Baba Ganoush

Baba Ganoush is a mediterranean dip made from grilled and pureed eggplants, flavored with tahini and garlic.

This rich, silky, creamy delectable dip is usually eaten with pita chips or served along with mezze platter. It can be used as a sandwich spread too.

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

Eggplant – 2 small or 1 medium
Garlic, minced – 2 cloves
Peppercorns, freshly ground – 1 teaspoon
Olive Oil – 1 tablespoon +  1 teaspoon for drizzling
Lemon Juice – 2 teaspoons
Tahini – 3 tablespoons
Salt – to taste

For Garnishing:

Paprika – 1 teaspoon
Parsley, chopped – 2 tablespoons (use Cilantro instead)

Method:

1. Place the eggplant on open flame on a as stove and roast it until the skin is completely charred on all sides. You need to keep turning the eggplant to get it uniformly charred on all the sides. If you do not have a gas flame, follow step 2 or 3.
2. Now hold lace the eggplant on red hot charcoal until the skin on all sides is uniformly charred. If you do not have charcoal too, follow step 3.
3. Preheat the oven to 450F(~232C). Line a baking tray with aluminium foil. Place the eggplant on the baking tray and roast them until it is soft with shrunken skin. You should be able to easily insert a skewer into the eggplant. I prefer this step to avoid mess of juice oozing out on the gas stove.
   
4. Place the roasted eggplant on a plate and carefully remove the charred skin. Clean up the eggplant to get clean pulp without any charred skin remaining.
   
5. Using a fork mash the eggplant pulp. Or pulse it a couple of times in a blender.
6. Blend the mashed pulp, minced garlic, freshly ground peppercorns, olive oil, lemon juice, tahini and salt together until it forms a coarse paste.
7. Transfer into a serving bowl, drizzle a teaspoon of olive oil, sprinkle paprika and garnish with chopped parsley.
8. Serve as a dip with pita bread, tortilla chips or baguette or store in an air tight container for upto a week and serve when required.