Babaganoush

This too is a continued post after my posts on Pita & Hummus. This soft, smoky, pulpy dip is perfect to enjoy with crisps or chips. You can choose to add onions, tomatoes in it and garnish it with concentrated pomegranate juice or keep it simple. I made this to accompany my Mediterranean supper. How wonderful it would taste on a fresh green cucumber garnished with some olive oil and fresh paprika! Can you just imagine the texture and the combination of flavours - the crispness and the crunch of the cucumber, the fresh lightness of it against the smoky, pulpy babaganoush....Think I'll have to make it again this weekend! :) 

For the babaganoush you'll need:

1 large eggplant
2-3 tbsp curd
2 tbsp tahini
5-6 cloves garlic
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt to taste
Olive oil garnish
Paprika to garnish
Dry parsley to garnish
Pinch of love

Method

Preheat the oven at 350F or 180C. Wrap the eggplant in foil so that its fully covered. Pop it into the oven for 40 mins. This will make the pulp inside soft and lend it a beautiful smoky flavour. Set aside to let it cool down. After it has cooled down properly, remove the foil and peel off the skin. It will peel of very easily. Cut in half and de-seed. Now chop it into chunks. Meanwhile, in your blender, add the lemon juice and garlic and blend till garlic is liquefied. Drop in the chunks of your smoked eggplant, add the tahini paste, curd and salt. You can skip curd if you like. I added it to make the babaganoush a little lighter cause the smokey eggplant can be a little overwhelming. Now blend till it forms a thick puree. Transfer it to your serving bowl and garnish with a generous drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle paprika and dry/fresh parsley over it and serve with love! :)