Fresh off the boat story. I got introduced to different cuisines after my move to America. My first meal, once I landed in Boston, was spaghetti and meatballs made by my fiancé ‘s mother. It was different from what I was used to and delicious. The next day we went out for dinner with Sean’s family to an upscale restaurant. I looked at the menu and found nothing remotely familiar except the word ‘chicken’. I knew chicken, so I ordered lemon chicken. I took a bite and hated it immediately. For an Indian, chicken was not meant to be eaten bland with only tart lemon as the overpowering flavor. Chicken should be cooked in a myriad of spices, after lovingly sautéing onions, ginger, garlic, tomatoes…
My brother in law looked at my face after one bite of the chicken, laughed and asked if I liked my food. I contemplated if I should be polite or honest. I decided to be honest.
Anyway, after our marriage Sean introduced me to middle eastern food and a love story began between me and hummus, kebabs, koftas, tzatziki, tahini, baba ganoush. For the longest time though, I was confused as to why the delicious eggplant concoction was named after one of our most beloved Hindu gods, Baba Ganesh. Due to a touch of dyslexia, I read the menu wrong, Baba Ganesh instead of baba ganoush. And I heard it as Baba Ganesh when someone said out loud, baba ganoush.
One day, in complete innocence, I voiced my confusion to Sean, “Isn’t it strange that people named a food after a Hindu god? Why do you think they did it?”
“What do you mean? Which food?” He asked.
“Baba Ganesh! The eggplant dish that I love!” I confidently replied.
“Do you mean baba GANOUSH? Completely different from Ganesh.” Sean laughed.
It was a moment of euphoria and realization. Wait a minute…..two completely different words!!!
Yesterday, I made baba ganoush at home as pictured above. It looked lovely, I garnished it with love and as I was arranging the parsley, I remembered my confusion about the name of this dish long time ago. The memory made me smile.
whatmamathinks 
The origin of the name of this eggplant dip is unknown and the meaning too is funny. When I was first introduced to this excellent dip, I too was equally intrigued. In Arabic, “baba” means father and “ghanoush” means spoiled. The word combination is also interpreted as “father of coquetry” or “flirtatious daddy” or “spoiled old daddy”. I like Baba Ghanoush and then What’s in a name? 😉
There is another similar dip in the Middle Eastern cuisine called Moutabal with Tahini added to this mix.
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The meaning of the name is interesting. As you say, what’s in a name? I love it. It reminds me of our very own begun pora.
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Yes, true.😀
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I think it might be true that the word Baba Ganoush has come from Baba Ganesh. I know you may find it funny but eggplants kinda looks like Baba Ganesh’s head. This might be a reason for naming that dish like that. Just my opinion.
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