Mutabal (also known as moutabal or Mtabbal) is a Middle Eastern appetizer or side dish that is often served as part of a mezze platter. It is made from eggplant (aubergine), tahini, garlic, yogurt, and lemon juice. Its distinct smoky flavor from roasting the eggplant makes it a delicious dip worth trying!
What is Mutabal?
Mutabal (also spelled mutabbal) is a Middle Eastern dip that is similar to baba ganoush.
It is made from roasted eggplant, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, yogurt, and olive oil. The eggplant is roasted until it is soft and tender, then the flesh is mixed with the other ingredients to create a creamy, smooth dip.
It is believed to have originated in Lebanon, but its exact origin is unknown. It was spread through the Middle East and has become a popular dish in many countries in that region.
Mutabal vs Baba Ganoush
It is often confused with baba ganoush. People either interchange or mix up the two. This is due to a mistake we make outside of the Middle Eastern and the western world.
Both are roasted eggplant dips, traditionally directly over a fire to give them their smoky flavor. Nowadays, this is often done in the oven instead.
However, there are a few differences between both in terms of the ingredients used:
- Mutabal is creamer and usually includes yogurt.
- Mutabal requires tahini whereas baba ganoush doesn’t.
- Baba ganoush often includes extras such as chopped vegetables, pomegranate molasses, and walnuts.
Mutabal Ingredients
These are the basic ingredients you’ll need to make mutabal:
- Eggplant (aubergine): These are the main piece of this recipe jigsaw. Generally, you’ll want to choose fresher-looking and smaller eggplants in the supermarket. Fresher ones will have a better taste and texture and smaller eggplants are less better. The eggplants can be roasted in the oven or a gas hob and simply need to be cooked until the flesh inside is soft.
- Tahini: Tahini is essentially sesame seeds ground up and mixed with olive oil. It has a nutty, earthy flavor with a hint of bitterness. If your mutabal ends up too bitter, it’s likely that you’ve put too much tahini in. Tahini can be made from roasted or unroasted seeds – roasted seeds will have a stronger flavor.
- Yogurt: This adds some extra creaminess and tanginess to the dip. We used greek yogurt and although it is optional, it definitely adds extra dimensions of flavor to the dip. You can even use creme fraiche for a delicious, slightly tangier end result. This is the only ingredient that doesn’t make it vegan, so simple use a vegan yogurt if you want to keep it vegan.
- Garlic: You’ll definitely notice the garlic presence within a traditional mutabal, so 2 cloves is a good balance to get the tastes and smells of the garlic without overpowering the dip. You can change this depending on how garlicky you like your dips though.
- Lemon juice: This adds a touch of freshness to the dip. Make sure you get the juice from lemons and don’t use bottled varieties – the taste is much better.
- Salt: Seasoning is always required. Most salt will do, just make sure it’s free of additives. Kosher or sea salt are great choices.
How to Make This Mutabal
Step 1: Char the eggplant: Pierce the eggplant with a fork a few times. Put the eggplant directly on a gas hob at medium-high and cook for about 20 minutes in total depending on the size and heat of the eggplant. Char each side for about 5 minutes, so all 4 sides are charred.
If you don’t have a gas hob, preheat an oven at 400˚F/200˚C. Cook for about 30 minutes in total, turning every 5 minutes.
The insides should be very soft inside. You should be soft enough to push a knife right through.
Step 2: Make the tahini (optional): If you are using storebought tahini, ignore this step. Whilst the eggplant is cooking, dry roast the sesame seeds in a pan over a medium-low heat for 3-4 minutes. They should turn a golden brown color and have a nutty aroma. Don’t look away for too long as the seeds can burn easily.
Add the roasted sesame seeds into a blender or food processor and process for about 1 minute until they are a crumbly paste. Drizzle the olive oil in whilst continuing to bend until you get a thick paste. It should be smooth and pourable. Process for longer or add an extra tablespoon of oil if its still gritty.
Step 3: Prepare the eggplant: Remove the eggplants from the oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes. Then peel the skins off and mash with a fork.
Step 4: Make the yogurt mix: Add the mashed eggplants, yogurt, tahini, lemon juice, minced garlic and a pinch of salt to a bowl and mix thoroughly with a fork or spoon. If you have tme, place in the fridge to allow the flavors to develop. If not, serve straight away.
Step 5: Serve: Drizzle some extra olive oil and sprinkle some of the herbs and sumac to garnish. Serve with pita bread.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Does it Taste Bitter?
There could be many reasons for this, but these are the most likely.
