Garlicky Eggplant with Tomatoes (Badimjan Sirdaghi)
It’s been “years” since my last post, hasn’t it? Or at least it feels so to me. I am not “to blame”. A couple of weeks ago I took a brief vacation from my full time job to rest and to temporarily reunite with my blog. Instead, I had to take care of a medical emergency that popped out of nowhere. Oh well, things happen and life is unpredictable. But beautiful all the while. All is well that ends well and I am grateful for every breath I take. Spirituality aside, I am back to normal and ready to share one of my favorite recipes with you.
So ladies and gentlemen, meet badimjan sirdaghi. It comes from the southwest of Azerbaijan, and is especially popular in the region of Lenkeran, where in fact, it is believed to have originated. You only need 3 ingredients to make the dish - eggplant, tomatoes and garlic. A tad bit o water to help seal the flavors together in one pot and voila!. It is good beyond words. Eggplant lovers will rejoice while eggplant haters will rejoice too. I received this recipe from my lovely friend, a generous soul, Sevda Ismail.
Note that there is also a sirdagh dish made with fish but it is a different story fit for a separate post.
Continue Reading… Garlicky Eggplant with Tomatoes (Badimjan Sirdaghi)
Happy Novruz! Happy Spring! Happy New Beginnings!
Spring is here and it means Novruz to Azerbaijan and several other countries around the world. It is time to celebrate the arrival of spring, the nature’s awakening, new life and new beginnings. Semeni, sprouted wheat, is the symbolf of this holiday and every table in Azerbaijan has one ready for the celebration.
Happy Spring, friends! May it brings lots of happy moments to your lives and may it bring peace to earth!
Here’s a brief photo session I recently did with my daughter Meltem - she is dressed in traditional Azerbaijani dance costume and is holding a plate with Semeni.
Enjoy and Happy Novruz!
I
