“Lalak-e Bademjan” (Brinjal Lalak) is one of the local dishes of Shiraz and is prepared with crushed wheat grains (wheat bulgur), which the people of Kazeroun call “lalak”. Brinjal Lalak is also cooked in Khuzestan with a slight difference. Lalak is called “Doroshteh” in the dialect of the people of Khorasan and is used to cook many traditional dishes in that province. In Fars and the southern provinces of Iran, polau is, at times, replaced with lalak. In Khuzestan and Bushehr, shredded chicken is added to lalak instead of brinjal.

Ingredients

Lalak: Two cups

Onion: one

Fresh garlic: five cloves

Mixed vegetables consisting of mint, tarragon, basil, and dill: 150 grams

Ghee or vegetable oil, turmeric, cinnamon, salt and pepper: as per taste

Brinjal (Eggplant): two or three

Depending upon one’s taste, chicken, carrot, and potato can also be used in this dish.

Recipe

Heat the lalak in a pot on low flame until it is well roasted (but not burnt) and its raw smell disappears.

Chop and fry the onions in a pan and when the onions are slightly fried, add the chopped garlic and continue frying until the onions turn golden. Thereafter add the chopped mixed vegetables and continue frying.

Add the roasted lalak to the mixture of onion and vegetables and fry the whole thing for a few more minutes on a low flame until it is well mixed.

Add two glasses of water to the food, cover the pot, and let it cook well. Add salt and spices while the mixture is being cooked. Of course, you can also add the spices while frying the chopped onion to spread its flavor throughout the mixture. Note that if the heat under the pot is too high, it will cause the food to stick, so the heat of the stove should be low enough to let the ingredients cook slowly.

While the mixture is being cooked in the pot, peel and fry the brinjals (eggplants). Slice the eggplants lengthwise or widthwise before frying them.

How to serve the Brinjal Lalak

After half an hour to 45 minutes, check to make sure that the lalak mixture is completely ready. Serve the lalak on a plate and put some pieces of the friend eggplant next to it. In addition to brinjal, you can also use local pickles, especially eggplant pickles or garlic pickles. Shirazi salad is also a delicious accompaniment to this delicious and healthy meal.

Depending upon one’s taste, the cooked lalak can be served with chicken or cooked carrots instead of eggplant or even together with pieces of fried eggplant.

“Lalak-e Bademjan” (Brinjal Lalak) is one of the local dishes of Shiraz and is prepared with crushed wheat grains (wheat bulgur), which the people of Kazeroun call “lalak”.