply the BEST Gheimeh Bademjan recipe.
During my commutes to and from the lab, the first thing I do after putting on my [more or less] 52 layers of coats and scarfs is call my Persian mama.
We talk about family, lab stuff, my irresistibly adorable baby niece, I tell her how cold it is in Chicago and she’ll hesitatingly tell me it’s 80 degrees warmer in SoCal, and of course, we always seem to end up talking about food.
I’m constantly thinking about what to cook next, and especially because I have this blog thing and another job thing, it doesn’t always come easy when you want to churn out really yummy recipes.
Sometimes things get obnoxiously hectic and then all I want to do is cook and drown out the rest of the work noise.
On the flip side, sometimes I lose food inspiration for like 3 days and then I freak out because I think that I need to keep up with my schedule and come up with a recipe STAT; and it has to be a recipe that I stand behind 100%, because honestly, this blog is really special to me. It’s the stuff I truly love to eat at home and nothing less. I promise, if ever there’s a day I put up a recipe that I feel whatever about, let that be my 2-week notice.
So the other day when I was in my I-don’t-really-know-what-I-want-to-eat-so-I-probably-won’t ever-be-able-to-think-of-another-recipe-to-post-again mood, I called up my mama as I was commuting to the lab, and she was in the kitchen, already cooking up a storm.
I asked her what she was making and she said, “Gheimeh Bademjoon!” She sort of needed to remind me what exactly that was again because I hadn’t had it maybe a decade.
It’s an old family recipe from her side that consists of ground beef, seared eggplant, and tomato flavors. You eat it with fresh garlic yogurt and some Persian bread—or pasta if you want! We did that too as you can see, and it was beyond amazing. My worlds of Persian food love and Italian food love collided and it was something special.
I shouldn’t bother even explaining how good this food is. It’s the epitome of rustic and simple goodness. Let me just say that. By the way, if you like this kind of recipe you will LOVE Koofteh – Persian Meatballs–the most gorgeous and super flavorful comfort food!
Needless to say, after our phone call, the clouds separated.
And then I felt this real sense of relief because I’d been cooking a ton of non-Persian stuff lately and it caused me to really miss my Persian food. I just didn’t know exactly which dish I was actually craving.
But my mama seemed to know just what I wanted because although I hadn’t eaten Gheimeh Bademjoon in years, the flavors were exactly on point with what my body craved.
Again, I’ve relearned that two things are forever certain:
1. Your body knows best.
2. When #1 sends you mixed messages, call up Mama because she always, always knows best.
Try my recipe for the BEST Persian Beef & Green Beans in Rice – Loobia Polo!
Try my recipe for the TASTIEST Persian Noodle Soup – Ashe Reshteh!
Try my recipe for the MOST AMAZING Persian Lentil Soup – Adasi!
Try my recipe for a DELICIOUSLY EASY Beef Linguine Pasta!
Try my recipe for the BESTTTT Braised Beef Shank Pasta!
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Gheimeh Bademjan – Persian Seared Eggplant & Tomato Beef — VIDEO!
Ingredients
- 1 Large Eggplant or the equivalent amount of the smaller eggplant variety
- 2 tablespoons ghee
- 1-1.5 pounds Ground Beef
- 1 White or Yellow Onion pureed in a food processor or shredded with a box grater
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 2 teaspoons Sea Salt
- 1 teaspoon Black Pepper
- 5 ounces Tomato Paste ⅔ cup
- 1 Large Tomato or 2 small/medium ones, rinsed and cut into thick wedges
- 1 cup Greek Yogurt
- 1 tablespoon Garlic 4-5 cloves, minced
Instructions
- Rinse the eggplant. Remove its stem and slice the eggplant into ¼-inch thick slices. Then cut into a bit larger than bite-sized pieces.
- Put water into a large pan to an inch deep. Add in the eggplant into a single layer. Turn heat to high and place cover over pan. Once the water starts seeming like it wants to boil, reduce heat to a simmer (most likely medium heat). After a couple minutes, flip them to cook the other side for another 2 minutes or so. The eggplant should soften and may slightly change in color. Remove the eggplant to a clean plate. Work in batches if needed.
- Rinse and dry the pan. Add 2 tablespoons of ghee to the pan on med-high heat. Swirl oil around in pan to coat the surface.
- Add the eggplant to the pan in a single layer and don’t touch the eggplant for 2 minutes while it sears on one side. After 2 minutes, flip the eggplant and allow to cook for another 2 minutes before removing to a clean plate. Work in batches if needed (add more ghee for each new batch).
- In a mixing bowl, combine the beef, onion, turmeric, salt, and pepper.
- Add the beef mixture to the pan on high heat and use a spatula to break up the beef into small pieces.
- Allow to cook for about 5-10 minutes or until the beef has browned and begins sauteing in its own natural fat.
- At this point, mix in the tomato paste.
- Mix in the eggplant and fresh tomato.
