Rasht Bazaar Icon · Smoky Eggplant Dip
Mirza Ghasemi
Photo: Diako1971 / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
The eggplants are charred whole directly over an open flame until the skins blacken and the flesh turns smoky — fire is the defining step, not the tomato and garlic that follow.
Whole eggplants are roasted over an open flame until soft and smoky, then peeled, mashed, and cooked down with garlic, tomato, and turmeric, with beaten egg stirred through at the end. Scooped up with fresh flatbread, it's one of the signature dishes of Rasht's food stalls and home kitchens alike.
Why it's made this way: Rasht was named a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy in 2015 — the only Iranian city with that honor — and dishes like this, built on Gilan's abundant garden vegetables and fresh herbs rather than heavy spice, are cited as the reason why.
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Part of World of Street Food — 3248 dishes from 118 countries.
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