Baba Ganoush Recipe | Baba Ganouj

5 from 3 votes

Baba Ganoush Recipe | Baba Ganouj

Baba Ganoush (Baba Ganouj) is a creamy and delicious, Levantine, vegan eggplant dip made with grilled, smoky eggplants, tahini, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and salt. Learn how to make this super easy and smoky baba ganoush recipe at home with this easy tutorial.

Course Dips

Cuisine Middle Eastern

Keyword Baba Ganoush Recipe

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 10

Servings people

Calories 113kcal

Author Freda Dias

Ingredients

2 large eggplants 2 lbs
6 to 8 garlic cloves, refer notes
3 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus 1 tbsp more to drizzle on top
1 tbsp finely chopped cilantro or parsley
1 to 2 tbsp vegan yogurt, or regular yogurt (if not vegan), optional
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Try and use a fresh eggplant. The older an eggplant is, the bitter it might taste. Wash the eggplant well, pat dry with a kitchen napkin. Make 3 vertical slits on the eggplant, and insert about 1 small garlic clove in each slit. Brush the eggplant with oil.
Place the eggplant on a baking tray greased with oil. You may also use an aluminum foil greased with oil spray or oil for easier cleanup. Roast for about 50 mins to an hour or until a fork slides through the eggplant with no resistance.
Once the eggplant is cool enough to handle, remove the crown, and scoop out the eggplant flesh, try and remove as much of the skin as possible, a little is okay.
Transfer the eggplant flesh to a bowl lined with a colander or fine-mesh sieve. Leave it aside for 10-15 minutes. You should have about 1.5 cups of eggplant flesh.
Mash the flesh with a fork or whisk to break up the eggplant strings.
Add tahini, lemon juice, and olive oil. Whisk everything well until pale and creamy.
Also add, yogurt, and salt Give everything a good mix. Check for seasoning and adjust with more salt. Add more tahini or lemon juice if required.
Make a well in the center of the bowl containing the dip.
Place a small metal bowl or a small makeshift bowl with aluminum foil.
Heat a piece of charcoal, and place it in the small bowl carefully with tongs. Drizzle some oil which will cause the charcoal to smoke. Cover the bowl immediately for about 5-10 minutes and let the smoky flavor infuse into the dip.
Caution: Just be sure to do this in an open area/away from the smoke detector, to avoid excess smoke from setting it off.
Add chopped cilantro or parsley, and mix well. Serve right away, transfer to a serving bowl, drizzle olive oil, toasted pine nuts, cayenne pepper, and pomegranate arils. Or store in an airtight container and refrigerate up to 4-5 days.

Notes

Oil-free baba ganoush: Make this an oil-free recipe by skipping out on the oil, however it may lack some of the authentic flavor.
Baba ganoush without tahini: It is really easy to make tahini at home, I realized I should have posted that first, but I'll share it in my coming posts. I made this dip with my very own homemade tahini, which just requires sesame seeds and olive oil. If you don't want to splurge on a bottle for just a dip, (though there are so many ways you can use tahini), feel free to skip it. The main ingredient here is eggplant, and if you have that, it is more than enough.
Try and use fresh eggplants. If the eggplant is old, the entire dip may taste bitter, If you are unsure about the freshness of the eggplant, cut it vertically into half, sprinkle a little salt, and let it sit in a colander. This will get rid of the bitter juices. Then pat dry, prick with a fork on the skin and place on a baking tray cut side down. Bake as directed in the recipe, keep a check on the eggplant. You may skip roasting the garlic or make slits and add the garlic on the eggplant halves.
If you do not want to roast the garlic, use only 1 or 2 raw garlic in the recipe.
Feel free to adjust the quantities of tahini, lemon juice, and olive oil to suit your palate. It is better to start with less amount of tahini rather than adding more, or else it can overpower the delicate taste of the eggplant.
Measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml, 1 tsp = 5 ml

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