Hey Chef John, thumbs up for the marvelous Baba Ghannouj! I'm a Lebanese living in Lebanon my whole life, I love food, and I cook too. You nailed it perfectly like a native Lebanese, which is great coz most Lebanese/Middle Eastern recipes get screwed up once done in the west maybe to cater to western tastes or simply due to ignorance. Also thanks a lot for the male/female tip. Btw, although it's not uncommon for some Lebanese restaurants (and mostly Syrian people) to add some yogurt to this recipe or to hommus dip (mostly for aesthetic reason, to lighten up the color and give the dish a bit of volume), it's more authentic to skip the yogurt altogether as it dilutes the flavor and not only the color. Anyway, great job like always!
I am Egyptian and the main ingredients to be added to Baba Ghanoush besides lemon juice and Tahini is mashed garlic which gives it the strong taste and adding yogurt is unnecessary
@@cherryblossom7076 since you are an egyptian may i ask isn't it actually moutabal what he is making? Ganoush has no yoghurt but tomatoes and pomegranate seeds. Or am I wrong? Could you please confirm?
People wondering about the tasting spoon. If I were cooking for guests (and they were watching) of course I'd change spoons, BUT if it's just me and the wife, there's no need. Btw, if the sight of that spoon going back into the dip freaked you out, you should never go to a restaurant again. Ever. Having said all that, it's been proven many times over that double-dipping is not an actual problem.
Food Wishes Go to asia for a few years, and you will probably stop caring about doubledipping altogether. It's a matter of perception and custom. Just dont be sick
Tip: when roasting your egg plant, slit skin and peel 2-3 cloves of garlic, insert them in slit before roasting. Delicious, sweet roasted garlic and eggplant!
Great tip. Where I'm from we roast with the garlic then add to some sauteed onions and peppers to taste, it's called bygan choka. Cleaning tip: Place on a cutting board, slice off the head after roasting, right where it was split to add garlic or split down one side, open up flat, make cross marks like a checker board with a knife and simply scoop out with a spoon. Plus can be handled while hot easily and then served hot also.
I'm Arab so we use a lot of eggplants in our cooking, but I've never heard of the male female thing. Anyway, it's a great advice and I think I'm gonna bother everyone I meet with it
“Male” and “female” eggplant is a case of unfortunate terminology. “Vegetables,” such as eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and squash, are - botanically speaking - really fruits. The fruits themselves can’t be considered “male or female. “Male pollen was transferred to female parts of the flower, resulting in the fruit we eat. Different varieties of eggplant may be more bitter and contain more noticeable seeds than others. Also, as an eggplant fruit matures, the seeds become more noticeable. So an eggplant picked when very mature to over-mature might appear “seedier” than others picked when less mature, even those from the same plant. Pick eggplant fruits when full size is reached but while the exterior is still a glossy purple. Once the exterior becomes dull purple, the eggplant fruit is over-mature.
In Italy we say there is male and female fennel bulbs. In fact some fennel bulbs are very rounded and fleshy while the male ones are long and not so good to cook. The same is true for zucchini flowers which we use fried. I had never heard of eggplants having differences. That was interesting.
+Brothers Green Eats ehhh looky looky who it is! Two of my favourite bros! :-) Totes agree about the eggplant tip... And so many opportunities for dirty jokes there, and he didn't even make one! I'm impressed lol. I think it was too much of an easy target.. don't even need to make a sexual joke because it's so obvious haha
+Brothers Green Eats Don't get me wrong though, if you guys ever make a sexual joke about an eggplant, I'd totally be on board with it! It never feels sleazy, just funny. You're both adorable, I love ya!
Someone I know who shall remain nameless once (or twice) used peanut butter instead of tahini and no one seemed to notice. I think I got away with it. Thankfully none of my guests, that time, were Lebanese. I mean my friend's guests.
He has the perfect teaching voice!!! You know like the one who reads the books, explains the science project, and helps with arts and crafts you guys know the voice the fun elementary school teacher you’ll never forget 😌
Try applying a thin dab of sesame oil over the eggplants, before toasting it on the fire... The smokiness along with the sweetness of sesame oil, the baba ghanoush is gonna taste like heaven!!
I love Lebanese food. I’ve been to Beirut a couple of times and I’ve eaten in good Middle-East restaurants around the world. This recepie is hands down THE BEST BABAGANOUSH I’VE EVER HAD!!
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Thank you chef John. Job well done. The way you explained the recipe as the video was playing was amazing. Very simple into the point unlike other videos I've seen.
its same for a lot of plants. My grandma used to teach me how to pick all kinds of fruits and veggies when she sent me to the store. It's mostly common knowledge in Eastern Europe I think.
memmi uh no, they definitely do exist. ‘female’ eggplants, and many other plants, have more seeds. seeds are bitter, and thus females are less flavorful.
Baba Ghanoush sounds like the name of an old lady who lives in a secluded cottage deep in the woods and knits uncomfortable sweaters. Recipe looks yummy though!
Baba = papa = something that has to do with a man/father. So I have no idea how that sounds like a woman's name X'D. It's like if the name of the dish was Mama Ghanoush and you said it sounded like a man's name.
Fadel Show While that's true linguistically, most of us who aren't familiar with the languages where that's true would think of Baba Yaga first, you know, the old lady that lives in the forest and counts spoons.
