If you love Lebanese food, chances are Baba Ghanoush is one of your favorite dishes.  Baba Ghanoush is one of the most popular manakeesh menu items.  It is often a coveted dish delivered by a manakeesh catering service or that’s available at a Lebanese bakery.

What is Baba Ghanoush?

Baba Ghanoush is a smooth and savory appetizer, or type of spread, that’s mostly composed of tahini, eggplant, garlic, olive oil, and lemon.  The eggplant is cooked and mashed, then mixed with tahini which is made from sesame seeds, olive oil, and a dab of lemon juice if desire.  Seasonings are a big part of Baba Ghanoush, too.

“Baba” means “father” in Lebanese.  It’s used as a term of endearment for this dish that is as rich in culture as it is in flavor.

There are a number of ways Baba Ghanoush can be made.  Tradition calls for mutabbal is the condiment form of it and Baba Ghanoush is consumed as a salad dip with pomegranate molasses and olive oil, with or without tahini.  It can be blended with tomatoes, onions, or a variety of other vegetables.

If you are looking for the best way to make Baba Ghanoush, like an authentic manaeesh restaurant or Lebanese bakery does, read on for the most “ladhidh” (delicious) manakeesh menu Baba Ghanoush recipe ever!

Best Baba Ghanoush

Ingredients

  • 2 medium-sized eggplants, roasted
  • 1/3 cup light seed tahini
  • 3 cloves garlic roasted or 1 raw garlic, crushed
  • 2 fresh whole lemons, juiced
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
  • One pinch cayenne pepper
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Fresh parsley (or paprika or smoke paprika) for garnish if desired

Roast the eggplant over an open flame so it will be smoky.  Place the eggplant pulp into a bowl along with half of the cooking liquid.  Throw away the skin but reserve the remaining liquid it was cooked in.

Add garlic, tahini, fresh lemon juice, salt, cumin, cayenne pepper, and one Tablespoon of olive oil. Mash the mixture with enough force to break up the stringiness of the eggplant, the tahini paste and the garlic. Mix well and do not use a food processor if you want to it be like an authentic manakish dish.

After tasting the dip, add additional lemon juice, cayenne pepper, and/or tahini if desired.

Drizzle the dip’s surface with a little olive oil.  Garnish if desired.  Serve with pita bread, chips, crackers, or however you please.  Be sure to store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

This is a dish that practice makes perfect.  The more often you make it, the better you will become at adding just the right touch of ingredients to suit your taste buds and those of your family or guests.

While the true manakeesh way to make Baba Ghanoush is to cook it in an open flame oven, you can use a regular oven if that is what you have.  Or, you can conduct an online search for “manakeesh near me” to find a Lebanese restaurant Toronto or manakeesh catering company and let them do the cooking for you.