A couple of weeks ago, when I published a baba ganoush recipe with sweet potatoes instead of traditional ingredient eggplant, I felt sorry for the dear vegetable eggplant. So I made this recipe to make it up for it!!!

 

 

The recipe starts similar to baba ganoush – by roasting eggplants (though, traditionally, the eggplant in baba ganoush is smoked on the stove but well, it creates a mess…). Roasting is as far as it goes with the similarities though, because after that, comes onion and other ingredients.

 

 

 

For this recipe, it is very important to thoroughly roast and thoroughly cook onions. Otherwise the final result will taste bitter and unpleasant (i’m speaking from experience, because the first time I made it, this was exactly the result I got).

 

 

The recipe uses a little bit of yogurt. By using a plant-based yogurt, like oat yogurt by Oatly for example, you can turn easily make this spread suitable for vegan diet.

 

 

This is an easy recipe, it just takes time because of the roasting of eggplants and then cooking the onions. After all that, you just put all the ingredients into a food processor and voila! Enjoy it with fresh, crusty bread!
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Ingredients:

 

Difficulty: Easy
(serves 4-6)

 

Printable PDF-recipe (no photos)

 

4 medium eggplants, about 1500 gr.
2 tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, diced
4 garlic cloves, mashed
1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
2 tbsp plain yogurt (use plant-based yogurt if you want to make it vegan)
1 green chili pepper, roughly chopped
salt to taste

 

fresh, crusty bread to serve

 

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1. Preheat the oven to 220C. Put a baking a paper on an oven tray.

 

2. Punch holes using a fork on each eggplant (many many holes). Put the eggplants on the tray you prepared and roast in the oven, in medium rack, for 50 to 60 minutes, until eggplants are really really soft.

 

 

 

3. Let the roasted eggplants cool down for about 15-20 minutes after roasting, then cut each in 2 and scoop the flesh with a spoon.

 

 

 

4. Put a large pan on medium high heat and add olive oil. Warm it for about 20 seconds, then add onions and sauté for about 7-8 minutes, stirring frequently, until they cook really well.

 

 

 

 

5. Add mashed garlic and continue to cook for about 1-2 minutes.

 

 

 

6. Add eggplant and turmeric and continue to cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently, until all ingredients mix well and the mixture is very fragrant.

 

 

 

 

7. Transfer the mixture into a food processor. Add yogurt and green chili pepper and process until you get a rather smooth paste.

 

 

 

 

 

8. Scrape the sides of the food processor if necessary.

 

 

 

9. When the texture of the spread is as you like (I like to keep it slightly chunky, not 100% smooth), add salt to taste (I added 1 1/2 tsp) and process just for a few more seconds so that salt is well mixed with the rest. Transfer the spread to a serving bowl and serve with fresh, crusty bread. Enjoy!