From what I have gathered a lot of cultures and cuisines have their version of some sort of an Eggplant Dip Recipe. This recipe for eggplant dip will most likely accent the Central Asian twist to eggplant spread, which is also called “Ikra” in the Russian language.
Prelude:
Eggplant dip is known under a couple of different names in former USSR and Central Asian countries. You will most likely find it under the name of “Bakladjanovaya Ikra”, which means “Eggplant Caviar”. Why Caviar? I still wonder about that. There is a theory about it though. Both caviar and this concoction were enjoyed as a spread on a rye bread. Rumors have it that since caviar was more expensive to obtain for poorer folk, eggplant spread was a worthy substitution. Interesting, right? I will leave the judgment to your personal degustation and taste buds.
In Central Asian countries eggplant spread is used an excellent canning material. Once cooked and canned properly, it has a quite a long shelf life. Since most of the summer vegetables are seasonal and not widely available throughout colder months, eggplant spread serves as a great dress up for the tables and amazing option for a quick pick-me-up sandwich. It is filling and nutritious. Or simply put, taste delicious!
The cooking and canning process was a family affair for us. I bet it was the case or it is still the case for a lot of people. My parents had a huge cauldron (like HUGE) that my dad would fire up. My mother would do all the shopping and have us help with the peeling and the cutting process of the vegetables. Dad would be the designated cook and canner. He would can anywhere from 10 to 20 1 liter glass jars of eggplant spread and we would enjoy it all winter long. The good news is, you do not have to go through all that canning process to enjoy eggplant spread in a daily basis. Especially in the U.S. where the ingredients are available all year round, canning can be completely omitted. Let’s get started, shall we?
Note:
This recipe is SUPER easy! Don’t let my commentary scare you. I just like to give a lot of details so that your cooking experience is not ruined.
There are many different recipes for making eggplant caviar. I am giving you the most basic, yet the most delicious one, in my opinion. A lot of the recipes out there will have you adding tomatoes and eggplants in almost equal proportion. I find it too acidic and do not prefer so many tomatoes in my spread. I always prefer a lot more eggplants in my spread and I hope you do, too.
Calorie wise this dip is going to be a little dense. But don’t fear it, as you will not be eating bowls and bowls of it in one sitting. I usually enjoy a tablespoon or two on an Ezekiel toast or use it as a vegetable side with my eggs in the morning. This recipe will yield about 8 cups of eggplant dip. The amount of oil you put in this dip is quite a bit. It helps the spread from burning (and it is so tasty!). You can definitely use less, or just take the excess oil out at the end.
Ingredients:
- 4 large eggplants
- 2 medium tomatoes
- 1 large onion
- 4-5 cloves of garlic
- 2 small bell peppers (yellow, green, red… you choose)
- 1 small bunch of dill
- 1-1/2 Tbsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp smoked paprika (optional)
Directions:
The best way to approach this super easy recipe is to prep all the ingredients in advance. The cooking process will need your attention and I would not want you to get distracted. Wash all the vegetables. Peel the skin of the eggplant, slice it lengthwise, quarter it inch thick and cube all the eggplants. You will have a big volume of eggplant. Place everything in a large container.
Chop 1 large onion (This process can be done in a food processor). Core the bell peppers and cut them in small cubes.
Eggplant spread loves garlic. Do not feel shy about using it. Since the garlic cooks down in the process, the spread will not smell of garlic at all. Chop garlic roughly.
I like to peel the skin of the tomato. It doesn’t digest well so if you feel like peeling it, do so. Otherwise just cut the tomato in small cubes.
You can virtually use any herbs you wish for this spread. Cilantro also suites it very well. My family is very fond of dill and I opted for using it in this recipe. I use both stem and the green part of herbs. Separate and chop up both sides of the dill and keep it aside.
Please use a large pot for frying the eggplant spread. Eggplants take a bit of space until they cook down. Add oil into the pot and heat it on medium high. Once the oil is well heated, add the chopped onions into the pot. Fry the onions until they are slightly golden brown.
Add chopped tomatoes into the pot and let it cook down a bit. Once the oil starts separating from tomatoes it will be a good time to add the paprika, pepper, and black pepper. When the spices cook in oil, they release their fragrance into the spread much better. Let the spices cook for a couple of minutes.
