Description
Baba Ganoush is a famous Middle- Eastern dish or dip primarily made with roasted mashed eggplants and sesame paste called Tahini. Mostly this is prepared like a thick dip for toasted pita bread and served as an appetizer. This is almost like our Indian Baigan Bharta except includes fresh sesame paste and citrousy lemon juice and few seasonings. As far as the recipe for simple Baba Ghanosh goes, eggplants are fire roasted or grilled , then the pulp is scooped, mashed with Tahini and salt, garnished with lemon juice and fresh parsley.
In my recipe, I’ve altered it suit to our needs making it in Indian style. Instead of Tahini, sesame seeds are included and I’ve made a wrap with our Indian whole wheat chapati.
What is Tahini ??? Its a paste made from ground sesame seeds, a popular condiment in Arabic cuisine.. they use it in hummus preparation, exotic meat dishes or simply served with lemon juice as a dip. These are available in most Middle-Eastern markets and are very strong flavoured. Its highly bitter so use very little to start with.
Baba Ghanoush / Baba Ganouj / Babay Baba Ganoush / Baigan Bharta / Bhaingan Bharta / Aubergine / Eggplant / Brinjal /
| Ingredients | |
|---|---|
| 3 no | Eggplant |
| 2 no | Onion |
| 2 no | Tomato |
| ½ tsp | Ginger garlic paste |
| 1 tsp | Sesame seeds |
| 1 no | Green chili (finely chopped) |
| ¼ tsp | Turmeric powder |
| ¼ tsp | Red chili powder |
| 1 tsp | Coriander /dhania powder |
| ¾ tsp | Salt (or to taste) |
| 2 tsp | Lemon juice |
| ½ cup | Coriander leaves (chopped for garnishing) |
| ¼ tsp | Cumin seeds |
| 3 tsp | Olive oil |
| 4 nos | Chapati |
| 3 nos | Boiled eggs |
| ½ nos | Sliced onion |
Instructions
These dips are traditionally made with large Eggplants, I’ve used medium sized ones.. you can also try with our Indian Brinjals, except its quite a lot of work. First these eggplants needs to rubbed with oil and roasted in open fire or baked in oven. This method has been already given with pictorial presentation under this recipe Baingan Bharta, check for roasting techniques and other options.
When done, scoop the flesh carefully and mash it or run in your processor for a couple of pulses. This step is not really necessary if you’re using it for wrap. For dips its pureed with masala items and then served. Choice is yours.
For the chunky gravy, heat oil in a pan, splutter cumin seeds, toast the sesame seeds for few seconds. Add the chopped onions and green chilies. Fry them till translucent, now add ginger garlic paste along with chopped tomatoes. Let cook for few minutes. Add the scooped eggplant pulp along with turmeric, red chili powder, coriander powder and salt. Fry until everything blends to form a chunky gravy. Switch off. Now you have two options 1. Puree this to smooth paste along with lemon juice or 2. Partially blend with lemon juice. I’ve opted for the second one and partially pureed in my blender, garnished with chopped coriander leaves.
For the wrap, warm up Chapatis, apply this pureed paste all over, line up with sliced onions, stuff some coriander leaves with stalks, place few sliced boiled eggs, roll and gobble.
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