Moutabel with Toasted Pitas

Eggplants (Aubergines or Brinjals) are supposed to be high in dietary fiber, folate, potassium, manganese, vitamin C, vitamin K, thiamin, niacin, vitamin B6, pantothenic acid, magnesium, phosphorus and copper.

But if you were a kid like me you just said “ewww….baigan” and then refused to have anything to with it. I had a similar reaction from my kids today when I was spooning the roasted flesh of the eggplants in to the blender. I was making Moutabel (Baba Ghanoush).

Here’s what I did.

Wash 2 heavy eggplants (they should feel heavier than they look)

Put on a foil covered baking sheet. Prick them all over with a knife. This is to ensure that the eggplants don’t blow up in your oven. Stick them in the oven at 375-400 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour. Mean while act busy like this is just taking you just so much effort.

I just went to the gym and when I came back and peered in to the oven, I had this.

Let it cool. Peel…the skins should come off easily leaving the soft fleshy eggplant. (This is the point when my kids were calling the poor baigan names….eeww, yuck, its’s so squishy…to name a few)

So in order to transform the squishy stuff in to a delectable dip, here is what you do

Ingredients

• The roasted eggplant flesh minus the charred peel and seeds
  
• 2 cloves garlic
• 4 tablespoons tahina paste (sesame seeds paste readily available in an Indian or Middle Eastern store)
• ½ cup plain yogurt (this can be omitted but helps to make milder the sometimes bitter taste of the eggplant)
• Juice of 1 big lemon
• Salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  

Method

Place all the ingredients except the olive oil in a blender. Blend the above till it’s a paste. Alternatively, if you’d like your moutabal to be chunkier, process it in a food processor.

Place in a shallow plate and spread. Sprinkle with red chili powder and drizzle with good extra virgin olive oil (No pomace oil. Please, please please check your bottle to make sure)

Ooh….and toasted pitas to go with should not be missed! Here’s what you do…

Mix together the following

• 1 teaspoon of sesame seeds (til)
  
• 1 teaspoon of onion seeds (kalonji)
• 1 teaspoon of fennel seeds (sauf)
• 1 teaspoon of kali jeeri

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Slit and cut the pocket pita bread (I like to use whole wheat) in to triangular pieces. Place on a baking sheet. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle the seeds mixture on top of each pita traingle. Bake in the oven for about 8-10 minutes till well toasted.

Serve the moutabel with the toasted pitas.

So did the kids eat? Sure did! After all, what does a creamy flavorful dip that’s eaten with crunchy pitas have in common with that mushy and slimy roasted eggplant?

This recipe goes to the A Worldly Epicurean's Delight (A.W.E.D) hosted by Siri at her lovely blog Siri's Corner.This month the theme is Middle Eastern Cuisine, the second one of it's kind I believe. The first one was started and hosted by Dhivya at her blog Culinary Bazaar. My very first blogging event!