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Eggplant salads and appetizers
Found in: Israeli cuisine
Eggplant salads and appetizers are the salads and appetizers made primarily of eggplants (aubergines). There is variety of such dishes throughout the cuisines of different regions and countries of the world.
Varieties
Mediterranean/Middle East
Baba ghanoush (Arabic baba ganuj) is a popular Levantine dish of eggplant (aubergine) mashed and mixed with various seasonings. Frequently the eggplant is baked or broiled over an open flame before peeling, so that the pulp is soft and has a smoky taste.Khayat, Marie Karam and Keatinge, Margaret Clark - Food from the Arab World, Khayats, Beirut, Lebanon Baba ghanoush is usually eaten as a dip with pita bread, and is sometimes added to other dishes. It is usually of an earthy light brown color.
Similar to baba ganouj is another Levantine dish mutabbel (), which also includes mashed cooked aubergines and tahini, and mixed with salt, pepper, olive oil, and anar seeds. Moutabel is sometimes said to be a spicier version of baba ghannouj.
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.
In Turkey, the dish is commonly known as patlican salatasi (eggplant salad), also prepared with grilled eggplant, olive oil, lemon juice and garlic; sometimes, tahini, chopped tomato and green pepper as well. More frequently, eggplant is mixed with yoghurt, olive oil and garlic. Patlican begendi is a similar dish which is served hot with meat and it includes cheese, milk and flour.Algar, A.E., The Complete Book of Turkish Cooking Kegan Paul (1985) ISBN 0-7103-0334-3
In Greece, melitzanosalata is made with olive oil and lemon juice.M. Milona, Culinaria Greece Konemann (2004) ISBN 3-8331-1053-8R. Salaman, The Complete Book of Greek Cooking Anness (2006) ISBN 0-681-18670-4
Caponata is a Sicilian eggplant relish made from chopped fried vegetables (mostly eggplants and peppers), seasoned with celery, olives and capers, in a sweet sour sauce. Today, caponata is typically used as a side dish or appetizer, but, since the 1700s, it has sometimes been used as a main course.
Eastern Europe
Eggplant salad, Salata de vinete or Vinetta is a both Hungarian and Romanian mashed eggplant salad made of grilled, peeled and finely chopped eggplants, sunflower oil and chopped onions. The eggplants are grilled until they are covered with black ash crust. The crust is cleaned off and the remaining cooked eggplant is mashed with a blunt, thick wooden knife on a wooden platter. The eggplant mash is mixed in a bowl, stirring continuously, with sunflower oil, chopped onions and salt. Crushed garlic and ground pepper may be added too. Instead of oil, mayonnaise can be used.
In Bulgaria a typical eggplant appetizer is kyopolou, it is made with roasted aubergines and red peppers.
In Russia and Ukraine, a category of similar dishes is known as baklazhannaya ikra (Russian: BAKLAZHANNAYA IKRA, literally "eggplant pate" and some versions add chopped tomatoes to the basic recipe.Russian Cooking (Foods of the World) - Time-Life Books (1969) Another eggplant salad popular in Russia is called ''kh'e iz baklazhanov'' . Eggplant kh'e is based on julienned (instead of mashed) cooked aubergines and other vegetables, prepared with concentrated vinegar. After adding the vinegar, it is set aside for several hours to cure before eating.
Africa
In Ethiopia, the eggplant dish is more commonly known as blagadoush.
South Asia
In the central and eastern Indian states of Maharashtra, Bihar, Orissa, and West Bengal, as well as in neighboring Bangladesh a similar dish involves smoked eggplant, mashed with fresh cilantro (coriander leaves), chili peppers, onion, and mustard oil. The dish has many names, depending on the local language . It is often eaten with flatbread (roti in Hindi), rice, and/or raita (a yogurt salad). In the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the Tamils prepare a similar dish called kathrikai thayir kothsu, in which the eggplant is cooked and mashed and sauteed with mustard, red chilis, and sesame oil, after which curd is added to the mixture and dressed with coriander leaves.
In Afghanistan a traditional eggplant salad is called bonjan salad. It is usually eaten at room temperature (or cold) along with main dishes.
See also
[[:Category:Eggplant dishes|Category:Eggplant dishes]]
External links
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Eggplant salads and appetizers