This is the first recipe of the year 2023. It’s a very classic dish, just like how baba ghanoush is closely associated with the Middle Eastern nations. People in these countries love to use this as a dip for their breads which is a lovely way to start off any day.
The thing is, I was intending to put up this blog post only after I finished making baba ghanoush as well, which would have contrasted with this recipe as this one uses chopped up eggplant, while baba ghanoush blends everything into a smooth paste. However, fate has it that everytime I try to make baba ghanoush, I would either forget to insert the SD card into my camera, or fire the eggplants insufficiently on the stove which resulted in a very textured hummus and ugly photos. I eventually gave up trying to make this recipe – eating baba ghanoush for several weekends in a row was tiring.
So here you are, the version of an eggplant dip with a more textured bite, but which I feel could be softer and smoother. Should you want to try my elusive recipe, refer to it under ‘Disclaimer’.
Wishing one and all a Happy New Year; may 2023 be a great one for you! Remember, don’t ever give up hope and always work towards achieving what you want!
Ingredients:
- Eggplant: 1, large
- Olive oil: 2 tbsp
- Salt: 1 tsp + 1/4 tsp
- Ground cumin: 1/2 tsp
- Smoked paprika: 1/4 tsp
- Ground blackpepper: a pinch
- Lemon juice: 1/2
- Garlic: 1, minced
- Basil leaves: 4, torn
- Olive oil: 1 tbsp
- Pita bread: 2 (grilled, to serve with)
Method:
- Preheat oven at 240 degrees Celsius.
- Slice eggplants into quarters. Spread olive oil onto eggplants. Sprinkle with 1 tsp salt.
- Bake 35min till browned. Set aside to cool.
- Chop eggplants into a bowl. Stir in ground cumin, smoked paprika, 1/4 tsp salt, ground blackpepper, lemon juice, garlic and basil leaves.
- Chill 1hr in fridge. Drizzle with olive oil on top.
- Serve chilled with pita bread, naan or crackers.
Disclaimers:
-
This recipe was kindly adapted from Salt & Lavender’s ‘Roasted Eggplant Dip‘. Strangely, her recipe looks a lot more mashed up than mine, and I’m wondering why. I feel it would have been nicer to have removed the skin from the roasted eggplants first, before mashing them up to serve.
-
I was so busy preparing for this dish and another on this day, that I totally forgot to drizzle the olive oil before serving! Which is why the dip looks a lot drier than it should.
-
As mentioned in my introduction above, try out this dish by blending eggplant (1, grilled over stove fire till blackened, skin removed), garlic (1), tahini (4 tbsp), ground almond (1/4 cup), lemon juice (1/2), ground cumin (1/2 tsp) and salt (a pinch) till smooth. I definitely prefer this recipe much better than the current one I’m blogging about!
Serving:
2 – 3 persons as side dish
