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baba ganoush

Baba Ganoush

Recipe for Baba Ganoush - a Middle Eastern Eggplant based dip, which is usually a part of a mezze platter
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Course Appetizer
Cuisine arabic, middle eastern
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 eggplant large variety ~350 grams
  • 2 tbsp sesame seeds toasted (or use 1 tablespoon Tahini)
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 2 tbsp yogurt thick
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper freshly ground
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 - 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp finely chopped parsely

Instructions
 

  • To prepare Baba Ganoush, start by roasting the eggplant. Roasting it on a direct flame or the grill gives the best smokey taste.Place the brinjal on a medium flame, and rotate regularly so that the skin gets evenly blistered and charred. It will take about 10-12 min for the entire brinjal to get roasted and soft from within. However you can roast it on a lightly greased baking sheet by slitting it in half lengthwise at 350 F. I prefer to broil rather than bake, for that browning effect.
  • Peel off the blistered skin, chop roughly and keep aside.
  • Assembling the ingredients: In a blender, roughly grind the roasted sesame seeds. Then add the chopped roasted brinjal and all other ingredients except parsely/ coriander and olive oil. Blend to a smooth paste.
  • Serve: Remove the paste onto a shallow dish. Mix in the olive oil. Garnish with minced parsely / coriander and a swirl of some more olive oil.

Notes

Serving suggestion:Serve the chilled Baba Ganouj with warm pita bread brushed with olive oil. If pita bread is not readily available, you can either serve it with toasted slices of a whole wheat bread / foccasia or whole wheat crackers.
Last evening, I served it to my guests with wedges of garlic bread toasted till warm. They loved it!.
The original recipe calls for Tahini, which a sesame seed paste in olive oil. Since Tahini is not easily available in grocery stores in India, I ground roasted sesame seeds along with other ingredients. I did not find much of a taste deviation from the original.
(Updated in Sep 2017: Tahini is available easily online as well as in several supermarkets - Tahini on Amazon.in )