- Turn heat to med-low and mix occasionally for 5 minutes.
- To make the garlic yogurt, mix the garlic into the yogurt. Serve a large dollop of it on top of the beef mixture in your own plate that you’ll enjoy with bread, pasta, rice, or quinoa.
That dish looks
so delicious! Thank you Bita!
Thanks Becky! 🙂 🙂 <3
My 7 and 11 year old boys loved it!!!! The eggplant and tomatoes made them very skeptical, but they were pleasantly surprised
Have never heard of this dish before…can’t wait to make it!
I’m actually thinking that not many Persians know about this dish because it’s something my mom grew up eating and my dad did not grow up eating. It’s an old recipe on my mom’s side (from the Azeri region of Iran). But it’s serious comfort food for me 😉
this looks absolutely delicious, and I’m saying this because some of my all-time favourite ingredients (eggplant, tomatoes, garlic n beef) are all part of it…that being said, I’m super-excited to give this awesome recipe a try…
one question, though…correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought gheymeh is characterised by the use of lapeh as a main ingredient, or is this version an exception?
thanks in advance!
much love,
a Persian Food Lover from Canada
Hi Zachary (Persian Food Lover from Canada:)!!
Thank you so much! I’m so happy you want to try it out! You’re going to LOVE it! So I actually also used to think that gheimeh meant that lappeh (yellow-split peas) was involved too, but it turns out that gheimeh is actually the sautéed ground beef mixture in this case. We’re so used to hearing “khoreshteh gheimeh” which is famous for the lappeh ingredient so I bet that’s why we both think of lappeh when we hear “gheimeh”. 😉
I made this dish last night and served it with (lazy me) basmati rice that I purchased already prepared at my most favorite restaurant, Moby Dick House of Kabob (in the Washington DC/MD/VA area). It was excellent, and I just had some leftover for lunch at work. I ended up using ground beef that was 93% lean and a tiny bit less than one pound (.98) as somehow this was the last batch of ground beef at the supermarket. I am not sure if using this amount rather than 1 1/2 pound made me think that I could have gone lighter on the salt (I used 1 tbsp per the recipe); or maybe it is because I forgot to buy the yogurt which (with the garlic) would have probably blended well with the added salt. Regardelss though, your dish was delicious. Next time though, if I know i won’t have yogurt, I will cut the salt to maybe 2 tsp. I can’t wait to make it again and try it with the yogurt. I adore turmeric so I am happy that this dish had some. Also, I may next time add a bit of smoked paprika to the eggplants prior to frying. Thanks so much! Regine
Hi Regine! I’m so happy you tried this recipe and good for you for buying some good and ready rice! That makes it that much easier and we all deserve a bit of a break sometimes :)! Here’s a little fun fact for you actually about doing that sort of thing: There’s this Persian dish that I haven’t posted as of yet but it’s very yummy and it’s a beef and yellow split pea stew topped with french fries (called khoreshteh gheimeh). So some people will make the stew and drive over to the closest McDonald’s to buy a bunch of french fries to top the stew. No one has to know! It tastes good and it’s easy ;)!
Well, I love that you enjoyed this recipe so much and I’m really excited for you to try it with the yogurt next time. That paprika tip sounds amazing too by the way (I might just have to give it a go myself!). And I do think 2 tsp of salt is perfect for that amount of beef you used. Oh and I also use 93% lean ground sirloin beef. “Lean” is a very ambiguous term I suppose 😉
xoxo!
Hello Bita!
You’re food looks (and tastes) amazing! I just recently starting cooking for my German husband and I am venturing into all types of Iranian food and your blog has been SO helpful in helping me find my roots. My mom has made something similar to this, but not exactly the same. My question is, is this something that can be served over rice? I am not a big fan of pasta myself.
Thanks!!
Hi Sepi! Of course you can have it with rice! 🙂 That’s the beauty of dishes like this one. It’s all very easy going and you use what you have. I actually used pasta that one time because I don’t have access to authentic Persian bread in Chicago (unless my Persian mama sends me some!) and this dish is traditionally, and very informally, served with bread. You can eat it with whatever your heart desires though!
Thanks for commenting! I love getting to know the wanderers of my blog. It’s the best! And I do hope I can continue to help you find your roots :). They’re great ones to find! xoxo
Girl you’re in Chicago, if I can get great Middle Eastern breads and Zatar and stuffs in Skokie, you can find Persian bread in the city! Made this, it was good, but yours looks a whole lot better. Had this for the third night with fried eggs and fried in a little additional oil and with the thin pita bread, amazzzzing. Very nice post and recipe, thank you!
Hi Jess! Thanks so much!! 🙂 And you’re right, there’s totally Middle Eastern populations in Chicago, but not very much of a Persian one in reality! We’ve got one store (it’s in Andersonville) and it looks like someone’s old pantry, unfortunately–cobwebs and all! But it’s all good! I get more than my fix from SoCal, where it’s basically a second Tehran in some ways 😉
its really very yummy .today i try this dish as per your recipe. its really great in taste my all family like it tooo much specially the aroma of tomatoes are superb.thanks a lot of sharing such a nice dish please keep it up.
