Description
EASY EGGPLANT RED PEPPER DIP (AJVAR) -Taking its inspiration from ajvar and baba ganoush, charred red pepper, eggplant, garlic, tahini, and lemon come together in a simple, tasty dip!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 2 – Red Bell pepper
- 2 – Eggplant
- 1/2 cup – Onion sliced
- 2 tbsp – Olive oil
- Salt
- 1 – Lemon
- 2 tbsp – Lemon juice
- 1/2 cup – pomegranate molasses
- 6 – Garlic cloves chopped
- 2 tbsp – Coriander leaves chopped
- 1/2 cup – Pomegranates
- 2 1/2 tbsp -Tahini
Instructions
- Take out juice from one pomegranate and one lemon. Boil the juice for 10minutes. Our pomegranate molasses are ready. Keep it aside.
- Char all sides of the eggplant and bell pepper on the stovetop.
- After charring, cover it for few minutes to retain the smokiness.
- Peel the char eggplant and bell pepper. Cut the bell pepper and discard the middle portion as shown in the picture. Discard the eggplant head. Cut it.
- In a grinder, add the eggplant and bell pepper.
- Make a paste.
- In a frying pan, add olive oil, garlic cloves chopped. Set the flame to medium and saute for 30 seconds.
- Add onions chopped saute till translucent.
- Now add bell pepper and eggplant paste. Mix well.
- Add salt and lemon juice.
- Then add homemade or store brought tahini and mix well and cook for more 5minutes till water evaporates.
- Pour it into a bowl after mixing well.
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[equipments]Notes
- When your red peppers/eggplants are charred but the flesh is still firm, you can transfer them to a baking sheet and bake at 400oF/200oC until almost collapsing (this will take between 10-25 minutes).
- In the event that you find the eggplant red pepper dip a little watery or “thin”, place it in a pan and cook over low heat until you achieve the desired consistency. As a matter of fact, ajvar traditionally simmers for at least an hour to reduce and develop the flavors.
- Pepper and eggplant should be steaming for 10 minutes in airtight glass containers. Peeling them will be much easier with this method. The smoky flavor will be evident in both of them.
- Using a food processor, blend the red pepper until it is a smooth puree. The red pepper’s seeds and stem should be removed.
- To make the eggplant red pepper dip, combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and use a fork to mash the eggplant.
- The ingredients for this dip can be combined into a smooth mixture by processing them in a food processor. In order to observe the true essence of baba ganoush, I mash it by hand.
- Roasting the eggplant and bell peppers in advance and storing them in the fridge is no problem for 1-2 days.
- It is important to note only that the paste might release fluid, so drain it.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Steaming Time - 10 minutes:
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Appetizer, Condiment, Side
- Method: Stove-Top
- Cuisine: Balkan, Middle Eastern