Title: Authentic recipe for baba-ghannouj
 Categories: Appetizers, Indian
      Yield: 1 Servings
 
      1 lg Purple eggplant
      4    Garlic cloves
      2    Limes or lemons; juice of
    1/4 c  Tehina; up to 1/3
  1 1/2 ts Salt; or to taste
           A few drops of liquid smoke
           -extract; (optional)
 
  For garnish: whole parsley leaves with 1/4" of stem left on and sweet
  paprika (hot paprika or cayenne may be substituted).
  
  Roast eggplant over an open hardwood fire (in that case omit smoke
  extract) or on BBQ until skin is thoroughly charred and eggplant is
  totally soft (test with skewer). OR Roast eggplant in 500 degrees
  oven until totally soft through and through (test with skewer). Place
  roasted eggplant in a basin of cold water and remove every bit of
  skin. Put eggplant in colander to drain water away. In mortar, pound
  garlic with salt until reduced to a smooth paste. Place garlic-salt
  paste in food processor and add lime or lemon juice (I prefer lime),
  tehina and smoke extract if used. Process on continuous. If dressing
  coagulates (citric acid will do that to tehina), add JUST ENOUGH
  water, in a thin stream, until dressing reliquefies to a thick yet
  pourable texture (like heavy pancake batter). Place eggplant in
  shallow serving bowl. With 2 forks, shred the meat thoroughly. Do not
  process the eggplant in the food processor, as that completely ruins
  the texture, which should be somewhat stringy (but very very soft!).
  Blend in the dressing uniformly. Smooth surface of baba-ghannooj and
  decorate by sticking the parsley stem down in the b-g in a regular
  pattern. Sprinkle a little paprika between the "florets". You may
  also drizzle a little bit of extra-virgin olive oil in tiny pools
  here and there on the surface. Serve with warm Arabic bread, tomato
  wedges, spring onions, oil- or brine-cured olives (green or black)
  and cucumber pickles (NOT the sweet kind. Kosher dills work well).
  
  Recipe