Baba Ghanouj

I was going through my old photos again. I had skipped posting this one as it didn't capture the mouthwatering quality of the dish - it just looks like a dirty blob of goo in the photo... however, I decided to note down the recipe here while the taste of this dish, when I made it last, is still lingering in my memory...

We make this quite often at home, almost as often as my chutneys or salsas, so much so that D has gotten quite good at it that he whips it up usually without any constructive input/interference from me :)

While large fleshy eggplant is commonly used for this dish (and readily available in markets here), I found that Ichiban and Calliopes from my garden had a certain bold eggplant flavor that I liked.

Serve with pita chips or even simple rotis or dosai.

Ingredients
1-2 globe or black beauty or other large, soft fleshy eggplant
3-4 Tbsp tahini (sesame paste)
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
3-4 Tbsp lemon juice
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced or put through a garlic press
1 tsp Hickory Smoke Flavoring liquid ^*
salt to taste

^* D uses this a lot in his cooking, so, we have it handy at home, and we love the smoky flavor... but this is definitely an optional ingredient

other optional items: cayenne pepper, paprika, toasted sesame seeds, cilantro (to taste)

Preparation

1. Slice the eggplant with the skin on, spray or brush some oil and either roast in a 375°F oven till tender, or, what I like to do is to char them a bit over open flame of my gas stove
2. allow to cool a bit; remove skin if you don't care for it - I like it, so, I leave it on
3. combine the eggplant with rest of the ingredients, a little at a time, in a blender/food processor, and pulse to desired dip texture/consistency; i like it a bit coarse, not smooth and silky
4. taste and adjust flavors;garnish with paprika, or cayenne pepper powder and sesame seeds