Badrijani Nigvzit

As tradition built it

Serves 4 to 6. About 45 minutes.

Ingredients

• 2 to 3 aubergines, sliced lengthways
• 300 g walnuts, ground
• ½ onion, finely chopped
• ½ green pepper, finely chopped
• to taste herbs, vinegar, salt, pepper
• as needed oil for frying

Method

1. Slice the aubergine into long strips, salt generously, rest 30 minutes to draw out bitterness and moisture.
2. Press dry, pan-fry in oil on both sides until soft and coloured.
3. Combine the ground walnut with the onion, green pepper, herbs, vinegar, salt and pepper, to a spreadable paste, thinner than satsivi's, built with vinegar for acidity rather than broth for body.
4. Spread onto each fried aubergine strip and roll.

What a modern chef changes

The same oil-release discipline as satsivi, applied to a filling rather than a sauce.

Rung 2

Method

1. Pulse the walnuts rather than processing continuously, for the same reason as satsivi: an over-processed paste turns grainy and loses the texture the rolled filling depends on.
2. Press the aubergine properly under a weight during its salted rest, not just a token rinse, so the rolled filling is not sitting inside a watery vegetable wrapper.
3. Roll while the aubergine is still warm, which makes it more pliable and less likely to crack at the fold than a fully cooled slice.