West Asia
After its formation in South Asia, the Baingan went on to expand it's culinary republic towards West Asia. It brought a different taste and different feel to this amazing world. From the fertile plains of Iran to the eastern sores of Mediterranean Sea, through the drylands of Arabia, Baingan kept on satiating the taste buds through the region.
We bring you , the most popular recipes of the region.
1. Mutabbal
2. Baba Ganoush
Mutabbal - Top
After Baingan ka Bharta, arguably, Mutabbal is the most well known and popular delicacy made from Bhoona Baingan in the world. It's a traditional starter and a great accompanying dish to any meal. Served as a spread, or dip for crispy lavash bread, Fresh and crisp vegetables , or enjoyed on its own too. Its a part of Mezze along with other dips and spreads of west asian culinary culture of enjoying food together.
Here is the recipe -
Ingredients
1. Bhoona Baingan - 500 gm
2. Tahini Sauce - 150 gm ( or as per your linking for the smoothness)
3. Olive Oil
4. Freshly cut Lemon
5. Garlic - 5 to 7 cloves
Bring the Bhoona Baingan out of your refrigerator and let it thaw to the room temperature. This saves you the time and efforts in the messy job of roasting Baingan on the open flame, cooling , peeling, cleaning and mashing it.
Add Bhoona Baingan to a bowl. Crush the garlic and mash it to a paste and add this to the bowl. Add Tahini sauce. Squeeze a freshly cut lemon as per your liking of sourness. Add salt . Mix it all vigorously. This shall become a uniform , consistent paste with such vigourous beating. Season with roasted black and white sesame seeds and freshly chopped coriander or parsley
Your Mutabbal is ready to be served with lavash bread.
Baba Ganoush Top
Baba Ganoush is another equally popular dish made from Bhoona Baingan. Mutabbal and Baba Ganoush are a part of the world cuisine now . Despite being completely different in tatse , texture and overall feel, they are often confused with each other . So, a restaurant in India or UK or Russia serving Mutabbal might be actually serving you Baba Ganoush and vice versa.
The basic difference between the two is that of the second most important ingredient after Bhoona Baingan. While Mutabbal contains Tahini Sauce, Baba Ganoush contains concentrate of pomegranate juce ,aptly called Rooh-E-Anar. In addition, Baba Ganoush contains finely diced green-red bell pepper and red onions. While mutabal contains sesame seeds as seasoning, Baba Ganoush contains fresh or dried pomegranate seeds. Personally, we prefer fresh pomegranate.
Mirza Ghassemi Top
This popular dish from North Iran takes the smoky flavours of Bhoona Baingan to the next level . Served with soft steaming Persian rice or Lavash bread, this makes perfect healthy and delicious breakfast.
Ingredients
1. Bhoona Baingan - 500 gm
2. Eggs - 4
3. Tomatoes 3, medium sized
4. Garlic - 4 to 6 cloves
6. Turmeric
7. Black Pepper
8. Cinnamon
Bring the Bhoona Baingan out of your refrigerator and let it thaw to the room temperature. This saves you the time and efforts in the messy job of roasting Baingan on the open flame, cooling , peeling, cleaning and mashing it.
While the Bhoona Baingan is getting thawed, smoke the tomatoes on open flame for a 3 to 5 minutes, dice the smoked tomatoes and keep aside. Also, break the eggs into a separate bowl . We are using whole eggs here, but you can decide on using only the egg whites if you want . For presentaion, fry one of the egg with sunny side up and keep aside.
Take a thick pan on medium flame and add cooking oil to it. Add diced or crushed garlic and saute it till it becomes golden in colour. Add the diced tomatoes and cook till the tomatoes are fully soft. Add the thawed Bhoona baingan to the pan . Saute the mix and let the excess water evporates and the mixture is thickened. As the mixture thickens, slowly add the beaten egg and mix it well with the Bhoona Baingan.
Turn off the heat , top it up with the fried egg and fresh mint leaves. Serve hot with rice, lavash bread or pita bread. You can store the leftover in a refrigerator for upto two days in an airtight container.
Kashk -E- Bademjan Top
Bademjan is Baingan in Farsi, and Kashk is a traditional Persian ingredient made from thickened creamy yoghurt. Kashk is available in any middle eastern store, but in some part of the world where it's not availabe, you can replace it with thick Greek yoghurt. Kashk E Bademjan is rich and elaborate dish .
Ingradients:
1. Bhoona Baingan- 500 gm
2. Kashk - 50 gm dried form / Greek yoghurt- 150 gm
3. Dried mint , as per taste.
4. Freshly ground black pepper
5. Red chili powder- as per taste
6. Walnuts - 100 gm
7. Garlic - 4-6 cloves
8. One large onion
9. Cooking oil
Bring the Bhoona Baingan out of your refrigerator and let it thaw to the room temperature. This saves you the time and efforts in the messy job of roasting Baingan on the open flame, cooling , peeling, cleaning and mashing it.
Take two tblsp of cooking oil in a skillet. Chop half of the onion into thin slices and fry them till crispy and light brown. Remove from the skillet and set them aside. Grind the walnuts coarsely and keep aside. Be carefull not to grind it into a paste. You can also chop the walnuts instead of grinding. This adds a crunch to the otherwise smooth texture of Bhoona Baingan and Kashk
Dice the other half of the onion and sauté it till they become translucent. Add garlic to the skillet and cook till the raw smell vanishes. Sprinkle freshly cracked pepper, red chili powder dried mint in the skillet. Add thickened kashk or Greek Yoghurt and ground / diced walnuts to the skillet and mix well. Cook it for 3 to 5 minutes . Add Bhoona Baingan to the skillet and mix well. Cook it for a couple of minutes. Let the excess water evaporate . Turn the flame off .
Season this with pieces of walnut, a drop of youghurt and dried mint powder. Serve hot with lavash bread.