Badrijani Nigvzit (Georgian style aubergines with walnut stuffing)

It was a lovely day today, one of those rare days of summer that we hardly ever get nowadays in the UK. To celebrate I wanted to cook something light and summery and what better than badrijani nigvzit - Georgian style fried aubergines filled with a spicy walnut stuffing.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Georgian food is probably (well, at least in my opinion) the most unique cuisine in the world. Whereas with other national cuisines you can often detect influences from neighbouring countries, or possibly echoes from past invasions, the countries of the Caucasus, and in particular Georgia and its breakaway regions seem to have managed to hang onto their traditions. While Russian foods have made an appearance (borscht is ubiquitous all over the former Soviet states) traditional dishes have remained true to their origins retaining their unique flavouring that set it apart from anything else I have tasted. I have to say, in the UK Georgian food is woefully neglected and somewhat unknown. With the exception of a few restaurants in London and the south of the country, if you want to taste it you're either having to get the next flight out to Tbilisi (though not direct, alas) or make it yourself.

Badrijani nigvzit translates as aubergine and walnuts, and that's basically what it is. If one ingredient summed up Georgian food it is the walnut. Used both in sweet and savory dishes, it crops up again and again. If you're not a big fan of walnuts, keep reading - this dish may be the one to convert you! Simple to make, and the fragrant walnut stuffing complements the aubergine as though they were born to be together. I've seen a few different recipes for this dish, this is probably the most uncomplicated. Other than frying or grilling the aubergine no cooking is required.

Ingredients
2 large aubergines
200 g walnuts
3 garlic cloves (crushed)
2 tsp khmeli suneli
1 bunch of coriander
1 tbs pomegranate molasses
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
Salt (for the aubergines)

1. Slice the aubergine lengthways into thin slices (~ 1 cm). Lay the slices on a baking tray and sprinkle with salt. Salt you say? Isn't that something that cooks used to say eons ago when they were under the impressions that aubergines were evil bitter little creatures that had to be salted into submission? Yes, you would be correct, other than some teeny tiny ones I bought in an Asian grocers I have never had a bitter aubergine. The reason for the salt in this recipe is to draw out the excessive water. You're going to fry the slices and you want them to be as dry as possible. You'll notice that after 5 minutes the aubergines start to 'sweat', leave them for around 30 minutes and then pat them dry.
2. Fry the slices in olive oil until golden brown, and then put to one side to cool.
3. Grind the walnuts until they have the texture of sand (some lumps are okay). I used a pestle and mortar for this as I didn't think my hand held blender was up to the job of dealing with whole nuts
4. To the nut mixture add the garlic, spices, pomegranate molasses, balsamic vinegar and coriander leaves. If you don't have khmeli suneli add ground fenugreek and coriander seeds. Blend until as smooth as possible. You want the consistency to be a thick paste, but if it's too thick add a little olive oil to loosen it up. It should look something like this

5. Lay the slices of aubergine on a plate and add a tablespoon of the stuffing mixture, then spread it out.
6. Roll the aubergine slices from the narrow end to the base and secure with a cocktail stick. Repeat.
7. You could serve immediately, but I think they taste even better if the flavours are allowed to mingle for an hour or so. Eat at room temperature. Be amazed.