Badrijani Nigvzit

Ingredients

• 1½ lbeggplantabout 2–3 medium, sliced lengthwise 5–7 mm thick
• 5¼ ozwalnutsfinely ground
• 3 clovesgarlic
• 1 bunchcilantrofinely chopped, some reserved for garnish
• 1 tspground coriander
• 1 tspblue fenugreek
• ½ tspground marigold
• 1½ tbspwine vinegarwhite or red
• chillito taste, ground or as paste
• waterlukewarm, to loosen the nut paste
• saltfor salting the eggplant and seasoning
• ½ cupvegetable oilfor frying
• pomegranate arilsfor garnish
• 1onionblended raw or fried before adding to the nut paste (optional)
• ⅔ ozparsleyin addition to cilantro (optional)
• 1¾ ozbuttercold, used instead of water in the nut paste (optional)
• ½ tspkhmeli suneli (optional)

Method

1. Wash the eggplants, trim off the stem ends and cut them lengthwise into slices 5 to 7 millimetres thick.
2. Salt the slices generously or lay them in salted water and let them stand for 20 to 40 minutes. Pour off the liquid that's drawn out, squeeze the slices gently and pat them dry.
3. Heat the vegetable oil in a pan and fry the slices in batches until golden on both sides. Drain them on kitchen paper and let them cool completely.
4. Grind the walnuts together with the garlic to a fine paste in a meat grinder or blender.
5. Mix the ground coriander, blue fenugreek, Imeretian saffron, salt, wine vinegar and chili or ajika into the nut mixture.
6. Work in lukewarm water a little at a time until you have a smooth, pale, easily spreadable paste. Finally stir in the finely chopped cilantro, setting some aside for garnish.
7. Spread the nut paste evenly over the cooled eggplant slices, then roll them up or simply fold them over.
8. Arrange the rolls on a platter and scatter over the pomegranate seeds and the remaining cilantro.
9. Let them sit in the fridge for at least an hour before serving.

Tips and variations

If you'd rather use less oil, brush the slices thinly with oil and bake them for 15 to 20 minutes at 180 to 200 °C. An onion works well in the filling — finely chopped and fried before stirring it in, or blended raw with the nuts; cold butter instead of water will bind the paste just as well, and a little khmeli suneli or parsley adds another layer of flavour. The acidity can come from pomegranate syrup (narsharab) instead of vinegar, the heat from ajika instead of ground chili. You can also scatter the herbs onto the spread slices as you roll them rather than mixing them into the paste. Serve the rolls cold as a starter, ideally as part of a bigger spread of small dishes — at least an hour in the fridge, and even better after several hours.