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Badrijani nigvzit, aubergine rolls with walnut and garlic
Badrijani nigvzit (aubergine with walnuts) is a Georgian feast favourite: thin slices of aubergine cooked until soft and golden, spread with a garlicky walnut paste and rolled up. They are finished with pomegranate seeds and coriander and served at room temperature.
- 50 minutes
- Prep 25 minutes
- Cook 25 minutes
- Serves 4
Our own recipe. The photograph is AI-generated.
Ingredients
- 2 large aubergines (about 700g)
- 4 tablespoons sunflower oil
- 150g walnut halves
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon utskho suneli (blue fenugreek, a mild, nutty Georgian spice; ground fenugreek works too)
- Half a teaspoon khmeli suneli (a Georgian dried herb and spice blend)
- A pinch of chilli flakes
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- Half a teaspoon fine salt
- A small bunch of fresh coriander (about 20g), finely chopped, a few leaves kept for the top
- 4 tablespoons seeds from 1 pomegranate
Let's cook
- Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan). Line two large baking trays with baking paper.
- Cut the stalks off the aubergines, then cut each one lengthways into slices about 5mm thick. You want 16 long slices; save the rounded outside pieces for another dish.
- Brush both sides of each slice with the oil, lay them on the trays in one layer and sprinkle with a little of the salt. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, turning once, until soft right through and golden in patches. Leave them to cool on the trays.
- Meanwhile make the walnut paste. Put the walnuts and garlic in a food processor and blitz until finely ground. Add the ground coriander, utskho suneli, khmeli suneli, chilli flakes, vinegar, the rest of the salt and 5 tablespoons of cold water.
- Blitz again until you have a thick, spreadable paste, like soft hummus. Add another spoonful of water if it is too stiff. Stir in most of the chopped coriander and taste: it should be garlicky, a little sharp and well seasoned.
- Spread about a tablespoon of the paste along each cool aubergine slice, leaving a little bare at one end. Roll the slice up from the other end into a neat roll.
- Stand the rolls on a plate, seam side down. Scatter over the pomegranate seeds and the coriander leaves you kept, and serve at room temperature.
Tips
- Cool the aubergine fully before you spread it, or the paste turns oily and slides off.
- The rolls keep covered in the fridge for 2 days. Take them out 30 minutes before eating, as they taste best not too cold.
Swaps
- Quicker: fry the slices in a little oil in a frying pan for 2 to 3 minutes a side instead of roasting.
- No pomegranate: a few drops of pomegranate molasses on each roll gives the same sweet sharpness.
Tags
Contains: Tree nuts, Sulphur dioxide and sulphites .
Tree nuts (walnuts) and sulphites (white wine vinegar). Khmeli suneli is a blend: check the label, as some are packed where celery and mustard are handled. Utskho suneli and ground coriander contain none of the 14 on their own.
Check every packet for allergens.