Greek & Turkish Eggplant Dip: Babaganouj

[Claire]

Originally Posted by HistoricFoodie

Years back a Lebanese friend insisted that the eggplant had to be cooked on a charcoal or wood fire to make proper baba ganouj.

Initially I poo-pooed the idea. But tried it nonetheless. It does make a difference, adding a smokey, slightly charred flavor to the final dish. So now I always do it that way.

I grill vegetables often in season, and I never claim to be authentic anything, but will say that piercing an eggplant several times and turning over on your charcoal grill until the skin is blackened on all sides, then cool and peel before doing the rest of the recipe really does improve the flavor.

[Margi Cintrano]

Yes, I agree with you about flame searing, charcoal grill, BBQ and cedar wood chips for Grilling ... however, in Urbanite Apartment Living, there are some things, these above methods of searing, grilling and BBQ are complex and often difficult ...

I can grill the eggplant on broiler in oven ... which is what I sometimes do ...

Thanks for ur feedback.
Margi.