- Type of Tahini
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- Expired tahini will add more bitterness
- Roasted sesame tahini is stronger and taste more bitter than unroasted sesame tahini
- If there isn’t a problem with the tahini, you might have used too much, or not enough eggplant to compensate
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- Type of Eggplant:
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- Larger eggplants tend to be more bitter than smaller ones. You can remove some of the bitterness by peeling the eggplant, sprinkle it with salt, transfer to a colander over a plate and leave for 30 minutes to drain. This draws out the bitterness.
- The seeds within the eggplant add bitterness. Taking out all the seeds is cumbersome, but taking out big chunks of seeds is helpful and more efficient.
Can I Blend the Eggplant?
Yes, but it does affect the texture becomes more puree-like. If you mash enough then you can get rid of all the lumps and chunks but still provides a very nice texture.
What Can I Serve Mutabal With?
Mutabal is often served as part of a meze Arabic or Mediterranean platter that has lots of small dishes.
There are a whole range of different foods you can pair it with.
- Raw vegetables: peppers, carrots and cucumbers
- Breads: Pita bread, naan, or any other flatbread (like this Manakish)
- Other carbs: Crackers and toasts
Is Mutabal Vegetarian?
Yes, but since yogurt is used, it is not vegan or dairy-free. However, you can simply replace it with a plain, dairy-free yogurt instead.
Extra Appetiser Recipes
- Spanish Potato Salad (Ensalada Rusa)
- Moroccan Zaalouk (Roasted Eggplant Tomato Salad)
- Baba Ganoush Without Tahini
- Lebanese Hummus
If you make this recipe and like it, please leave a comment and review. We’re always looking for feedback to make our recipes even better. Happy cooking!
Mutabal
This roasted Middle Eastern eggplant dip is similar to baba ganoush and is often served as part of a mezze platter.
Ingredients
- 2 eggplants
- 2 garlic cloves
- ½ (140g) full fat Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 1-2 tbsp lemon juice (½ lemon)
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive olive oil, to garnish
- Pinch of sumac, to garnish
For the Tahini (optional)
- 1 ¾ (250g) untoasted sesame seeds
- 4-5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Char the eggplant: pierce the eggplant with a fork a few times. Put the eggplant directly on a gas hob at medium-high and cook for about 20 minutes in total depending on the size and heat of the eggplant. Char each side for about 5 minutes, so all 4 sides are charred. If you don’t have a gas hob, preheat an oven at 400˚F/200˚C. Cook for about 30 minutes in total, turning every 5 minutes. The insides should be very soft inside. You should be soft enough to push a knife right through
- Make the tahini (optional): if you are using storebought tahini, ignore this step. Whilst the eggplant is cooking, dry roast the sesame seeds in a pan over a medium-low heat for 3-4 minutes. They should turn a golden brown color and have a nutty aroma. Don’t look away for too long as the seeds can burn easily. Add the roasted sesame seeds into a blender or food processor and process for about 1 minute until they are a crumbly paste. Drizzle the olive oil in whilst continuing to bend until you get a thick paste. It should be smooth and pourable. Process for longer or add an extra tablespoon of oil if its still gritty.
- Prepare the eggplant: remove the eggplants from the oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes. Then peel the skins off and mash with a fork.
- Make the yogurt mix: Add the mashed eggplants, yogurt, tahini, lemon juice, minced garlic and a pinch of salt to a bowl and mix thoroughly with a fork or spoon. If you have tme, place in the fridge to allow the flavors to develop. If not, serve straight away.
- Serve: drizzle some extra olive oil and sprinkle some of the herbs and sumac to garnish. Serve with pita bread.
Notes
- The eggplants for mutabal are traditionally chopped by hand, unlike something like hummus, where chickpeas are blended in a food processor.
- Smaller eggplants are the best choice. They are less bitter than the large ones and are better for roasting.
- Charred eggplants freeze well, so definitely cook extra if you think you need smoky eggplants later in the week for another recipe. They work in lots of other dips, pasta sauces and curries.
- You can also char the eggplant outdoors on charcoal on a barbeque. This will give the smokiest flavor to the eggplants but isn’t the most practical. As given in the cooking instructions, you can roast the eggplants in the oven as well, but this doesn’t give the same smoky flavor an open flame does.
- If you’re struggling to peel the charred eggplants, try peeling them under running water to remove the bits of black skin that stick to the flesh.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to a week. Stir the dip before servings to give it a fresher look.
Nutrition Information
Yield
6Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 138Total Fat 6gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 5gCholesterol 1mgSodium 230mgCarbohydrates 19gFiber 5gSugar 7gProtein 5g
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