Mtabbal Al-Bathenjan
January 15th, 2010
Mtabbal Al-Bathenjan is prepared from smoky eggplant mixed with yogurt, tahini, crushed garlic and salt. Some countries call it Baba Ghanouj, but in Syria Baba Ghannouj is different from Mtabbal.
Let’s make Mtabbal Al-Bathenjan:
1, 2, 3. Place Eggplant directly on the flame of a gas burner, and turn every few minutes, so it is charred on the outside and the pulp is soft and has a smoky taste.
4. Remove the charred skin of the eggplant, you can rinse with water and that will help in removing the skin.
5, 6. This is the eggplant after removing the skin.
7, 8. Place the eggplant in a strainer to drain for about 30 minutes.
9. In a bowl, add drained yogurt.
10. Add tahini, crushed garlic and salt to yogurt.
11. Mash eggplant using knife (don’t use food processor).
12. This is mashed eggplant.
13. Add mashed eggplant.
14, 15. Mix very well.
16. Serve in a plate.
17. Garnish with ground sweet paprika, olive oil, mint leaves, and black olives.
Serve immediately, or keep it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, then serve it.
Serve with pita bread or Arabic flat bread, tomatoes, mint leaves, cucumber pickles, raw onion, and with Lahmeh Meshwiyeh (Grilled Kabab).
Mtabbal Al-Bathenjan
From: Family Recipe / Servings: 3 – 4 People
PDF Text Only / Print With Images
| 1 medium eggplant (300 g)
3/4 cup drained yogurt 1/2 tbsp tahini 1/4 tsp crushed garlic Salt Garnish Ground sweet paprika Olive oil Mint leaves Black Olives To Serve Pita bread or Arabic flat bread Tomatoes Mint leaves Cucumber Pickles Raw onion Lahmeh Meshwiyeh (Grilled Kabab) |
Place Eggplant directly on the flame of a gas burner, and turn every few minutes, so it is charred on the outside and the pulp is soft and has a smoky taste.
Remove the charred skin of the eggplant, you can rinse with water and that will help in removing the skin. This is the eggplant after removing the skin. Place the eggplant in a strainer to drain for about 30 minutes. In a bowl, add drained yogurt. Add tahini, crushed garlic and salt to yogurt. Mash eggplant using knife (don’t use food processor). This is mashed eggplant. Mix very well. Serve in a plate. Garnish with ground sweet paprika, olive oil, mint leaves, and black olives. Serve immediately, or keep it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, then serve it. Serve with pita bread or Arabic flat bread, tomatoes, mint leaves, cucumber pickles, raw onion, and with Lahmeh Meshwiyeh (Grilled Kabab) |
Notes and Tips
I have a big quantity of yogurt about one kilograms, so I drain all the quantity of yogurt in a cloth to dry (the day before you plan to make Mtabbal Al-Bathenjan, drain the yogurt), then after all the quantity drained well to dry, I measured 3/4 cup drained yogurt for mtabbal.
This is how my aunt makes it and I love it! Much lighter than the ones made with a bunch of tahineh!
tasteofbeirut: Thanks for coming by!
May Allah bless your hands. Excellent recipe.
Abboud: Thank you for stopping by and for your kind comment!
This looks delicious! Isn’t strained yogurt called labaneh? Can I use labaneh?
hfriday: Usually when I want to make drained yogurt for cooking, so I drain yogurt a day before I plan to make the dish. But to make Labneh, you will need to drain yogurt for more than one day.
Yes, you can use labneh. Maybe, you need to add a little water to thin it (just a little water, don’t turn it to liquid)