Middle eastern dips and persian flat bread

From Barbara Nielson for international food night. All recipes originally from Middle Eastern Cooking by Rose Dosti, HP Books, 1982, modified by Bishop and his wife over the years!

Baba Ghannouj
1 large eggplant
2 garlic cloves, cut in halves
½ c sesame seed paste (tahini paste)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 t ground cumin
Juice of 2 lemons 1 ½ t oregano
1 drop Dave's Insanity hot sauce
Chopped parsley or pomegranate seeds, if desired
Pierce eggplant and microwave at full power for 5 minutes, until soft. Cool. Peel and put pulp into blender. Add sesame paste, oil, lemon juice, garlic, hot sauce, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper. Process until dip is smooth. Serve garnished with parsley and/or pomegranate seeds. Excellent as a dip or as a sandwich spread. Makes about 2 cups.

Hummus
1 can garbanzo beans, drained
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 T sesame-seed paste (tahini)
1 T olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1 drop Dave's Insanity hot sauce
juice of 1 lemon
1 t ground coriander
Parsley sprig for garnish
Place garbanzo beans in blender or food processor. Process until smooth. Add tahini, garlic, lemon juice, hot sauce, coriander, salt and pepper. Stir to blend. Make indentation in center and fill with olive oil. Garnish with parsley.


Cucumber-Yogurt Dip
2 garlic cloves
2 cucumbers, peeled, quartered, and sliced
1 t salt
1 t crushed dry mint leaves
2 c plain yogurt
½ t ground cumin
black pepper to taste 1 drop Dave's Insanity sauce
Crush garlic with salt in mortar. Add 1 T yogurt to garlic and blend well. Place remaining yogurt in large bowl. Stir in garlic mixture. Add cucumbers, mint cumin, pepper and hot sauce. Chill and let flavors blend. Use as a sauce on pita sandwiches or as a bread dip.

Persian Flat Bread
¼ c warm water
3 T sugar
1 T dry yeast
3 T butter, melted
2 c warm water
About 5 c flour
1 ½ t salt milk
sesame seeds
Soften yeast in ¼ c warm water in mixing bowl. Add 2 c warm water, sugar, salt, butter and about 3 c flour and beat until smooth. Keep adding flour until the dough is workable. Knead on floured surface until dough is smooth and elastic. Place in a large greased bowl. Turn dough to grease all sides. Cover with dry cloth towel. Let rise in warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Punch down dough. Divide into 4 portions. Shape each into a ball and sprinkle with flour. Cover with cloth and let rest 20 min. Preheat oven to 350F. Roll each dough ball into a 12 x 6 oval. Place on baking sheet. Press ridges into bread with fingers or with a knife or a spoon handle) 1” apart lengthwise on each oval. Brush with milk and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Let rise 15 min. Bake 20-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks.