Khoresh Bademjan for a dinner party — went down extremely well

I made Khoresh Bademjan for eight guests who had varying familiarity with the cuisine. Every single person asked for the recipe. The sweet-sour with pomegranate profile was the main talking point — no one had quite experienced fenugreek used that way before.

Iranian cuisine has a 3000-year recorded history with influences on Arab, Turkish, and Central Asian cooking. I explained the a traditional Iranian home dinner context as I served it which helped people appreciate it fully. fresh pomegranate juice was what I offered alongside and it worked perfectly. Excellent dinner party dish — impressive without being inaccessible.