Talk:Baba ghanoush

Pronunciation
I think we should rename this page "Baba ghanoush", since it's not pronounced "g" but arabic "gh" (Voiced velar fricative)

MisterSheik 22:34, 29 November 2005 (UTC)


 * I agree, It's not ghanoush either, it's Baba Ghannouj. I hope somebody could fix it -- or enter the other name to disambiguation. I also think if somebody could supply a proper picture of it. Omernos


 * This is the English-language Wikipedia, and if there is a common English name for something, we use it. A series of Google searches seems to show that the most common English-language name (on the Web, at least) is baba ganoush. I realize that that is not a correct transcription of بابا غنوج, the Arabic name, but that's life. On the other hand, all the spelling variants should redirect here. --Macrakis 17:47, 27 March 2007 (UTC)


 * OK. The name of the page is Baba Ghanoush. Either this needs to be changed or we need to change the spelling in the article. Baba Ghanoush is the most common transliteration in the Roman alphabet. I am going to leave this message here for 24 hours before bringing the article into line with the title. In order for us to change the title we need sources to demonstrate a consensus that "Baba Ghanoush" is an inferior transliteration. Remember folks, transliterations are not exact, and people will often fight passionately for the "right" one when it is a case of using the "least worst". BTW "Baba Ghanouj" and "Baba Ganoush" already redirect here. Edit - sorry, forgot to sign Howfar (talk) 18:06, 20 April 2008 (UTC)

Etymology
I have not found a solid etymology for the Arabic name; the "baba" part is presumably "daddy" or "old man", but the ghanuj part is obscure. It seems highly unlikely that it is related to the Indian god Ganesh as currently claimed in the article; I assume this is vandalism or play, but will leave it up for a while to see if anyone can substantiate this claim or some other. --Macrakis 17:04, 9 April 2007 (UTC)

Recipes
I came here hoping to find recipes for this dish, but not even a link on one. DonPMitchell 19:08, 12 June 2007 (UTC)


 * Wikipedia is not a how-to guide. For a recipe, Google will surely turn up numerous recipes. -kotra (talk) 06:16, 18 August 2008 (UTC)

Why was this part deleted?
In the movie Scotland, PA, the vegetarian detective played by Christopher Walken claims that Baba Ganoush is delicious.

Nearly every episode of the SpikeTV show MXC features a Middle Eastern contestant from the "Babaganoosh family".

Series writer/producer Christopher Darga, the man behind Kenny Blankenship's voice, is Lebanese on his mother's side, and he keeps a box of Baba ghanoush on one of the TV monitors in his office.

In reference to the show, on fellow SpikeTV show WWE Sunday Night Heat, commentator Al Snow referred to various jobbers as Babaganoosh family members. For example, "Showtime" Eric Young was called Showtime Babaganoosh.

In a skit on Saturday Night Live, Dana Carvey was mimicking Dennis Miller in a dueling Dennis Miller skit and called Dennis 'baba ghanoush.'

In the 2005 movie Wedding Crashers, Owen Wilson's character uses Baba Ganoush as a nickname for his friend, played by Vince Vaughn.

At Leeds Festival 2007 Baba Ganoush (an inflatable Kangaroo) was presented as an unofficial mascot for some campers. A Facebook group dedicated to Baba was set up shortly after called the Baba Ganoush appriciation society. To date anyone may join this.

In the 1994 movie In the Army Now, Pauly Shore's character, after getting lost in the desert of a middle eastern country while on military maneuvers, says that he is not going to end up being captured and "tortured by Baba Ganoush".

In a Mastercard credit card commercial called "Restaurant," a waiter is shown serving blagadoush (the Ethiopian word for baba ganoush), and writing appears on the screen that reads: 'blagadoush: 8 dollars.'"

In an episode of Suddenly Susan, Todd asks Luis to repeat his lunch order of 'baba ganoush' several times, because he finds the way that Luis pronounces the word with his Spanish accent humorous.

In the MMORPG World of Warcraft one of the NPCs, the caretaker of the giant worm whose seeping liquids fill the pools in Undercity located in the Apothecarium, is named Ganoosh.

