Dips
Mutabbal
متبل
Lebanon
Aubergine charred whole over a flame, peeled and mashed with tahini, lemon and garlic into a pale smoky purée.
Original eatfuls sticker artwork
What it is
A closer look at Mutabbal.
Aubergine charred whole over a flame, peeled and mashed with tahini, lemon and garlic into a pale smoky purée.
What to look for
Know it when you find it.
Smoke is the entire point, so it must be burnt over a flame rather than baked. Tahini makes it Levantine; the tahini-free version is a different dip.
Where it belongs
Origins and
traditions.
Food rarely respects a border. These are the places the dataset connects most strongly to Mutabbal.
Names around the table
One food, more than one name.
Keep exploring
If this caught your eye…
Turkey
Acılı Ezme
A fiery dip made from finely diced tomatoes, onions, parsley, and red pepper flakes, dressed with pomegranate molasses and olive oil. The vegetables are hand-chopped, never blended, giving it a chunky texture. A staple meze at kebab restaurants across Turkey.
Honduras
Anafre
Refried red beans and melting cheese kept hot in a clay pot over embers, with chorizo stirred through and fried tortilla wedges to dig in with.
Piedmont, Italy
Bagna Cauda
Piedmontese warm dip of garlic and anchovies in olive oil, served with raw and cooked vegetables for dipping. A communal winter ritual.
Trinidad and Tobago
Baigan Choka
Aubergine roasted whole over an open flame, peeled and mashed with garlic and onion fried in hot oil.
Turkey
Bakla Ezmesi
Turkish broad-bean purée meze, distinct from Greek fava.
Egypt
Besara
بسارة
A Egyptian green fava bean dip with herbs, garlic, and spices, served with bread, a rural and daily classic
Malta
Bigilla
Ġulbiena beans mashed with garlic, parsley, olive oil and chilli into a rough, khaki-coloured dip.
Palestine
Palestinian Bissara
بسارة
Dip made from fava beans and corchorus (molokhia) leaves, blended with garlic, olive oil, and cumin into a thick, earthy spread for bread.