My Baba Ghanoush is too watery

Question

I tried cooking Baba Ghanoush for the first time and though tasty I didn't quite get the expected results.

It was watery instead of creamy like the ones I had had.

I used equal parts of eggplant and tahini and a bit of lemon juice and garlic.

Now I wonder if I used too much eggplant or I didn't cook the eggplant enough as it was like a sponge full of water when I cut it.

How much time and at which temperature should I bake the eggplant? Or is there some external sign to know it's ready to be used for Baba ganoush? To me it looked and tasted "well done" as it was.

Answer 1

Sounds like you didn't roast sufficiently or not sufficiently hot. The outside should be really charred, and the inside will be not so watery.

Answer 2

I slice my aubergines in half lengthwise and prick both the skin and cut sides many times with a knife. Then grill them on a slightly oiled baking sheet, turning them over half way through. The slashes let more of the juices out. The skin should be very black and you can scoop the flesh away from the skin with a teaspoon.

Answer 3

I leave my eggplant whole but prick it all over. I then roast it for about 55 minutes on 170 degrees c. You should turn it over about half way through the cooking process. Once cooked, you can remove the skin. As the previous writers said, the skin should be very black and wrinkly. Another alternative is to cook the eggplant on a BBQ grill (reduce the cooking time slightly) although this is only best if you have a lid. This will give the eggplant a smokier taste.

I haven't added tahini before, as I tend to make a Persian version where I combine the eggplant with Greek Yoghurt, salt and a couple of cloves of crushed garlic. The ratio is about 1.5 cups of cooked eggplant to 500ml yoghurt but this depends on your taste.

Answer 4

When you say that you added tahina, was that a prepared tahina or straight sesame paste?

The paste will set-up even a very watery aubergine (why pour off any juice?).