Ingredients

1 eggplant cut in ¼” slices
1 red bell pepper cut in thin strips
2 medium tomatoes, sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
½ cup olive oil
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
½ cup Greek yogurt
pinch of garlic powder

Directions

Pre-heat the oven to 300 degrees.

Pour two tablespoons of the olive oil on a cookie sheet and spread around with fingers.  Arrange the eggplant disks on the greased cookie sheet.  Place the tomatoes, red pepper and garlic on top of the eggplant.

Whisk together the tomato sauce, tomato paste, remaining olive oil, cumin, coriander, paprika and salt. Spread the sauce with a spoon over the eggplant to insure it is distributed evenly.

Bake for 1½ hours. It is important to slow cook this dish in order for all the flavors of the ingredients to be absorbed by the eggplant.  To test for doneness, press the eggplant and the peppers with the back of a fork, the eggplant must be completely soft.

Let the eggplant cool for ½ hour before throwing all the ingredients in a food processor. Pulse three or four times but don’t over blend, make sure that you can see small chunks of the eggplant. Remove contents and place in a deep serving dish.

Sauce
In a bowl mix the yogurt and garlic powder until creamy, add salt to taste.  Pour the yogurt sauce on top of the dip.

The dip can be served cold or at room temperature. Serve with pita slices or pita chips. The Afghani name for this dish is Laghataq.

Country:
Afghanistan


Notes and Instructions

Recipe submitted by Linda McElroy, created by Humaira Ghilzai, used with permission. http://www.afghancultureunveiled.com

Photo Credit: Humaira Ghilzai, used with permission. http://www.afghancultureunveiled.com