Eggplant with Yogurt Sauce

Rustic, meaty and elegant eggplant with yogurt sauce that takes only 5 minutes of prep time. A very well rounded starter that can be served with any kind of bread.

Hello HTS Community

I am a sucker for eggplants and love them in fried, roasted and mashed form. The wonderful thing about eggplants is that the flesh acts as a sponge for whatever you put on it, and on cooking turns into this tender, meaty, flavorful ingredients that can make you go gaga.

Traditional Indian and a lot of middle-eastern cooking include eggplants, or locally known as brinjals and aubergines. These are loaded with spices to make an Indian curry (one of them – Bharli Vangi) or simply roasted to make a wonderful Baigan Bharta or Moutabel. In the States, eggplant is the primary ingredient to make Eggplant Parmigiana. Guvec is another famous dish from Turkey, which is essentially a vegetable casserole.

Talking about this recipe, it is an inspiration from Middle Eastern flavors. The roasting of eggplant with garlic infused olive oil, and later topping with a simple yogurt sauce. It does not have a lot of ingredients, but the taste and and wow factor is in the simplicity. Three important ingredients from the middle eastern cuisine, namely, eggplant, yogurt and pomegranate, when married together, form this mesmerizing plate of food that you can never forget.

Ingredients you will need:

• Roasting
  • Eggplant- 1 large
  • Olive oil- 40 ml
  • Garlic- 1 clove, minced
  • Lemon zest- 1/4 teaspoon
  • Salt and black pepper- to taste
• Yogurt Sauce
  • Yogurt- 1/2 cup
  • Garlic- 1 clove, minced
  • Salt- to taste
  • Olive oil- 1 teaspoon
• Assembly and garnish
  • Zaatar– 1 teaspoon
  • Pomegranate seeds- handful
  • Olive oil- drizzle

Steps to make Eggplant with Yogurt Sauce:

• Start with pre-heating the oven at 200 degree celsius.

• To prepare oil for roasting eggplant, in a bowl add olive oil, garlic, salt and black pepper. Mix and keep aside.

• Cut the eggplant in half, lengthwise, and make parallel cuts at an angle similar to diamond shape. Place them on the baking tray.

• Apply the oil that we prepared earlier with a brush until it has been all absorbed by the flesh. Bake at 200 degree celsius for 40-45 minutes, until the flesh is soft and brown. Remove from oven and let cool down for 15 minutes.

• While the eggplant is baking, prepare the yogurt sauce by mixing all its ingredients. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.

• To assemble, spoon the yogurt sauce on top of baked eggplant pieces, followed by sprinkling zaatar, pomegranate seeds and drizzle of olive oil.