Mutabal Recipe (Middle Eastern Eggplant Dip) (2024)

Mutabal is a Middle Eastern eggplant dip with a nice smoky flavor. While sometimes confused with baba ganoush, it has its own unique flavor and can be served with fresh pita bread as an appetizer or on a mezze platter for a tasty feast!

Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines offer so many delicious dips and spreads and eggplant is a fairly common ingredient when it comes to dips. Some popular recipes are baba ganoush, melitzanosalata and kashke bademjan (Persian eggplant dip) which are all easy to make and use wholesome ingredients. Another eggplant dip that we love is mutabal or moutabal, a delicious but less known dip made with smoky eggplant. Give it a try and you'll love it too!

This eggplant dip is popular all around the Middle East as well as Armenia. It's not the same as baba ganoush, even though the ingredients are fairly comparable.

There are variation of baba ganoush that use bell pepper, parsley, onion and tomatoes instead of tahini. However, mutabal always uses yogurt and tahini and has a creamier texture.

• The eggplant should be bright in color without any brown spots.
• It should feel firm and heavy for its size.
• Smaller eggplants have better taste and texture. Large ones are usually spongier and have more seeds.

Ingredients and substitutions

• Eggplant: As mentioned above, choose eggplants that are firm and heavy for their size, with bright colors. I usually go for Italian eggplants which are smaller than globe eggplants, therefore having fewer seeds.
• Tahini: I recommend buying tahini from Middle Eastern or Mediterranean shops since they have a bigger collection and more options. Make sure the tahini is smooth and creamy and not chunky.
• Yogurt: Use plain yogurt. It can be whole milk, low fat or nonfat. My recommendation is to use whole milk yogurt. You can also use my homemade yogurt recipe to make your own yogurt.

Preparation instructions

1. Wash and dry the eggplant, then pierce it a few times with a fork. This is for the eggplant to cook more fully and evenly. Turn on the stove to medium high and place the eggplant on the gas range grate and let it char for 5 minutes. Flip and char for another 5 minutes. Repeat these steps until the eggplant is fully cooked and tender; this takes about 20 minutes for an average eggplant.
2. Place the charred eggplants in a large bowl and immediately cover with a plastic wrap. Let the covered bowl sit for 20 to 30 minutes for the eggplants to sweat. This makes the peeling process easier.
3. Once the eggplants are cool enough to handle, place them on a cutting board and gently remove the skin using wet hands. Alternatively, you can peel them under running cold water. Chop the eggplants finely and add them to a bowl.
4. Add the yogurt, tahini, minced garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Mix well to combine.
5. Transfer to a serving bowl and top with olive oil and chopped parsley.

If you're looking for a dairy-free mutabal recipe, use dairy-free yogurt instead of whole milk, just make sure that the yogurt is plain and is not flavored.

You can also char the eggplant on gas or charcoal grill, the procedure is the same as mentioned above and in the recipe card below. You can also roast the eggplant in the oven to make mutabal, however, the dip will lose some of its smoky flavor.

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Step-by-Step Recipe

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