Vegetarian Khoresh Bademjan<!-- --> <!-- -->Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 Chinese eggplants peeled, sliced lengthwise and cut into 3 pieces (or 8 Italian eggplants, sliced lengthwise and cut in half)
• 1 cup slow-cooking yellow split peas (lapeh dir paz)
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 large yellow onions, peeled and sliced very thin, fried to golden brown (divided, ¾ for khoresh and ¼ for the rice)
• 3 TBSP butter, for frying the onion
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• 2 TBSP tomato paste
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• ⅛ tsp saffron powder (optional)
• 2-3 TBSP pomegranate concentrate
• Zest of one orange
• 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (3 medium oranges)
• ½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
• ½ cup hot water (more if needed)
• For the rice
• 2 cups uncooked basmati rice (2½ cups if making yogurt tahdig)
• ¾ cup blanched slivered almonds
• ⅔ cup zereshk (barberries)
• Dash of saffron powder (optional)