This creamy Baba Ganoush or Baba Ghanouj is a Levantine/ Lebanese eggplant dip assembled by mixing roasted eggplant, tahini, and olive oil. It’s healthy, vegan, Paleo-friendly, and super easy to make side at home!
Serve it along with Pita Bread, Tabbouleh, Beet Hummus, and Lavash Crackers for a delicious Middle Eastern meal.
Jump to:
About This Recipe
Lebanese Baba Ganoush is a traditional Middle Eastern Dip. It is an integral part of Mezze Platter and is made using roasted aubergine (Eggplant), Tahini, and spices.
There is a little folk tale about this recipe. In Arabic Language, baba means father and gannuj means loved. According to the folklore, this dip was created by a daughter whose father was toothless and could not chew on hard food.
Another story says that it could have been invented by one of the wives of the harem of a sultan. Now whichever story is true we can only say Thanks for one of the most delicious dips ever.
Pomegranate Molasses is an important ingredient in making this dip as it gives it a very peculiar flavor. It is traditionally served with pita bread but you can use it in multiple ways.
A Lebanese platter is incomplete without this smoky dip. Hence, whenever I feel like serving Lebanese on an occasion, I make sure that I also have Baba Ghanouj on the menu
This dish is,
- Paleo
- Gluten-Free
- Grain-Free
- Whole 30
- Low Cal
- Keto
- Creamy
Ingredients
Eggplant – Eggplant makes the base of this dip. Look out for the large purple-colored variety with fewer seeds.
Tahini – Tahini gives an earthy taste to this dip. I have a 2 ingredient tahini Paste Recipe which you can make and refrigerate for a long time. Check it out and don’t buy tahini again.
Tomato – Finely chopped tomatoes give a nice crunch to it.
Pomegranate Molasses – This is the ingredient that differentiates Baba Ganoush from Mutable. Check out my recipe to make Homemade Pomegranate Molasses here.
You can make Pomegranate Molasses at home which is not only economical but also super easy to make. Check out my easy recipe.
Walnuts – Traditionally, walnuts are added to this dish. If walnuts are not available, you can add almonds or pecans.
In addition, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, and chilli flakes are also added.
You can also add in fresh herbs for some extra flavour boost.
Step by Step Recipe
Prick the aubergine at 5-6 places with a knife.
Roast aubergine on the stovetop from all the sides till it is soft from inside. Insert a knife to check if it’s done. If the knife gets no resistance while passing through, the aubergine is done. You can also roast the aubergine in an oven for an hour.
Peel the blackened skin and discard it.
In a blender, add all the ingredients except fresh coriander and pomegranate seeds and blend till smooth. Drizzle with olive oil, pomegranate seeds, and fresh coriander.
Ready Baba Ganoush.
Frequently Asked Questions
Both Mutabal and Baba Ghanouj have the same base of roasted eggplant but they differ slightly in the other ingredients that are used to make these.
While Mutabal has only roasted eggplant, tahini, olive oil, and garlic, Baba Ganoush has chopped tomato, pomegranate molasses, and herbs like mint and parsley added to it.
The base of Baba Ganouj is roasted eggplant while the base of hummus is cooked chickpeas. Hummus does not have pomegranate molasses as it’s ingredient while an important ingredient to make Baba Ghanouj is Pomegranate Molasses as it gives it a very peculiar flavor.
The best way to grill the eggplant to make Baba Ganoush is on direct fire. It gives it a smoky flavor and it is then blended with other ingredients and spices in a food processor. You can use a gas stovetop or a BBQ grill to cook the eggplant.
But worry not, if you don’t have excess to a gas stove or BBQ grill, you can still make an amazing Baba Ganouj Recipe at home.
You can also broil the eggplant in an oven. Cut the eggplants in long pieces or roundels and place them on a baking sheet. Drizzle with some olive oil and broil for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees F.
The chunky version of this dip tastes great too. To make it chunky, do not blend the ingredients in a blender. Instead, just mash them using your hands.
Yes, it is very healthy! ⅓ cup of this dip has just 85 calories per serving.
To make it Vegan, simply skip the greek or hung yogurt. It helps in the texture of this dip but can be made without it too.
Sometimes the tahini that you are using is bitter in taste. So make sure to taste it before making this dip.
Old eggplant can also make it bitter. So keep these two thing sin mind before making Baba Ganouj.
Serving Suggestions
Ideally, it is served as a starter with pita bread and works as a super healthy dip.
Sometimes, it is even added to some other dishes to enhance its flavors.
You can also make wraps and sandwiches using it.
It can also be served with chips and veggie sticks such as carrot and cucumber.
Sometimes, I make it a little thinner and use it as a salad dressing.
You can serve it alongside falafel or even top your pizza with it, it’s quite versatile.
Storage Suggestions
This dip stays fresh in the fridge for about 5 days, you can make it ahead of time and store. Apt for the days, when you have a lot to prepare for your parties and get together and you can make a few things and store.
Eggplant is a vegetable that doesn’t freeze well due to its porous, spongy flesh. If you freeze the same, you will end up with mushy vegetables which taste bitter, once you thaw it.
But when the vegetable is combined with other ingredients, just like in this Baba Ganoush recipe, it freezes well. The lemon juice used in this recipe helps to neutralize the bitterness of the vegetable and preserves the color of the same when thawed. Even the texture of the vegetable remains intact.
There is one more trick to freeze it. Strain the dip before freezing, it will help in minimizing the formation of ice crystals.
You might also like:
Recipe Card
Baba Ganoush Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Aubergine
- 2 tbsp Tahini
- ¼ cup Tomato (Chopped)
- 2 tbsp Walnuts
- 2 tbsp Lemon juice
- 5-6 Cloves Garlic
- 2 tbsp Greek or hung yogurt
- Salt
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- ½ tsp Chili flakes
- 2 tbsp Pomegranate molasses
- Fresh coriander and pomegranate seeds for garnishing
Instructions
- Prick the aubergine at 5-6 places with a knife.
- Roast aubergine on stove top from all the sides till it is soft from inside.
- Insert a knife to check if it’s done.
- If the knife gets no resistance while passing through, the aubergine is done.
- You can also roast the aubergine in a oven for an hour.
- Peel the blackened skin and discard it.
- Chop the flesh.
- In a blender, add all the ingredients except fresh coriander and pomegranate seeds and blend till smooth.
- Add little water if required
- Drizzle with olive oil, pomegranate seeds and fresh coriander.
