Why it works: Lemon and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,047 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
Salata Aswad
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the aubergines
Heat aubergines on the flame of the stove until soft and burnt, then peel them.
If the aubergines taste burnt and gassy, fry them in oil instead of burning them on the flame.
Make the salad
In a bowl, mix peanut butter with lemon juice.
Add the aubergines to the mixture and mash them.
Add one tablespoon of vinegar, cumin, salt, pepper, and crushed garlic.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 10 of 11 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 10 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Peanut | 1 oz (28g) | 161 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Bell Pepper | 1 medium (119g) | 31 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Cumin | 1 tsp ground (2.1g) | 8 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Garlic | 1 clove (3g) | 4 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Plant | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
-
Lemon + peppertop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together27,047 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Cumin + clovetop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,306 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
-
Pepper + clovetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together17,451 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
-
Pepper + cumintop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together4,382 recipes
Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
-
Lemon + cumintop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,477 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Aubergines
- Provide the smoky, charred flesh that forms the body of the salad.
- Peanut butter
- Adds richness and creamy body that thickens the mashed aubergine.
- Lemons
- Add acidity that brightens the smoky, rich flavours.
- Vinegar
- Adds sharpness that balances the fat from the peanut butter.
- Garlic
- Adds pungent aroma and sharpness to the mashed mixture.
The step that matters
Charring the aubergines. Aubergine must be cooked until the skin blackens and the flesh turns soft; undercooked flesh stays bitter and watery. Charring also develops smoky flavour through browning reactions. Overcharring can leave a burnt, gassy taste, which is why the record offers frying in oil as an alternative.
Swap the peanut
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, butter, lemon, pepper, cumin, vinegar, clove):
- Chickpeafits better
- Beansfits better
- Lentilsfits better
- Peanutthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, butter, lemon, pepper, cumin, vinegar, clove. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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