Hey, kinda seperate from the Ramadan recipes thread, I got some eggplants from the farmer's market and want to make babaganoush. Anyone have any tried and true recipes?

I don't use a recipe for either hummus or baba ghanoush - just wing it.

I cook the eggplant in the oven until it softens. It really depends on the size. I set my oven to 400. To cool it, I stick it in cool water. Peel it when I can. Scoop it out.

Usually, I puree the eggplant somewhat before adding the other ingredients. Then I add a few tablespoons of tahini, one or two cloves of garlic. It really depends on the size of the eggplant. Puree some more, adding lemon juice as I go along to watch the consistency. Add a little salt and a tiny bit of cayenne. I prefer a really smooth texture, so I puree until it is smooth. Some prefer it more chunky. Pour a good quality of olive oil on the top.

*shaking* I'm so not a good cook. Winging it is very very scary *eep* Oh well, I have 3 of them, so if I screw up on the first one, I can always try again.

Eww.. chunky baba ghanouj ?!

Can you believe I don't like hummus OR babaganoush?

Blasphemer!

I was actually stunned when I went to Egypt the first time and realized that hummus wasn't popular there. They usually just mix tahina with vinegar, water, lemon juice and garlic and have this really soupy type thing that you dip your bread in.

Baba Ghanouj


3 large eggplant
3/4 cup tahini (sesame seed paste*)
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons minced or pressed garlic
1 teaspoon cumin
Pinch of cayenne
1 teaspoon salt

• Broil or barbecue the eggplants, turning often, until the skin is blackened and blistered and the meat is tender, about 20 or 30 minutes . Let them cool for about 10 minutes and then peel the skin from the eggplant.
• Squeeze the cooked eggplant meat to release excess liquid.
• Puree the eggplant and all other ingredients in a blender or food processor.
• Spread onto a serving dish and garnish pita bread wedges, lemons, olives, parsely radishes and green onions.

yay henia to the rescue

I agree, there is really no recipe. There are the basic ingredients, but everyone has their preferences to the taste of it. Some like it with more garlic, some with lots of tahini, some with more lemon, some like it smooth, some chunkier (course). It all really depends on your taste buds. I prefer mine wiht lots of lemon, little garlic, and very smooth. I add extra water to make it smoother.

The good thing is, even if you don't cook, this is one hard to screw up. Baking..yes you need to follow the recipe, but with cooking there is so much flexibility

Well, I can bake and I love garlic, so we'll see how this turns out. This should definatley be an interesting episode in rahma's kitchen adventures. I'm going to bring it to my friend's house as the snack during our wedding prep session (her wedding, not mine, sigh), so I'm hoping I won't poison them or anything

Oh a really nice twist to the baking the eggplant is putting it on the BBQ wrapped in foil for an hour. It gets a nice smokey flavor, we do that at home when me BBQ.

You would need to wrap in foil though.

Exactly, and sometimes you find the garlic in your house is sort of bland so you would use more. Likewise, fresh lemons can vary in taste/strength. If you wing it adding a little as you go along, you can suit it to your tastes each time. I made the *perfect* hummus the other day for my husband but for me it was blah, lol.

Thanks for all the advice. I'm planning on making this on Saturday. Should my eggplants be good through then? I think they were picked fresh today.

Also, got some zuchinni. I'm planning on making this bread recipe (except instead of extract, I'm using real vanilla bean innards scraped out and seeped in the shortening). I'll let you all know how it turns out.

The eggplants should be fine. By the way, you can make the base recipe of tahini and eggplant and store in your fridge. Add the garlic and lemon before you serve. When we have parties, we often make the hummos and babaghanouj 1-2 days in advance and add the garlic and lemon before we serve it. If you don't like it cold, let it sit our for an hour before you serve it. Its a great way to save time.

The garlic changes the taste of it when its stored in the fridge.

Henia to the recuse huh?

Dude I couldnt save myself !!!!



We will see after 9/5 who will be recusing who? Hmm...I will have your number on speed dial LOL

me neither... gross!
haha

love hummous.. not a big fan of eggplant though.. Bah!

Yeah I noticed hummus bi tahineh isn't popular in Egypt...weird. My SIL, Fayroz, makes kick asss baba ganouj. It's chunky and she puts tomatoes and hot peppers in it. She roasts the bitangaan in the oven until soft, peels it, mashes it, then adds tahineh, garlic, chopped tomatoes, hot pepper, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. It's sooo good! I like it when it's still slightly warm.

I know a good one with eggplants - learned it this May in Morocco. But it requires a little bit more cooking after the eggplant is baked/grilled/. It's chunky and spicy, Moroccans eat it warm! They reheat it every time. Tastes great for eggplant lovers such as myself. If anyone wants it - just PM me and i'll write it down for you.
And hummus? Where i'm from - we make it with garlic and put fried onions and the oil it's been fried in on top. It's great but you have to take 'beano' or something after, lol. They call it 'musical dish'.

There are lots of variations to hummos You can also fry pine nuts and put them on top. OR you can turn it into a meal and fry meat (small pieces or hamburger) and pine nuts and put it on top...YUM

i was actually thinking of you ladies tonight as i was walking through the international isle at the supermarket! i was on a desparate hunt to find tahini! falafels are on my menu this week (with some garlic hummus) and it just wouldn't be complete without tahini sauce!!!

took a good couple minutes but i finally spotted a jar for about $5 ... yummmmmmm!!!

All righty, here's my cooking report.

I cooked the eggplant for 30 min at 400 degrees. Skin didn't turn black, so I cooked it for a little longer.

While it was cooking, I thought, hey, I"ll make some hummus too. So, I put a can of chickpeas, 4 T of tahini, a big spoon of garlic, some turkish seasoning, some lemon and the last bit of olive oil I had in the blender. Well, if I learned anything from the experience, it's that I need to get a food processor. It blended nicely on the bottom, but I had to keep stopping and shoving the non blended stuff around. It's also a little dry, but I think they'll have olive oil where I'm taking it.

So, then I do the babaganoush. I chop up the eggplant, put in a T of tahini, some garlic, some lemon and oops, no more olive oil, so I use vegetable oil. This worked much better in the blender, and ended up pretty good. I think it's a little sour, so next time I'm going to try to get more of the juices out.


So, I'm definately going to be making my own hummus from now on. Much much cheaper. Next time, I think I"ll blend some olives in. Mmmm.

i tried to make it once. was a total desaster. tasted terrible.

i dont like hummos but i do like babaganoush.

Okay y'all have to seriously stop with the food posts. You're making me HUNGRY!

(And I'm missing that great "Middle Eastern" restaurant I used to frequent back in Canada.) hehe

Is it possible to make babaganoush w/o tahini? I can't stand the taste or the way tahini looks! I bought tahini and Falafel the other week and tasted the tahini and almost threw up. So if it's possible I would like to avoid it as much as possible.

You could try it. However, you might not even notice it once it's mixed in. I don't think most people eat the tahina right out of the jar. My husband mixes it with vinegar, oil, garlic, etc.




AmeraMouttaki and I are going to the Holyland buffet tonight

I hope you find a good substitute soon!