Badrijani Nigvzit (Eggplant Rolls with Walnuts) 🍆

Name: Badrijani Nigvzit (Eggplant Rolls with Walnuts)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 2-4 servings
Cuisine: Georgian
Ingredients: 2 medium aubergines, sliced 5 mm lengthwise; Sunflower or grapeseed oil for frying; 150 g shelled walnuts; 2-3 garlic cloves; 1 small bunch fresh coriander; 1 tsp blue fenugreek (utskho suneli; substitute regular fenugreek + pinch of cumin); 1 tsp ground coriander; 1-2 tbsp white wine vinegar, to taste; 3-4 tbsp water or weak broth to loosen; Salt and black pepper; Pomegranate seeds and extra coriander, to finish

Every Georgian supra (feast) starts with the cold plates, and none is more loved than badrijani: aubergine slices fried until silky, spread thick with a walnut paste pounded with garlic, blue fenugreek, coriander and vinegar, then rolled up and studded with pomegranate seeds. The paste — satsebelari's nutty cousin — should be coarse, almost pesto-like, and the rolls need an hour resting in the fridge so the flavors marry. Sweet-tart pomegranate against smoky, garlicky walnut: this is the Caucasus on a board.

Tbilisi Georgian ⏱ 50 min Medium

Method

1

Salt the aubergine slices and rest 15 minutes; pat dry to draw out bitterness and oil.
2

Fry in hot oil until golden and floppy; drain on paper and cool.
3

Pound or pulse walnuts with garlic, coriander, blue fenugreek and ground coriander into a coarse paste; loosen with water, sharpen with vinegar, season with salt — it should hold a ridge when dragged with a spoon.
4

Spread a teaspoon of paste along each slice and roll up snugly. Arrange seam-down on a plate.
5

Chill at least 1 hour so the paste perfumes the eggplant.
6

Just before serving, scatter with pomegranate seeds and more coriander; eat cold or at room temperature with lobio and bread.

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Badrijani Nigvzit (Eggplant Rolls with Walnuts) 🍆

Method

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