Roasted Eggplant, Carrot & Yogurt Dip

..its funny how sometimes random ingredients and cravings can bring out the best from your kitchen. It happened on a rainy day, plus I was having a majorly bad hair day so obviously I was not going to go out to grab anything from the grocery store. But when a girl craves for a dip, she needs a dip! And more specifically the baba ganoush she’s been dreaming about. Sadly, there was no tahini to make this happen…Anyways, she searched the kitchen and pantry and made this dip out of desperation to satiate her craving. End result: finger licking sweet spicy dip to the rescue! 

• Eggplants were first cultivated in China around 5th century B. C. but there has been reports of it growing wildly in India.
• They are also known as aubergine, brinjal, melongene, guinea squash, garden egg, and patlican all around the world.
• They belong to the nightshade family of vegetables that also includes tomatoes, sweet peppers and potatoes.
• Eggplant can be found in different colors including lavender, jade green, orange, and yellow-white, varying shapes and sizes that range from that of a small tomato to a large zucchini.
• Nutritionally speaking, it is a low calorie vegetable that provides excellent source of dietary fiber, magnesium, vitamin K, manganese etc. Additionally, they are also good source of antioxidants that helps fight free radicals. 
• Use a stainless steel knife while cutting them as carbon steel will react with its phytonutrients turning it black.
• There are some anecdotal report that have shown an improvement in arthritis symptoms and headache when vegetables from nightshade families are eliminated from their diet, however, no case-controlled scientific studies confirm these observations. But if removing these vegetables help with your symptoms, continue doing it. 

Roasted Eggplant & Carrot Yogurt Dip

about 2 cups

Ingredients
2 Japanese eggplants
1 medium carrot, peeled
1 jalepeno
1/4 + 1 tablespoon non-fat plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoon olive oil + more for roasting veggies
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1 teaspoon chili powder (skip if you can’t handle spice)
2 teaspoon cumin powder
1 large lemon squeezed
1-2 tablespoon water (only if needed)
salt and freshly ground pepper, per taste

Directions
– Broil the oven to the highest temperature in your oven.
– Poke hole with a fork in eggplant.
– On a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil, generously massage eggplants, carrot and jalepeno with olive oil. Broil for 25-30 minutes rotating every 10-12 minutes until it is charred. Eggplant and carrot should be soft at this point.
– Remove from the oven and place them in a plastic bag or zip lock bag for 10 minutes or until it cools.
– Scoop flesh out of eggplant. 
– In a blender or use food processor – add all the ingredients including spices and blend it until smooth. May add water only if necessary. 
– Adjust spices and serve it with crackers or pita chips. I had mine with toast leftover from the gazpacho.

Are you an eggplant person? 

What are some of your favorite ways to enjoy eggplant?