Former Russian premier Nikita Krushchev has been infamously quoted as telling British stage and screen actor Michael Caine during a chance encounter in Monaco in 1967 that "you're worse than Stalin... have some Baba ghanoush."

In the Courage the Cowardly Dog episode "Journey to the Centre of Nowhere", one of the belligerent eggplants' leaders is named "Baba Ghanoush".

In the 1973 Soviet film comedy Иван Васильевич меняет профессию (Ivan Vasil'jevich menjaet professiju, "Ivan Vasilevich Changes Jobs") which partly takes place in the reign of Ivan the Terrible, a lavish royal banquet features several tub-sized bowls of genuine sturgeon caviar and a tiny golden dish of "eggplant caviar," as babaganoush is known in Russia. The joke is that in 16th-century Moscow, eggplants would've been hard-to-obtain luxuries compared with Black Sea sturgeon caviar. Babaganoush is a term of affection used within the Laska ex-patriate clan (originating from Warsaw).


 * Probably because it was a Trivia section, that is discouraged as per WP:Trivia sections. -kotra (talk) 06:14, 18 August 2008 (UTC)


 * That's a controversial guideline. See WP:HTRIV ♠ ♥ Trickrick1985  ♦ ♣+2¢ :: log 18:15, 12 November 2008 (UTC)


 * Controversy or not, as long as it's a guideline, it should be generally followed. Once the community demotes it from guideline, then it can be ignored (without invoking IAR). -kotra (talk) 19:42, 12 November 2008 (UTC)


 * Looks more like a Cultural References section — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.24.7.141 (talk) 11:19, 30 June 2013 (UTC)

it is Levantine
to user: 98.194.124.102, To call it a "Levantine and Egyptian dish" means it originates from Egypt, which it doesn't. If it does, evidence have to be provided. You can say it is a popular dish in Egypt, but you can not say it as an Egyptian dish, just like we can say that falafel is popular in Syria but we can not say falafel is a Syrian dish. --Supreme Deliciousness (talk) 11:36, 4 June 2009 (UTC)

redundancy?
Isn't the "around the world" section somewhat redundant in the ingredients listings? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.115.97.235 (talk) 18:35, 27 March 2010 (UTC)

mashed or not?
The first section says it's "mashed". The second paragraph of the second section says it is "cut not mashed". Which is it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.236.29.120 (talk) 00:37, 28 May 2010 (UTC)

Wheat thins?
The most recent editing adds 'wheat thins' as a topping on Egyptian baba - I do not know enough abut baba in Egypt to change this, but I really doubt that wheat thins are used! Dumarest (talk) 11:13, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

Thumb picture
People, are you kidding? The picture in the thumbnail is NOT an أبو غنّوج in the Syrian style, but a plain "Mütebbel" in the perfect Syrian style. For it to be an ebuğannuj, there has to be barbecued red peppers and/or tomatoes crushed together with the eggplant. That one clearly has tahiné, from the yellow/ochre color, clearly making it a "متبّل"...

As soon as I am done with a few things, I am coming back to this with references...

Until then, cheers!

--Emir Ali Enç (talk) 16:09, 2 January 2011 (UTC)

And since 2011, cheers it was :) Arminden (talk) 22:36, 8 July 2015 (UTC)Arminden

Difference versus Moutabal
This blog is very interesting and does a good job differentiating the two. But we need a WP:RS - does anyone have one? Oncenawhile (talk) 15:29, 1 July 2012 (UTC)
 * I've tried to clarify this in the article, which started off talking about the normal Levantine dish but then launched into a description of mutabbal or Egyptian-style babaghanoush. The article needs a picture of babaghanoush as both the pictures at the moment are of mutabbal. 197.162.37.156 (talk) 23:44, 5 May 2014 (UTC)