Add chopped up garlic in the pot and cook for a minute or so.
Incorporate chopped up dill stalks and bell peppers into the pot and saute for about 3 minutes.
Add all of the cubed eggplants into the pot. Notice how full the pot is in the photo. This is the reason why you need a larger pot. Turn the heat down to medium and quickly mix in the eggplant into the sauce in the pot. This is a good time to add the salt, too, as salt will help eggplants release the moisture within them, which will help the process of cooking down without adding additional water. The moisture will also prevent the pot from burning under. You will also need to stir the pot quite often to make sure the bottom will not burn. This process will take about 10 minutes. Please do not go too far off from your kitchen. Once the eggplants are well cooked down, you will see oil separating from the entire concoction. This means that very little moisture left in the pot and is the perfect time to TURN DOWN the heat to low and cover the pot with a lid.
Keep the pot covered for about 20-30 minutes. This time you can leave the kitchen :) Come back once in a while to stir the pot and cover it back again.
Once the time is up, mix in the rest of the dill. If you like for it to cook down and not stay crunchy, you can keep the lid on for a little while. Otherwise, your eggplant spread is ready! If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment below.
Eggplant Spread Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 large eggplants
- 2 medium tomatoes
- 1 large onion
- 4-5 cloves of garlic
- 2 small bell peppers yellow, green, red… you choose
- 1 small bunch of dill
- 1-1/2 Tbsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp smoked paprika optional
Instructions
- The best way to approach this super easy recipe is to prep all the ingredients in advance. The cooking process will need your attention and I would not want you to get distracted. Wash all the vegetables. Peel the skin of the eggplant, slice it lengthwise, quarter it inch thick and cube all the eggplants. You will have a big volume of eggplant. Place everything in a large container.
- Chop 1 large onion (This process can be done in a food processor). Core the bell peppers and cut them in small cubes.
- Eggplant spread loves garlic. Do not feel shy about using it. Since the garlic cooks down in the process, the spread will not smell of garlic at all. Chop garlic roughly.
- I like to peel the skin of the tomato. It doesn’t digest well so if you feel like peeling it, do so. Otherwise just cut the tomato in small cubes.
- You can virtually use any herbs you wish for this spread. Cilantro also suites it very well. My family is very fond of dill and I opted for using it in this recipe. I use both stem and the green part of herbs. Separate and chop up both sides of the dill and keep it aside.
- Please use a large pot for frying the eggplant spread. Eggplants take a bit of space until they cook down. Add oil into the pot and heat it on medium high. Once the oil is well heated, add the chopped onions into the pot. Fry the onions until they are slightly golden brown.
- Add chopped tomatoes into the pot and let it cook down a bit. Once the oil starts separating from tomatoes it will be a good time to add the paprika, pepper, and black pepper. When the spices cook in oil, they release their fragrance into the spread much better. Let the spices cook for a couple of minutes.
- Add chopped up garlic in the pot and cook for a minute or so.
- Incorporate chopped up dill stalks and bell peppers into the pot and saute for about 3 minutes.
- Add all of the cubed eggplants into the pot. Notice how full the pot is in the photo. This is the reason why you need a larger pot. Turn the heat down to medium and quickly mix in the eggplant into the sauce in the pot. This is a good time to add the salt, too, as salt will help eggplants release the moisture within them, which will help the process of cooking down without adding additional water. The moisture will also prevent the pot from burning under. You will also need to stir the pot quite often to make sure the bottom will not burn. This process will take about 10 minutes. Please do not go too far off from your kitchen. Once the eggplants are well cooked down, you will see oil separating from the entire concoction. This means that very little moisture left in the pot and is the perfect time to TURN DOWN the heat to low and cover the pot with a lid.
- Keep the pot covered for about 20-30 minutes. This time you can leave the kitchen :) Come back once in a while to stir the pot and cover it back again.
- Once the time is up, mix in the rest of the dill. If you like for it to cook down and not stay crunchy, you can keep the lid on for a little while. Otherwise, your eggplant spread is ready! If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment below.
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