This pumpkin mutabal is a traditional autumnal variation of the classic eggplant mutabal, a Middle Eastern dip.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Pumpkin Mutabal
This pumpkin mutabal is creamy, tangy, nutty, a touch sweet and a touch smoky. As we roast the pumpkins to a meltingly soft stage, with charred bits, it also has an irresistable caramelised flavour.
The recipe itself is super easy and doesn’t require any elusive ingredients, with the possible exception of sumac.
But if you regularly cook Middle Eastern dishes, sumac should already be a pantry staple, right? If not, substitute it with a little more lemon juice, see below.
Pumpkin Mutabal Recipe
It’s pretty straightforward. And if you start with ready sliced or cubed pumpkin, you’ll be saving yourself some time and energy. This is what we’ll be doing:
- Prepare the pumpkin, if not already prepared
- Char a few pieces on the open flame (or barbecue, if one’s going) for a smoky flavour – optional
- Roast the pumpkin slices in the oven for 30 – 45 minutes, until a fork glides through easily
- Mash the pumpkin and garlic
- Add all the other ingredients
- Serve your pumpkin mutabal with the recommended garnishes
Easy, right?
Ingredients
Let’s very briefly look at just a couple of the ingredients that we need to make this squash dip.
Pumpkin
This is rather obvious. As mentioned in the video and above, use shop bought, prepared pumpkin if you like, to make this autumnal dip. It’ll make your job easier!
Can you use other squash to make pumpkin mutabal? Absolutely. Butternut squash is especially good.
Sumac
Sumac is a vibrant, deep red spice that has long been a staple in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines.
It adds tartness and colour in dishes.
Substitute: the best substitute for sumac is fresh lemon juice with a touch of pepper, and that’s what you can do for our pumpkin mutabal.
We use a whole lot of sumac here on LinsFood, like in Sumakiyyah and Sumac Chicken.
How to Serve Pumpkin Mutabal?
Pumpkin Mutabal is a dip. You can serve it as a starter or as part of the mezze table. With both, flatbread is the usual accompaniment, but naturally, any kind of bread will work just as well.
Then of course, you’ve got the usual vegetable sticks, breadsticks, crisps or tortilla chips.
Pumpkin mutabal can also be served as a side dish to traditional Middle Eastern dishes like Maqluba and Chicken Mandi.
Just head on over to the Middle Eastern Recipe page for more ideas.
And now, shall we get our aprons on?
If you enjoy the recipe, drop me a comment and let me know. And if you are feeling like a star, don’t forget that 5-star rating! Shukran!
If you make this recipe, post it on Instagram and tag me @azlinbloor.
Lin xx
Pumpkin Mutabal Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 small pumpkin (about 1.5kg/3.3 lb) prepped weight about 800g/1.7 lb
- 2 bulbs garlic
- 3 Tbsp EV olive oil
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 Tbsp yoghurt low fat works too, plus more, if needed
- 3 Tbsp tahini plus more, if needed
- ⅛ tsp ground cumin (generous pinch)
- juice of 2 lemons plus more if needed
Garnish
- olive oil
- lemon juice
- sumac
- chilli flakes optional
- pomegranate seeds optional
- tiny sprig of mint optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200℃ (400℉/180℃ Fan).
- Prepare the pumpkin. Slice off the top, then cut in half. Then scoop out the seeds and stringy bits with a spoon, and discard.
- Lay the pumpkin cut side down, and slice off the skin.
- Cut the skinless pumpkin into wedges.
- Slice off the root end of the garlic bulbs, leaving them whole.
- Optional Step: Place about 6 – 12 wedges over a flame to char. This will introduce a slightly smoky flavour to your mutabal. You can also do this on the barbecue. How many you do, depends on your patience. If you have a barbecue going throw them all on.
- Place the wedges and garlic bulbs into a deep roasting dish and drizzle 3 Tbsp of olive oil all over. Add the salt. Rub the oil and salt all over the wedges and roast in the oven for 30 – 45 minutes, until a knife glides through effortlessly. You'll most likely need 45 minutes, even 1 hour if your wedges are thick.If you bought your pumpkin in cubes, they'll only need 20 – 30 minutes.
- Tip the roasted pumpkin wedges into a large bowl. Squeeze the garlic bulbs to release the soft, cooked flesh into the bowl.Either using a potato masher or a fork, mash the pumpkin and garlic up, just like you would mash potatoes.You can also do this in a food processor for a smooth mutabal. I like mine with a rough texture, so prefer to mash it.
- Now, add the yoghurt, tahini, cumin and 1 Tbsp of lemon juice, and mix well.Taste it. Add more of each ingredient or salt, as needed. You are going for a tangy, creamy and slightly nutty flavour.
- Spread your pumpkin mutabal in a serving plate(s) and drizzle a generous amount of olive oil all over, some lemon juice and a sprinkle of sumac and chilli flakes, if using.Top with pomegranate seeds and a tiny sprig of mint for added bling. Serve as suggested in the article above.