A bit of a mess...?
As long as the article is showing two very different varieties, one with whole and one with mashed aubergines, plus it mentions all kind of varieties from far afield, I suggest that it's more of a CATEGORY than a SPECIFIC DISH, and thus Eggplant salads and appetizers belongs at the top as "Main article: Eggplant salads and appetizers", rather than at "See also". Check it out there: there is hardly anything setting apart the "baba ghanoush & mutabbal" mixed page from many other "Eggplant salads and appetizers". Before you kill me for blasphemy against your/your Mom's favourite dish: focus this page a little bit better, then we can start talking again. Arminden (talk) 22:44, 8 July 2015 (UTC)Arminden

aubergine/eggplant
Same thing, of course. Shouldn't one (or perhaps both) be used consistently? Kostaki mou (talk) 16:12, 5 April 2017 (UTC)

Country
Please notice that several countries claim it as their National Dish,and that no single source narrates the story of its origin. Several respectable sources links it to an old Greek dish, others to Syrian folk story about a man feeding kids, others to Lebanon. Place of origin is regional, since its obviously claimed by several nations. 63.250.56.42 (talk) 23:50, 27 March 2020 (UTC)


 * As per WP:TRUTH and WP:RELIABILITY the source given for Lebanon is correct. It is a reliable source and until you can provide another reiable source on the contrary, you cannot remove it. The fact you changed it from Lebanon to Armenia to Unknown, to East Med, to The Levant, shows you're not really looking for the truth, rather to remove Lebanon from the Origin section. You also started off by Posting from your IP in Israel and changed your address location to Amsterdam. Stop vandalising I have warned you multiple times. JJNito197 (talk) 00:04, 28 March 2020 (UTC)

Proposed merge of Israeli eggplant salad into Baba ghanoush
They're the same dish Spudlace (talk) 01:04, 21 July 2020 (UTC)
 * I'm all for it--Ozan33Ankara (talk) 21:17, 23 July 2020 (UTC)
 * Agreed. In fact (with some minor changes I just made), this article already covers it completely -- there is nothing in the Israeli eggplant salad that isn't covered here, in one short sentence. --Macrakis (talk) 21:37, 23 July 2020 (UTC)
 * I'm ok with the Israeli eggplant salad article to be merged into Baba ghanoush, but not the other way around. The reason is that Baba ghanoush is the common name used in many cultures, but the former is specific to one country. Netherzone (talk) 21:40, 23 July 2020 (UTC)
 * I think baba ghanoush is the term more commonly used in English, but the Hebrew term salat ḥatzilim should be added if the articles are merged. Spudlace (talk) 04:36, 26 July 2020 (UTC)
 * Salat hatzilim is already mentioned in the regional section, being a variant it needs not be mentioned further. It's also not a direct translation either, see MOS:FORLANG JJNito197 (talk) 10:23, 26 July 2020 (UTC)

The lead is a mess
Baba ghanoush is described as an appetizer, a condiment, and "more like a salad dip", in different sentences. Relation to mutabbal is unclear – the word "traditionally" isn't informative. In "It may be mixed with onions, tomatoes, or other vegetables" it's not clear which dish "it" refers to. The information is probably all there, it just needs to be rewritten into an understandable form. 80.220.74.45 (talk) 11:23, 18 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Agreed. The sentence "Traditionally, mutabbal is the condiment aforedescribed and baba ghanoush is more like a salad dip made with pomegranate molasses (or pomegranate seeds) and olive oil, and often without tahini."  is badly worded and contradicts other assertions.
 * 1) condiment aforedescribed - where is it aforedescribed? Is there a missing sentence?
 * 2) mutabbal is described in the variants section as having pomegranate (anar) seeds and baba ghanoush does not.
 * 3) is the absence of tahini the main difference between mutabbal and baba ghanoush? 35.129.1.59 (talk) 10:37, 20 February 2021 (UTC)


 * according to many of the cooking websites, mutabbal and baba ganoush are being used as synonyms in some Western restaurants and in Egypt the two dishes names have been reversed. Many cooking websites claim that mutabbal contains the tahini while baba ganoush has no tahini and has onions and tomatoes instead.   We need a good source to describe the naming differences and then add that to the lead.  Many of these cooks are irritated and adamant that baba ganoush contains NO tahini.  Some English dictionaries have settled in on calling the tahini variant as baba ganoush (and this is the English language encyclopedia) but the article should probably reflect the controversy, with a RS, that details it.  35.129.1.59 (talk) 11:49, 22 February 2021 (UTC)