Mutabbal (eggplant dip)
Recipe No.: A-16
Arab50 minServes 6
Mutabbal (from tabbala, 'to season') is a Levantine dip of roasted, mashed eggplant with tahini, lemon and garlic, and it is sometimes described as a spicier version of baba ghanoush. The names overlap between countries, and some people call the same dish baba ghanoush; in Palestine and Jordan a pumpkin mutabbal is also made. No specific date or inventor of the dish is known.
Ingredients for Mutabbal
- For the eggplant
- 3large eggplants (about 1.2 kg), whole and unpeeled
- For the mutabbal
- ¼ cup(60 g) tahini
- 3 tbsplemon juice
- 2small cloves garlic, crushed
- ¼ cupfull-fat plain yogurt (optional)
- ½ tspsalt, or to taste
- For the topping
- 2 tbspolive oil, chopped parsley and pomegranate seeds
Method
- Prick each eggplant 5 to 6 times with a fork. Roast directly over a gas flame, turning, for 15 to 20 minutes until the skin is charred and the flesh collapses. (Or bake at 230°C for 40 minutes, turning, then a few minutes under the broiler for a smoky taste.)
- Leave the eggplants in a colander for 10 minutes to release their bitter juices, then peel them and remove any stuck burnt bits.
- Mash the flesh with a fork or chop it coarsely, keeping some texture, and do not blend it or it will turn watery.
- Whisk the tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt (and the yogurt, if using) in a bowl until thick, adding a spoon or two of water to make it creamy.
- Fold the eggplant into the sauce, then taste and adjust salt and lemon.
- Spread it in a dish, make a well in the centre and pour in the olive oil, then garnish with parsley and pomegranate. Serve with flatbread.
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