Fadel Show I think because in the fairy tale it is Baba Yaga, a witch and a woman. She lives in a hut that stands on chicken feet. She has nothing to do with eggplant as far as i know, but i don't know that for shure of course. I mean, if her hut walks around on chicken feet, she might as well have a cousin that's named Ghanoush and that cooks eggplant...
Wow I just tried your tricks and came back amazing, To the people who wants to know what "baba ghanoush" means here is the story : baba ghanoush is a dish from Lebanon and the story says that in the first century there was a priest called ghanoush every one loved him and one of his students cooked him an eggplant dish and the priest out of kindness gave the dish to the poor people and every one loved it! So they named the dish after him, and baba in Arabic actually papa which means "father" so the translation is "father ghanoush".
Amazing recipe as usual! Sometimes in Syria we add a drizzle of pomegranate molasses and it is very tasty! It is usually served as a dipping in grill parties.
Freddy Abraham No body makes it home. Buy a bottle from any middle eastern store. It’s cheap about $3.99 for a 500 ml bottle . You can also garnish with pomegranates n some crushed walnuts 🙂
The problem with the saying "dots not slots" is that every time I get to the eggplants in the produce aisle I can't remember if it's "dots not slots" or "slots not dots" LMAO
Remember, eggplants are like women: you want to look for the slit before you take them home. Except for the sake of this anology you're actually looking for a dude eggplant so leave the slit ones at the club/super market. I guess this is a long winded way of saying you want to find a trap and take him home before things get steamy and you start mashing
I remember having this at a friend's place and it was simply wonderful... and then his mom brought out another plate full of the dip and that was like magic...
noooo i'm not 1- i came to see the recipe , because i looooveee this dish. 2- i corrected the name of the dish because it was wrong. 3- i gave the source of name because many pele don't know the syrian dialect. 4- i added this ^_^ in the end just to say : hey guys it is friendly comment, but unfortunately you didn't see it !! ^_^
In Syria we add garlic, it will make the taste amazing.. and in reply to some of the comments regarding adding tomatoes, it is not necessary at all to add it since it will change the taste greatly. one should be able to enjoy more the taste of the eggplant.
He added some, but not much. I'd add 2 - 3 times that amount. At least. I also thought that more tahini was added, but in any case, it's according to taste so I guess it's okay.
Actually this dish is called “mutabal”. The “baba ganoush” has no yogurt or tahina in it, only eggplant, lemon juice, garlic, and vegetables like tomatoes, onions, and parsley... many mix up the two.
Ah, thanks for clarifying. I didn't know that! It explains why in some places the Baba ganoush looks completely different to what I used to think was baba ganoush. It's actually mutabal I like. Next time I know what to order.. :)
jazz tryppyn not true, he has mistaken the name, this dish is called mutabbal, and that is exactly how we make it. Baba-ghanosh is a different thing. He probably didn’t know that.
Does anyone else get taste anxiety when you’re making food? I can’t taste things myself I always have to get my friends/family/partner to taste it for me.
You are SUCH a good teacher, Chef John! You've got to be one of the best teachers I know! You have skill, a true love for your subject, and a perfect delivery method! -Your lessons are interesting (both visually and vocally) -You're serious about your food but you keep things fun - The lessons are varied (from easy to more advanced recipes) (also recipes taken from different cultures around the world) - You throw in a joke every now and then to keep it light (less pressure makes me more receptive and positive to receiving the lesson!) - You throw in random facts, and you repeat repeat repeat the important ones! You're addictive! ""aesthetically challenged'' .. ''spoondentations'' ... You're a genius, seriously Teacher Chef John!! And the RU-vid world is a better place for having you! (and in turn, the actual world!)
I know. Please, I mean no offense, but when I watch a video that begins with this voice I immediately change it. Just my own personal preference of my ears and sanity.
Baba Ghanoush ???this is called eggplant salad and is very common and delicious food you can find all over the eastern Europe especially in Romania......
I just that when we make it we use fine diced onion and mayonnaise,salt and pepper for seasoning. And you could add minced garlic and whatever else you want.
Lebanese delicious dish from my country the beautiful Lebanon. I do no know of your recipe is the real lebanese one. You need to see the real recipe all the lebanese other dishes. You will not regret. Sahtein.
Anyone else watch Takeshi's Castle, the segment called MXC: Most Extreme Elimination Challenge? It was hilarious! They had a contestant they called Baba Ghanoush. There was a whole family of Ghanoushes. Now I get the joke! 😂😂😂😂
Best to crash only with a wood tool like a wood cleaver!!!Never crash an eggplant with metal tools!!!Big deference of taste.If you don't have a carbon barbecue put them directly on the gas flame,even the mess.Also use only a glass boll.
I have been growing eggplant in my garden every year for he past 30 years, and I never knew the difference between a male plant and a female plant. I always count it a blessing that I learn something new almost every day! Thank you! Such great info!
There is no such thing as a male or female eggplant. It is just a term invented by the food industry to make it easier to identify the different number of seeds. I believe that this corresponds to a different level of maturity of the fruit.
Another way to know if there is seeds hold it in your hand if it is heavy don't buy it. Also, don't add yogurt this is away that restaurants use to save the Tahini because it is more expensive then yogurt. Also, if you have left overs it won't last long with yogurt. Again, keep the oil in the top not in side it .You don't need it lose.Furhermore,we don't put cyan powder in it, and we add pomegranate seeds in it with the parsley. Enjoy.
One way to remove the xasxas quickly is to put the eggplants in a bowl with water and pass a fork along its length, its burnt bark would have left quickly!
