YKGrub · Oct 2026 · serves 2–3 · 55 min · Persian, no kashk needed
Source: RF, 2026-10-13 — wanted the classic without kashk in the house.
Serves: 2–3 as a main with bread, 6 as a dip · 55 min · keeps 4 days
Kashk is fermented whey: saltier, tangier and far thicker than yogurt, and it does not split when heated. Strained yogurt with salt and lemon gets close, but it has to go in off the heat.
Ingredients
Eggplant
2 large eggplants (~2 lb)
Salt, for drawing
¼ cup neutral oil, for shallow frying the eggplant
Piaz dagh — fried onion
2 yellow onions, thinly sliced
3 tbsp oil, for the onions
½ tsp turmeric
Sir dagh — fried garlic
5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tbsp oil, for the garlic
Na'na dagh — mint oil (the signature garnish)
2 tbsp oil, for the mint
1 tbsp dried mint
The yogurt stand-in
1 cup thick Greek yogurt or labneh, strained 30 min if loose
½ tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp lemon juice
Optional: ¼ cup walnuts, toasted and roughly ground
Prepare the eggplant
Slice lengthwise, about ¼ inch. Thinner burns; thicker stays spongy.
Salt both sides generously. Lay in a colander 30–60 min until water beads out.
Press and pat bone dry. This is the step that decides the dish — wet eggplant drinks oil, dry eggplant fries.
Shallow fry in ¼ inch of oil, medium-high, 2–3 min a side, until deep golden.
Drain on a rack, not paper towel. Paper traps steam and they go soggy.
Air fryer version: same salting and drying, brush with oil, 390°F for 14 min. Less oil, close enough, not identical.
Build it
Fry the onions in 3 tbsp oil over medium, 15–20 min, until genuinely brown — not golden. This is where the sweetness comes from and it is the step people cut short.
Stir the turmeric into the oil for 30 seconds. Set aside half the onion for the top.
Fry the garlic in 1 tbsp oil, 1–2 min, until just blond. It goes bitter in seconds past that — pull it early.
Bloom the dried mint in 2 tbsp oil off the heat, about 20 seconds in the residual warmth. Never on direct heat — mint scorches instantly and turns black and bitter.
Mash the fried eggplant with half the onion, the garlic and the walnuts if using. A fork or potato masher. Leave it textured, not a purée.
Warm it gently in the pan, 2–3 min, and season.
Off the heat, fold in the yogurt whisked with salt and lemon. Reserve a spoonful for the top.
Spread on a plate. Swirl over the reserved yogurt, scatter the reserved onion, spoon the mint oil across.
Notes
Yogurt splits if it boils. Off the heat, always. If you want it hot-held for guests, whisk ½ tsp cornstarch into the yogurt first.
Kashk is saltier than yogurt — taste and keep salting. Underseasoned is the usual failure.
Dried mint is not on the house spice inventory (checked 2026-10-13). Buy it, or dry fresh mint leaves on a plate in the microwave in 20-second bursts until brittle, then crumble.
Baby portion: air-fry two unsalted eggplant slices separately and mash them plain. The main batch is salted at step 2, so there is no later point to pull a portion from.
Keeps 4 days. Better on day 2. Serve warm or at room temperature with flatbread.