Baba Ganoush
Aug 17, 2016, Updated Jan 02, 2018
Baba Ganoush is a popular Middle Eastern eggplant dip. Enjoy it with fresh vegetables or pita bread. Vegan & gluten-free!
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One of my favorite dips – Baba Ganoush is middle eastern eggplant dip made with eggplant (of course!), tahini, garlic and lemon juice!
When you eat out mostly on weekends (like me!), you obviously try a lot of new stuff. I mean when you are eating out every Saturday and Sunday, you can’t be going to the same restaurants over and over again. Of course we do have our favorites and we go there often but we also regularly try new restaurants and cuisines. You might think that being a vegetarian we don’t have too many options but actually most of the cuisines have great vegetarian dishes, of course it takes a vegetarian to discover them! ?
Middle eastern cuisine is one of my favorites, not only for it’s taste but also for so many amazing vegetarian dishes. I love their lentil soup and wraps and of course their dips too. One of my favorite dips is baba ganoush, which is an eggplant based dip. The first time I had this dish, it reminded me so much of baingan bharta (Indian style roasted eggplant mash), not the punjabi style baingan bharta which I have on the blog but the one which is made in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in India. Now I belong to the state of Uttar Pradesh, so I grew up eating this baingan bharta, which is very similar to baba ganoush. You simply roast the eggplant and then mix it with mustard oil, garlic, cilantro, onion and pickle masala and that’s all, your bharta is done. It’s only when we started living in Delhi that I discovered the punjabi version with all the onion, tomato and spices, before that I didn’t even know that baingan bharta could be made this way!
Anyway what I am trying to say is that baba ganaoush is exactly like the raw baingan bharta. You roast the eggplant and then mix it with spices and you are done. Of course the spices here are totally different since this dish is not Indian! I pulsed the roasted eggplant with tahini in my food processor. I like it this way and the inspiration comes from one of my favorite mediterranean restaurants in Seattle. They really do make the best baba ganoush and it’s always super creamy and that’s what I tried in this recipe too.
This baba ganoush dip is such a crowd pleaser, it’s super easy to make and also tastes amazing! It’s vegan and gluten free too! Simply serve it with veggies like carrots, cucumber or warm pita bread. I garnished this dip with cilantro since I love it and that’s what I had at home. Traditionally parsley is used in this recipe. I hope you guys give this one a try!
Method
Apply little oil and then poke the eggplant all over with a knife. Place directly on medium flame and roast till it’s done. Remember to turn it after every few minutes so that it gets roasted from all sides. You would know it’s done when you are able to insert a knife easily inside the eggplant. It will take around 15 minutes. Once done, remove eggplant from heat, wrap in a foil and let it cool down.
Once the eggplant has cooled down, remove all the charred skin. Transfer the flesh of the eggplant to a food processor and pulse 2-3 times.
Add tahini paste, 1 tablespoon olive oil and pulse to combine.
Pulse for 2-3 minutes in the food processor till it’s all super creamy and smooth.
Transfer to a bowl and add chopped garlic, salt, cumin powder and cayenne pepper.
Add in lemon juice and mix till everything is well combined.
Transfer baba ganoush to your serving plate. Make deep spaces with the back of your spoon on top and drizzle olive oil on top. Serve baba ganoush dip with carrots, cucumber or warm pita bread!
* You may add an extra tablespoon of tahini if you like, it depends on how much you love the tahini flavor/taste.
* The eggplant can also be grilled or roasted in the oven.
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Recommended for this recipe: Food Processor | Lemon Squeezer | Tahini
Baba Ganoush
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant around 375 grams
- 3-4 tablespoons tahini
- 1 tablespoon olive oil more to drizzle before serving
- 3 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- juice of 1 lemon
- salt to taste
- parsley or cilantro to garnish
Instructions
- Apply little oil and then poke the eggplant all over with a knife. Place directly on medium flame and roast till it's done. Remember to turn it after every few minutes so that it gets roasted from all sides. You would know it's done when you are able to insert a knife easily inside the eggplant. It will take around 15 minutes. Once done, remove eggplant from heat, wrap in a foil and let it cool down.
- Once the eggplant has cooled down, remove all the charred skin. Transfer the flesh of the eggplant to a food processor and pulse 2-3 times.
- Add tahini, 1 tablespoon olive oil and pulse to combine.
- Pulse for 2-3 minutes in the food processor till it's all super creamy and smooth.
- Transfer to a bowl and add chopped garlic, salt, cumin powder and cayenne pepper.
- Add in lemon juice and mix till everything is well combined.
- Transfer baba ganoush to your serving plate. Make deep spaces with the back of your spoon on top and drizzle olive oil on top.
- Serve baba ganoush dip with carrots, cucumber or warm pita bread!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Baba Ganoush
Can it be frozen
hmm I have never tried it. If you do please let me know how it turns out
How long can you keep on refrigerator?
3-4 days should be fine
Can I freeze this
not sure
Love this! I blended in chickpeas too, to make a sort of baba ganoush hummus, came out really yummy!
awesome!
I and my family love Baba Ganoush and I make it a lot. We middle eastern sometimes added a little sweetness by adding pumengerat syrup (available in middle eastern stores) it netutralizes the better taste of eggplants. Also a little thick Greek yogurt or one tablespoon of mayonnaise give creaminess to the whole thing
Thanks Zena for sharing your recipe 🙂 I am going to try adding pomegranate syrup next time, sounds delicious!
Looks delicious! My family isn’t fond of eggplant. Does it have a strong eggplant flavor? Wondering if I can just “trick” them into trying it without telling them what’s in it.
it does not have a strong eggplant flavor since there’s a lot of tahini, olive oil and garlic. I say go for it!
Can I make this ahead of time and refrigerate or does it need to be served right away? I’ve never had this before and it sounds delicious.
You can refrigerate it..should be fine! : )
I just made it and it’s wonderful. Do you use the seeds too?
Yes I do use the seeds, if you don’t like the seeds simply pulse for a longer time in your food processor till it’s all smooth and combined. Glad you liked it!
This looks amazing but how do I cook the eggplant if I don’t have a flame? Would oven roasting work? I just harvested some beautiful eggplants from my garden in DECEMBER! Now I know what to do with them!
Hello Laura! Yes you can definitely roast in the oven. It would work! How wonderful to have eggplants from your garden, enjoy! and you might also want to check out this recipe of eggplant which I really love – https://www.cookwithmanali.com/borani-banjan-afghan-eggplant-yogurt-sauce/
Looks good! I think my family would like it. Thanks!
yes kind of like hummus because there’s tahini in there! you must try it Alice, I am sure you will love it 🙂
Thank you Mira, you need to make it!
Never tried eggplant in form of dips… Will surely tried this
You must, it’s delicious!
Wow, such a delicious recipe. I love eggplant so I am sure this is going to be a yummy dip.
Thanks Puja!
This is wonderful. I’ve always wanted to make baba ganoush. It looks so wonderfully creamy!