Eggplant and walnut rolls, or Georgian badrijani nigvzit, are one of the most popular dishes in the country’s cuisine. This dish is served cold as an appetizer, often as an accompaniment to Georgian wine. Badrijani nigvzit consists of thin, fried eggplant slices, which are filled with walnut paste and pomegranate seeds. Walnut paste has a creamy, delicate and aromatic taste, mainly due to the addition of garlic and coriander.
I haven’t had the opportunity to try this dish in Georgia yet, but I tried it in several restaurants. I have mixed impressions of the restaurant-made dish, because it tasted very good in some places, but there were also places where this dish turned out to be a disappointment. I also make eggplant and walnut rolls at home, this year actually quite often, because the eggplant in my vegetable garden turned out very well. I encourage you to make these Georgian rolls, and below I leave you a recipe for eggplant and walnut rolls.
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Ingredients for eggplant and walnut rolls.
- 500 g eggplant
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- oil for frying
Walnut paste:
- 200 g walnuts
- 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
- a pinch of Cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1 big clove of garlic
- a small bunch of fresh coriander
- 150 boiling water
- 1/4 teaspoon of carraway powder
Additionally:
- 1/2 pomegranate
- a small bunch of freshly chopped coriander
How to make eggplant and walnut rolls.
Wash the eggplant, pat it dry and cut it lengthwise into thin slices about half a centimetre thick. Salt each slice on both sides, then arrange the eggplant slices side by side and on top of each other in a dish and set it aside for 30 minutes. Afterwards, squeeze each slice and place it on a paper towel. Pour oil into a frying pan, not too much but enough so that the eggplant can freely fry in it. Heat the oil and put on the eggplant slices. Fry the eggplant on a medium-sized heat until slightly golden in colour. Remove the fried eggplant slices to a paper towel to get rid of excess oil.
Chop the walnuts very finely and add the apple cider vinegar, cayenne pepper, salt, crushed garlic, finely chopped coriander and ground cumin. Next, pour the boiling water in a kitchen mixer, add all the ingredients and blend. I used a blender to chop the walnuts and to combine the ingredients with a blender, thanks to which the walnut paste became creamy.
Place a slice of eggplant on the kitchen counter, or join two slices together if they are too thin or short. Thoroughly spread with the walnut paste, sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and finely chopped coriander. Starting from one of the short sides and roll up into a roll. Do this with each slice of eggplant. Arrange the eggplant and walnut rolls on a plate, decorate with pomegranate seeds and coriander. The finished rolls can be served immediately or a little later.
Good to know when making eggplant and walnut rolls.
Salt the eggplant, then set aside for some time to get rid of its bitterness. After 30 minutes, squeeze the juice from the eggplant and wipe it with a paper towel.
I fried the eggplant slices for 3-4 minutes on both sides in total.
From the given amount of ingredients, I got 12 pieces of rolls. I made the rolls from two medium-sized eggplants, but in most of the rolls, I used two slices per roll, because they were quite thin and short.
Do you like dishes with eggplant? If so, try our recipe for Grilled eggplant with goat cheese.
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