Eggplant Yogurt Dip Recipe

This Eggplant yogurt recipe is made by roasting eggplants on the stove top and then mixing it with a garlic yogurt sauce. Served with pita chips on the side, it is the perfect side dish or appetizer that you can make with eggplants.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Turkish

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 40

Total Time 1

Servings servings

Calories 190kcal

Author Aysegul Sanford

Ingredients

4 medium size eggplants or 2 large eggplants* - no need to peel them.
1 cup full fat plain Greek yogurt
3 cloves garlic minced
1 tablespoon olive oil plus more to drizzle at the end
3 tablespoons lemon juice freshly squeezed
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup Italian parsley chopped
Pita chips for serving
1 tbsp sesame seeds or Z'aatar as garnish - optional

Instructions

To fire roast the eggplants on the stove: Place eggplants directly on the gas stove. Roast them on direct flames, turning it every 3-5 minutes until they are charred, soft and collapsing. Set them aside to cool.
When cool enough to handle, peel them gently under cold running water. At this point, all you want to do is to remove the outer black layer as much as you can. And if some pieces make it to the dip, that is perfectly fine.
Remove the flesh. If there are large chunks of seeds, you can remove them as well. This is an optional step and it would be okay if you didn’t remove them, especially if you are making this during the eggplant season when they are the freshest.
Cut the eggplant flesh into small pieces and place it in a medium sized bowl.
While the eggplant is cooking, whisk together the yogurt, fresh garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a bowl until creamy.
Pour the yogurt mixture over the cooked eggplant. Mix with a fork, gently breaking the large chunks of eggplants and making sure that they are all coated with the yogurt mixture.
Garnish with parsley
Serve with pita bread or pita chips on the side.

Notes

After roasting the eggplants, you should have about 3 1/2 to 4 cups of eggplant flesh for this recipe.
Make ahead: When making this recipe ahead of time, prepare the fire roasted eggplant and yogurt mixture separately. This way, the eggplant won’t absorb too much liquid, and it will better retain its gentle smoky flavor.
Store: This eggplant dip with yogurt can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Before serving, be sure to stir the mixture to keep the yogurt, lemon, and olive oil from getting watery.

Freeze: Although this dip keeps well in the fridge, I don’t recommend freezing it.
For cooking eggplants, if you prefer a more hands-off approach try roasting them as a whole: To do so, poke 7-10 holes in each eggplant using a fork and place them on a rimmed baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Roast them in the oven at 400 degrees F. for 50-60 minutes, making sure to turn them halfway through. Then, remove the eggplants from the oven and set them aside to cool. You can find complete instructions for this hands-free method in my guide on how to Roast Whole Eggplant in Oven.

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