Mutabal (Eggplant, Yoghurt and Tahini Dip)
Mutabal is a delicious Middle Eastern dip that's perfect as a side dish, a condiment or on the Mezze table.
- Prep time
- 20 min
- Cook time
- 1 hr
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
- 2 eggplants (( give or take))
- 2 medium garlic cloves
- 125 ml full fat Greek yoghurt
- 4 tbsp tahini (RECIPE BELOW)
- 1-2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 tbsp EV olive oil
- 2 sprigs chopped parsley or mint
- 1 tsp pomegranate seeds (optional, I'm not a fan of them for mutabal)
- 1 generous pinch sumac
- 250 g untoasted sesame seeds
- 4-5 tbsp EV olive oil (or more, if you want it runnier)
Instructions
- 1
Prep your barbecue. Then push a skewer through your aubergines and barbecue them for about 15 minutes, turning frequently. When done, leave to cool until they can be handled without burning and follow the steps below.If you have a gas barbecue, you might as well do this on the stove or under your grill (broiler), as gas is gas, right?
- 2
Preheat the oven to 200˚C (400˚F/ Fan 180˚C) and line a baking sheet with foil. Pierce the aubergines with a metal skewer or fork and place them over your gas flame for about 5 minutes, turning 3 times until the skin is a very dark colour. The skewers are there to help you turn the eggplants. Be careful, don't burn your fingers, especially if using a fork as it'll get hot.
- 3
When done, place on the foil covered baking sheet and roast in the oven for about 30 minutes, until they are completely soft, literally melting on the inside. You should be able to push a knife right through. We are going to mash the flesh with a fork, so it needs to be very, very soft.Take them out of the oven and leave to cool so you can handle them.
- 4
While waiting for the eggplants to cool, chop the garlic finely, crush it or pound, and add to a medium-large bowl. As you can see, I just chop them.
- 5
Follow this with the yoghurt, tahini, 1 Tbsp of the lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Mix thoroughly, cover and place in the fridge while waiting for the eggplants to cool. This resting time will also allow the flavours to develop.Homemade Tahini recipe is below.
- 6
When the eggplants have cooled, halve them lengthwise and scrape the flesh out into a bowl.
- 7
Mash the aubergine flesh with a fork until you have a coarse mash.
- 8
Add this mashed eggplant to the yoghurt mix from earlier and mix thoroughly. Taste and add more lemon juice and salt as necessary. The flavour should be garlicky, nutty and lemony.
- 9
Dish your finished mutabal into a shallow dish. Using a fork, create dips/ swirls to hold the topping.Drizzle the mutabal with the olive oil and sprinkle with the herbs and sumac. And pomegranate seeds, if using.
- 10
Dry roast the sesame seeds in a small frying pan over medium-low heat for 3-4 minutes, until a golden brown colour. You will get a toasty, nutty aroma from it. Don't burn them.
- 11
Tip them into a spice mill or a small food chopper that can grind nuts. Pulse the seeds until they are finely ground, but be sure not to let them turn into "butter".
- 12
Drizzle the olive oil in and blend to get a thick paste. Store in a clean jar in the fridge for 2 months. It will harden as it gets cold.