Baba Ghanoush is a traditional middle eastern dip made with eggplant, garlic, lemon juice and tahini. There are many ways to make baba ghanoush, each with their own variation on the basic recipe.

**Recipes**

Pour the yogurt into a medium-sized mixing bowl. Use plain, full-fat yogurt if possible as it gives your baba ghanoush a better consistency and more flavor.

Add the tahini paste to the bowl of yogurt. Stir together until well combined.

**Optional**

Add half of the chopped garlic to the bowl of yogurt and tahini. Stir until well combined to create a smooth garlic sauce. Add extra garlic if you want more garlic flavor in your dip.

The other half of the chopped garlic should be reserved for roasting.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (204 degrees Celsius). Place the whole eggplants directly onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat or greased foil without piercing them in any way (this will help them roast faster and more evenly). Roast for 30 minutes or until completely soft inside when poked with a fork or sharp knife blade (the skin should also be completely charred in places

Baba Ghanoush, or eggplant dip, is a Middle Eastern dish that is usually made of grilled or fried eggplant in a thick garlic, lemon and olive oil sauce.

Baba ghanoush is an Arabic word that means “Father of the Eggplant.” The name came from the Turkish language. Baba ghanoush is an appetizer that is often served in Middle Eastern restaurants. It can be eaten with pita bread and raw vegetables as a snack or appetizer. It’s also delicious with pita bread as a light meal.

Tahini is a sesame seed paste that is used in many middle eastern recipes. Tahini can be found at most grocery stores in the ethnic food aisle. You can also make your own tahini by grinding sesame seeds into a paste.*

Making baba ghanoush is not difficult. However, it is a dish that requires a good deal of preparation and a little bit of work.

The first step is to select your eggplants and wash them thoroughly. Eggplants come in many different varieties, but any will do for this recipe. Simply pick the largest ones you can find.

Once your eggplants are clean, slice them in half lengthwise. Some recipes call for you to cut them lengthwise into fourths, but I find that this makes it much more difficult for me to remove the pulp from the skin without tearing it apart.

Tear the pulp away from the skin using your hands and a spoon. If there are any large chunks of skin still attached, remove these as well, but do not discard them or throw them away. You will need them later on.

Next, heat a heavy bottomed pan at medium-high heat. Add 4 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan and wait until it warms up before you add your eggplant pulp and skin pieces to it. Once you have poured in your eggplant pulp and skin pieces into the heated oil, begin stirring vigorously with one hand while holding the lid with your other hand to keep the oil from

Baba ghanoush, which literally means “with father,” is a delicious eggplant dip that is served with pita bread and vegetables. It is a surprisingly simple recipe to make, but it does take some time as the eggplants must be grilled over an open flame or small grill.

One of the best parts about baba ghanoush is that you really can modify the recipe however you want to create your own spin on it. Some people like to roast their eggplant in the oven with the skin on and peel it afterwards, while others prefer to peel the eggplant and char it over the flame of a stove or small grill like we did here. Some people also prefer to incorporate herbs such as parsley into their baba ghanoush, while others prefer not to add any herbs at all. Some even like to add tomatoes into their dips for a more red color. Whatever your preference may be, baba ghanoush is a great dip recipe that will help you impress your friends and family!

In a bowl, mash the eggplant and the garlic together with a fork until almost smooth. Mix in the rest of the ingredients and continue mashing to mix well.

Serve chilled or at room temperature with pita bread or crackers. If you wish to make a smaller batch of Baba Ghanoush, it can be stored in the refrigerator for up to five days.

Note: The above can be used as a basis for an incredible variety of dishes by substituting other herbs and spices for some of the ones suggested below. You can use this as a pizza sauce, mixed with yogurt as a dip, mixed with sour cream as a sauce for baked potatoes, mixed with mayonnaise and used as a sandwich spread, etc. Experiment!**

The eggplants are small to medium-sized and have a dark purple skin. You can use any variety of them, the taste will be different but nice!

Make sure you wash the eggplants before you start peeling them. The skin is quite bitter and it’s essential to clean it properly.

Tip: make a small cut on the top or on the bottom of the eggplant, then make another cut next to it, depending on the size of your eggplants you should make 2 or 3 cuts. This way they will absorb less oil while cooking.

Preheat the oven at 390 C / 400 F. Place the eggplants directly on the oven rack and cook them for around 20-30 minutes until they are soft and cooked through. While cooking, every 10 minutes turn them around so they can cook evenly on all sides.

How to check if an eggplant is properly cooked: Stick a knife through it, if it’s not hard to insert and doesn’t hurt your fingers you know it’s ready!

Once they are cooked let them cool down so you can handle them without burning yourself and remove their skin. If there is any liquid in between the eggplant and skin, please try to remove as much as you can with

Ajwain seeds and leaves are traditionally used in many Indian dishes, like chicken tikka, vegetable curries and fish. Ajwain is a wonderful herb that possesses a distinct aroma of thyme but with a pungent taste of its own.

Ajwain gives an unmistakable flavor to your dishes. It is very popular in India. Even the kids love to eat it raw by munching on the seeds right out of the jar. Ajwain is one of those herbs that sneaks up on you; it has a nice flavor but slowly builds up until you can’t help but notice it! Ajwain is also known as bishop’s weed or carom seed and belongs to the parsley family.

When cooked, the seeds lose their fragrance and flavor and turn brown in color. That’s why you’ll often find them sold already roasted. If you have the fresh seeds, roast them in a hot skillet until they turn dark brown. Just make sure you don’t burn them; this will ruin their flavor!

If you have bought whole ajwain seeds instead of pre-roasted ones, then pre-roast them at home before using them in your recipe. A few minutes in a hot skillet will do