A very similar dish is mutabbal (Arabic: متبل, lit. 'spiced'), which is sometimes said to be a spicier version of baba ghanoush.
Etymology
The word bābā in Arabic is a term of endearment for 'father', while Ġannūj could be a personal name.[5] The word combination is also interpreted as 'father of coquetry' or 'indulged/pampered/flirtatious daddy' or 'spoiled old daddy'.[4][7][10] However, it is not certain whether the word bābā refers to an actual person indulged by the dish or to the eggplant (bāḏinjān or bātinjān in Arabic).[7]
Varieties
Dishes consisting of mashed eggplant are common in cuisines from west Africa to Russia.[7]
Eastern Arabian cuisine versions of the dish vary slightly from those of the Levant by spicing it with coriander and cumin;[10] those versions might be minimally spiced and topped with thinly chopped parsley or coriander leaves.[11]
In Syria, the dish is often mixed with sheep cheese, which turns it into a creamier dish.[12]
In Turkey, the dish is known as babaganuş or abugannuş. While the ingredients vary from region to region, the essentials (eggplants, tahini, garlic, lemon) are generally the same.[citation needed]
In Armenia, the dish is known as mutabal. The essential ingredients in Armenian mutabal are eggplant, tahini, garlic, lemon, and onion; and most Armenians also add cumin.[citation needed]
In Romania, a similar dish is known as salată de vinete ('eggplant salad'). It lacks tahini and is made from finely chopped roasted eggplant, finely chopped onions, sunflower oil (explicitly not olive oil[13][14] because it would make the dish bitter), salt and, optionally, mayonnaise.[15]
The dish became part of Israeli cuisine during the 1949-1959 period of austerity in Israel, when it was adopted from the cuisines of neighboring Arab countries. It was used as a meat substitute and remained popular after the economic crisis ended, commonly kept on hand for snacks or to serve to unexpected guests, eventually becoming a "cultural icon" according to food writer and historian Gil Marks.[7]
^"Baba ganoush ou caviar d'aubergines". Panier de Saison: recettes, accords mets-vins, jardinage et tourisme local (in French). October 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
^Marin, Sanda (1995). Carte de bucate (Cookbook) (in Romanian). București (Bucharest): Editura Orizonturi. pp. 31–32. ISBN973-95583-2-1.
^Jurcovan, Silvia (2012). Carte de bucate (Cookbook) (in Romanian). București (Bucharest): Editura Humanitas. pp. 90–91. ISBN978-973-50-3475-7.
^Hansen, Eliza (1973). Meine rumänischen Spezialitäten (My Romanian Specialties) (in German). Hamburg: Ed. Christians. p. 10. ISBN3-7672-0229-8.
Bibliography
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Baba ghanoush.
Look up baba ganoush in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.