Moutabal ~ Roasted Eggplant, Yogurt, and Tahini Dip

This is a delicious dip, that really leans into the traditional “less is more” minimalism, only requiring a few ingredients treated well for a good result. The smoky undertones blend seamlessly into the nutty tahini, with a zing of garlic and lemon to brighten things up. Even eggplant haters have liked it. Especially nice is it’s easy to roast more than one eggplant at once, so you can make a bigger batch. However, I think some constraints need to be introduced to help guarantee success for the reader—and I’ve now made this dish 3 different times to nail down the variables.

First, the eggplant used should be the teardrop-shaped Italian variety, which averages 210-245 grams each. While it’s possible with a globe eggplant, these are usually twice the weight, have a ton of seeds, and don’t turn as silky when roasted. The extra weight means longer roasting time and the given quantities of mix-ins feel underpowered. Second, the juice of one lemon is so variable, I’ve found that 2 Tbsp per Italian eggplant brings enough brightness without upstaging the eggplant. My first attempt using a whole lemon as directed brought 4 Tbsp, which was way too much.

Then there’s the garlic issue. If you are making this the day of and plan to eat it all that day, go ahead and put the garlic straight in. However, if you plan to eat it during the week, the garlic continues to bloom (like it does in hummus) and by day three it is so strong it burns your mouth and is probably best reserved for hunting vampires. In Michael Solomonov’s, “Zahev,” he soaks his crushed garlic in lemon juice for 10 minutes before straining the lemon juice to add to tahini sauce or hummus, which prevents the garlic from blooming in the fridge and throwing the flavors out of whack. I tried that here and it worked just as well. If someone wants to make this ahead, I recommend soaking the garlic in lemon juice for 10 minutes. Then, strain the lemon juice into the dip and discard the garlic pulp. It will be just as good on day 3 as it is on day 1.

This is a tasty, easy dip to make for an afternoon snack with pita chips or as a party appetizer. I’ve made this moutabal three times over the past few weeks. I simply roast the eggplant in the oven until blackened, let cool for 25 minutes, and blend in the remaining ingredients with a fork. Add a few pinches of salt and you have a wonderful dip. Any leftover will taste great the next day. You can adjust as you like; my lemon was generous with juice so I added an extra little bit of tahini and it was totally balanced. This is a keeper in the oh-so-easy recipe file.

I really love baba ganoush and this recipe for moutabal offers a new variation (at least for me!). I hadn’t tried blending yogurt in before, and usually have parsley rather than pomegranate seeds. It’s a very simple process and doesn’t take much time. The result is nicely balanced—creamy, smoky, some sweet and sour notes, and just a hint of bitterness with just the right amount of salt. Really great with crunchy kale and sunchoke chips.

I think I’d add toasted sesame seeds and chopped parsley next time, but I’ll definitely keep the pomegranate, or drizzle in some pomegranate molasses in the absence of real pomegranate seeds.

This quick and easy eggplant moutabal dip is a lovely change-up from my staple hummus dip in the fridge. So much flavor from so few ingredients. I’ve made this before with a slightly different recipe. The other recipe also called for oven roasting the eggplant but also used the broiler to create the char necessary for smoky flavor. If you’re attempting this recipe using the oven method, I’d recommend some broiler time to get that char on the eggplant. However, even though it didn’t get quite as charred and smoky with the oven method, I still found the final product really tasty. I ate it with whole wheat pitas.

We really enjoyed this moutabal dip. I didn’t serve it cold because when I tried it from the fridge, it wasn’t very flavorful. I served this at room temp (or a little warmer, I used a microwave), drizzled with olive oil, pomegranate molasses, and pomegranate seeds. I’d recommend serving this way, it was delicious.

The prep is very simple, and the most time-consuming part is roasting the eggplant—but so easy—just put it in the oven and let it roast. I processed this in the food processor until fairly smooth. Using a food processor is a must if you like a smoother consistency.

I would classify this like a homemade hummus – great for lunch with pita and vegetables, and good for a snack, and either way, a good healthy dish to have on-hand for quick eating.

I prepare baba ganoush often as we love it so when I saw this recipe with similar ingredients I was intrigued. I roasted the eggplant using my outdoor gas grill. The temperature hovered around 500°F and charring occurred in 20 minutes. The skin became black and hard and peeled away easily so no scraping was necessary. From here the prep was a snap, everything goes into the food processor and is done in 2 minutes. I served this moutabal as an appetizer, still slightly warm, with homemade pita chips, sliced cucumber, and a glass of red wine. It was very good but a little too garlicky. Next time I’ll start with just one clove of garlic and add the second one to taste. The leftovers which had been refrigerated were also good but I agree with the author that warm was better.

Wow, what a punch of flavor this moutabal packs. Absolutely delicious and dead easy. The key to getting a deeply smoky flavor is to roast the eggplant over an open flame. I did two versions, one in the oven and one on the grill and the grill version is heads above the oven version. I had to restrain myself from eating it all in one sitting.

I have always known this dish as baba ganoush and have made a similar version for many years. After looking up the differences between the two, it seems that many middle eastern cultures include tahini in moutabal but don’t include it in baba ganoush. Whatever you want to call it, it’s delicious.

Served with toasted pita triangles as part of a meze with olives, stuffed grape leaves, and tabouli.