Over charcoal, the eggplant skins crackle and shrivel black. Beside them the tomato skins burst and the unpeeled garlic turns golden. When the smoky scent of charred vegetables fills the kitchen, you peel and chop them, cook them together in a pan, and crack in eggs at the end. Mirza ghasemi (میرزا قاسمی) is a specialty of Gilan province in northern Iran, on the Caspian Sea. Anyone who knows grilled eggplant will recognize the source of that aroma at once.
On the Caspian shore: the charred eggplant of Gilan
Gilan province is quite different from the usual image of Iran as a land of dry plateau. It is a green region between the Caspian Sea and the mountains. The cooking of the people of Gilan is called Gilaki cuisine, and mirza ghasemi is one of its representative dishes.
The ingredients are surprisingly few: eggplant, tomato, egg and garlic are the base, with only oil, salt and pepper added. Yet the flavor does not turn flat because the vegetables are charred in their skins to carry in the smoke. You could say the taste of mirza ghasemi is decided by this char aroma.
As the author at My Caldron also writes, it is now loved not only in Gilan but across Iran and beyond. Because it uses no meat, it is also welcome as a vegetarian dish.
A dish said to be devised by the governor of Rasht
The name mirza ghasemi is said to come from a person's name. The story is that during the Qajar era in the 19th century, the governor of Rasht, the capital of Gilan, devised the dish.
An article from Australia's SBS Food introduces it as devised by the governor of Rasht, Mohammad Ghasem Khan. English Wikipedia also names the same person, but that statement carries a request for a source. The story that the name honors a governor is widely told, but it is probably best taken as tradition rather than as an origin backed by solid records.
Ali Mohammadi, chef of an Iranian restaurant in Brisbane who spoke to SBS Food, describes mirza ghasemi as a dish that "cannot be changed." With so few ingredients, the care taken in charring and cooking shows directly in the taste. According to Mohammadi, the ideal is to char medium-sized eggplants over wood charcoal, rolling them so that the fire touches all sides.
Mohammadi says mirza ghasemi is not an everyday dish but a dish made for parties and weddings. It is often served as an appetizer at family gatherings and celebrations. It is a surprise that a dish of plain ingredients is treated as a feast for special days.
Eggplant at home suits mirza ghasemi
Medium-long eggplants, the kind often seen at markets, are just the right size for this dish. Four or five small eggplants serve 4 people.
The method is almost the same as for grilled eggplant. Putting a grill rack on a gas burner and charring over direct flame gives the most mirza-ghasemi-like smoky aroma. If you cannot use a direct flame, a broiler works. An oven or toaster oven cooks them through too, but the aroma of scorched skin is weaker.
Charring the tomatoes whole with the eggplant adds sweetness and a toasty flavor that raw tomatoes lack. Lightly charring garlic in its skin is a tip that the author of the cooking blog My Caldron learned from a friend; it softens the sharpness and blends the charred aroma. There is also a version that adds a little turmeric, which deepens color and aroma.
Ingredients (serves 4)
All the ingredients are available at an ordinary supermarket. Eggplants with taut, glossy skin and sharp spines on the calyx are fresh. For the tomatoes, choose well-ripened ones that are sweeter than sour, and a sweet aroma rises when you char them.
Before charring, pierce the skin of the eggplant in a few places with a skewer or fork. It keeps the skin from bursting as the moisture inside expands.
When charring vegetables over direct flame, do not place anything flammable around the grill rack. Pieces of burnt eggplant skin can fall from the rack, so check the burner's drip tray often. The charred vegetables are extremely hot inside, so let them cool thoroughly before peeling.
Put the charred eggplant in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and steam for about 5 minutes, and the skin peels off smoothly. A few small bits of burnt skin left behind become part of the toasty flavor, so there is no need to worry much.
The point once the eggs go in is to raise the heat and stir quickly. Over low heat the egg takes on moisture and turns soggy, and the toasty flavor of the eggplant and tomato blurs.
With rice, and with flatbread
In Iran the traditional pairing is to eat mirza ghasemi with rice cooked in the simple way called kateh. Outside Iran, everyday white rice is enough. Eaten over rice, the toasty flavor of the charred eggplant and the sweetness of the tomato soak into the grains.
It is also good scooped up with flatbread, and fresh herbs or pickles beside it make it feel like an Iranian home table. Serving it in a small dish as an appetizer alongside other dishes is also recommended.
For another Iranian eggplant dish, eating it side by side with kashk-e bademjan, which pairs eggplant with whey, shows the difference in how charred eggplant is used. Combine it with the herb-rich egg dish kuku sabzi and tahdig, rice with a crisp bottom, and you enjoy a Persian table all at once.
Frequently asked questions
What if I have no direct flame?
Charring in a broiler is the easiest. Turn the eggplants now and then and cook until the skin is charred all over and the flesh soft. You can also use an oven, but the aroma of scorched skin is weaker.
Can I make it without eggs?
Yes. Finished with only charred eggplant, tomato and garlic without eggs, it becomes a paste-like appetizer. But the egg adds mildness and richness, so the basic form includes egg.
What do I do if I want it spicy?
Basic mirza ghasemi is not a spicy dish. If you want heat, serving chili flakes or pickled green chilies at the table lets you enjoy it without disturbing the original flavor.
Can I make it ahead?
Once it has cooled slightly, put it in a container, refrigerate and eat it soon. To reheat, warm it through in a skillet. Because it contains egg, do not leave it long at room temperature.
Doesn't the eggplant skin get too burnt and bitter?
Only the skin is burnt, and the flesh inside does not turn bitter once the skin is peeled. If too many black bits remain when peeling, bitterness comes through, so remove at least the large pieces.
Sources
- SBS Food, "Honouring age-old Persian dishes, one charred eggplant at a time." Accessed and checked 22 October 2026. https://www.sbs.com.au/food/article/honouring-age-old-persian-dishes-one-charred-eggplant-at-a-time/9ff5fm2vu
- My Caldron, "Mirza Ghasemi (Persian Smoked eggplants casserole)," published 15 July 2014. Accessed and checked 22 October 2026. https://mycaldron.com/2014/07/15/mirza-ghasemi-persian-smoked-eggplants-casserole/
- Wikipedia, "Mirza ghassemi." Accessed and checked 22 October 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirza_ghassemi
