Fauzia’s Kitchen Fun

Baba Ghanoush

Fauzia's Kitchen Fun

Servings : Serves 2-3

Baba Ghanoush (sometimes referred to as Baba Ganush) is a classic mediterranean dip made from roasted/grilled aubergines/eggplants.  This dip is normally served as an appetiser or starter along with pieces of pita bread or khubz.

Ingredients

  • 3 whole medium eggplants or 1 large one
  • 1-2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil (plus some extra for drizzling in the end)
  • 1-2 tbsp. tahini (recipe given in instructions below)
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed to a paste (you can use more or less depending on your taste)
  • juice of 1-2 lemons (about 4 tbsp.)
  • 1/4 tsp. freshly ground cumin powder
  • salt to taste
  • 1/4 tsp. chilli powder or cayenne pepper
  • 1 tbsp. chopped fresh coriander

Instructions

Wash and dry the eggplants, then using the sharp point of a knife or a fork, pierce/prick the eggplants in several places to prevent them from bursting during grilling.  Brush or rub the eggplants with a touch of olive oil.

Place over a charcoal grill and cook them turning frequently until the skin is blackened, blistered and shrivelled.  You need them to blacken on the outside to give the dip that awesome smoky flavour.  This should take around 25 minutes or so.  Then put the eggplants in a paper bag and close it to allow the eggplants to continue steaming in their skins for another 10-15 minutes until they begin to cool slightly.

Alternatively you could bake them under a hot over grill until they are charred and blackened outside and are soft and mushy inside, making sure you turn them frequently.

When cool enough to handle, slit them open, scrape all the flesh off the skins.  Discard the skins and put the soft flesh into a bowl.  Mash the eggplants to a paste with a fork, (or pulse them a couple of times in the processor/blender) then add the tahini, garlic paste, lemon juice, cumin, chilli powder and salt.  Mix and taste, adjust as needed.

Transfer the dip into a bowl and drizzle some olive oil.  Sprinkle the chopped coriander and parsley.  Serve at room temperature with the bread of your choice!

 

Tahini Paste

All you need to do is roast about a 1/4 cup of sesame seeds, take them out when they just start releasing a bit of oil but before they turn brown (about 5-10 minutes at 180C but toss them a little bit midaway through the roasting).  Let them cool for some minutes and then put them in your processor and grind them with a bit of olive oil until you achieve a very smooth paste.  Use as needed.

Enjoy!  🙂

3 thoughts on “Baba Ghanoush”
Leave a Reply
3 Replies

Leave a Reply