Egyptian Eggplant Salad: Baba Ganoug

After a short and tiring 48 hour work trip to Jordan this week, I had an impromptu dinner party the very next day. On my flight back, I took out a notepad and started scribbling down menu options. I had been craving my version of eggplant musaka/parmigiana and it was on the list. Then I remembered a recipe which I have kept for a while now and never got around to making, baba ganoug! Back in November it was requested from me and I tried to remeber my family recipe but couldn't remeber all the spices involved, and I wanted to replicate it exactly. So, I emailed my dad asking for the exact ingredients.

I never got around to making it till two days ago, and I snapped some pics to share with blogland and have the baba ganoug recipe as sent by my baba [hehe pun intended] below, with some additions on amounts of ingredients from me.

To say it came out phenominal would be an understatement, everyone loved it  and is now a regular on my dinner party list.

Try it out and play around with it!


Ingredients

- 2 large fresh eggplants
- 1 head of garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup parsley
- 1 Tbsp cumin
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 3 Tbs vinegar
- 3/4 c tahini
- 1/2 c water

Preparation:

Preheat your oven to 200 Celsius, about 400 F. Place your eggplant in the oven whole. We want to roast it until the insides are very soft, and the skin is burnt and peels off easily. You can also do this on the stove top if you have a small mesh rack or something to protect the vegetable from direct flame. Once the eggplant is very soft, take it our of the oven to cool down, before you peel it and empty out the insides into a bowl.

In a bowl, pour your tahini and add the vinegar. Mix it vigorously with a spoon until it starts to lighten to a whiter shade. Add in the water slowly and continue to mix until all is incorporated and you have the regular tahini consistency. It should be a dense liquid.

Add in the spices and the minced garlic. You can add in half of your parsley. Pour this over your eggplant, and mix. Viola! Perfect with some pita bread as a snack.

Store in an airtight container, if you have any leftovers.