You’re welcome! 🙂
If I could give this 10 stars, I would. My husband and I absolutely love this dish. It has become our favorite comfort food since I discovered your recipe! The first time, I made it with eggplant. It’s a lot of work, but so worth it! The second time, I got lazy and used summer squash. I cooked the squash in the oven at 400 degrees in 1/4″ water for 8 min to soften, drained the liquid, added butter, and put them under the broiler for 5-7 min to roast. Then added them to everything else on the stovetop. It was still fantastic. The rustic simplicity of this recipe is like a warm embrace after a long absence. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for sharing this piece of your culture and heritage.
Francesca, you’re so welcome! And thank you for your lovely comment! I can’t express how happy it made me to learn that you and your husband love it so much. I’m delighted. 😀 x
First Persian dish I’ve ever made. So easy and delicious! Thank you!
That’s awesome!!! Good for you! So glad you loved it and reported back to me about it! Thanks!!
After I cut my eggplant in slightly larger than bite sized pieces and parboiled it, how was I to sear these little bits? Guess I should watch the video. Also it was a bit bland…turmeric doesn’t have much flavor. Good to try.
Hi Martha, the turmeric doesn’t impart flavor, so much as it does color and antioxidant power. It’s flavor is more of a hint. I’d advise you to add more sea salt if yours was bland. That will definitely solve your problem. Go ahead and watch the video to see exactly how to prepare the eggplant, if you haven’t. That should help explain it. The recipe instructions should give all the details. Let me know if you have any other questions, Martha! 🙂
I used ‘Beyond’ ground product to make the recipe (because it was on sale) and I figured the recipe has enough other flavoring to contribute without needing a ‘beefy’ taste. I used a whole 6oz can of tomato paste, and added in about 1 cup marinara sauce because I thought it was a little dry. I added a tsp of ground garlic also (because why not?). Instead of steaming and frying the 1 smallish eggplant and 1 largish zucchini, I sliced them, sprayed with Olive Oil, and convect broiled until brown, flipping once. Then I cut them up into bite sized pieces and added them when I added the tomato wedges. I let it all cook down longer than the recipe calls for to meld the flavors, especially since there’s quite a lot of tomato paste in the recipe, and that tastes bitter without some simmering. The end result is tasty, mild, and certainly works with the garlic yogurt as a boost. Thanks for the recipe.
You’re so welcome! I love that you changed up the recipe for your own style!
We LOVE this recipe. Love love love. Its not something I would typically make so its nice to go out of the box. We rarely have tomatoes but I can imagine it would be wonderful.
We’ve made this multiple times as written and it’s always a hit. Quick, easy, and super delicious. This time, we changed it up a bit by grilling the eggplant on the barbecue and using ground lamb instead of beef. It was EXCELLENT!!
This was delicious! I’m of an Indian background so I’m used to using turmeric, but never as the main spice of a dish… it was so yummy and different! Glad I tried it! (I didn’t have tomato paste unfortunately so I just used some pasta sauce…next time I’ll make sure I have tomato paste on hand!) Thanks.
Fantastic recipe! I made this last night for my husband and I along with Chelow and we devoured almost all of it!!! Well worth the time and effort for such a comforting dish that wasn’t overpowering but oh-so-flavourful. Will definitely make this again, especially during these long cold months in Canada!
I made this …served over quinoa with naan which i made also from scratch and served still warm……photo MINE….a few tips: the eggplant is far easier to prepare if misted or rubbed with olive oil and broiled in each side on high in the oven…speeds the prep past the steaming and then frying the way the recipe suggests…I also recommend adding lime juice and dill to the yogurt dressing-brings the flavors up two notches!
I’ve made this 5 times in 6 months. It’s absolutely delicious.
This is great way to prepare eggplant. The eggplant retains its color too, as I add some acid to the poaching water. I’m going to use this preparation for moussaka. Thank You. I made the recipe as you laid out earlier and it is very good with rice and yogurt!
This is truly delicious! Love feeding this to family and friends. It’s not too expensive and a nice change from my standard go-to’s like pasta or tacos. Everyone loves it!!!
I may have bastardized this as I didn’t have tomato paste so just added canned tomatoes (it was a last minute I have ground beef and eggplant what the heck am I going to make night) It was delicious. (I also added some smoked paprika). Served it in basmati rice. I think this would be good with naan bread too. The garlic yoghurt was a beautiful touch.
Wow! This was so yummy. Even my picky kid liked it! I did use zucchini in place of eggplant because I didn’t have any on hand. It was quick and easy to make, and tastes like it was difficult! Will definitely be making this again. Thank you for sharing this with the world! ♥️