baba ganoush

A Middle Eastern dish made from a purée of roasted aubergine (eggplant), garlic, and tahini, often eaten as a dip with bread.

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˌbɑːbə ɡəˈnuːʃ/ · Context: Received Pronunciation
  • Context: Southern England · Audio
  • IPA: /ˌbɑbə ɡəˈnuʃ/ · Context: General American
  • Rhymes: -uːʃ

Noun

  1. A Middle Eastern dish made from a purée of roasted aubergine (eggplant), garlic, and tahini, often eaten as a dip with bread.

Origin

Borrowed from Arabic بَابَا غَنُّوج (bābā ḡannūj, literally “father of coquetry”), because it was supposedly invented by a member of a royal harem, perhaps to pamper the master: from بَابَا (bābā, “daddy, father, papa”) + غَنُّوج (ḡannūj, “coquettish, coy”) (compare غنج (ḡanija, “to coquet, flirt”)).

Forms

baba ganouj baba ghannouj baba ghanouj baba ghanoush babba gannouge