Borani ( fa, بورانی, bowrâni) is a salad dish from Iranian cuisine. It is also found in

Turkish cuisine Turkish cuisine () is the cuisine of Turkey and the Turkish diaspora. It is largely the heritage of Ottoman cuisine, which can be described as a fusion and refinement of Mediterranean, Balkan, Middle Eastern, Central Asian and Eastern Eur ...

where it is associated with certain provinces like Isparta,

Urfa Urfa, officially known as Şanlıurfa () and in ancient times as Edessa, is a city in southeastern Turkey and the capital of Şanlıurfa Province. Urfa is situated on a plain about 80 km east of the Euphrates River. Its climate features ex ...

and Van. Some versions are made with spinach and yogurt, while the

Ancient Persian Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cov ...

borani was made with eggplant, and a regional version from Urfa is made with lamb and vegetarian meatballs. Borani is also popular in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

Terminology

Borani was the name of an eggplant dish in Ancient Persian cuisine. In the cuisine of Urfa province borani is a lamb and bulgur kofta dish made with chard and chickpeas, sometimes called "Urfa borani". There is also a form of the dish made with spinach and yogurt, and other versions made with different ingredients combined with yogurt. In southern Albania the term describes a baked egg and spinach dish. In

Gaziantep Gaziantep (), previously and still informally called Aintab or Antep (), is a major city and capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Mediterranean Region, approxi ...

there is version without any yogurt, called borani, and made with black-eyed peas and ground lamb. In a study on the 'Foods and Breads of the Selçuk Period', Mehmet Zeki Oral defined borani as follows:

"Dishes in which the vegetables are boiled, then sautéed, are called ''borani''. Herbs such as spinach, amaranth, dock, mallow and sorrel are simmered in water and then drained. They are then sautéed in oil/butter and topped with yoghurt flavored with garlic. These are called ''borani'' in Anatolia, while in Senirken, only the variety made with spinach is called borani. Borani also refers to dishes where vegetables are cooked with rice or bulgur and then topped with yoghurt."

Borani is present among the

Aromanians The Aromanians ( rup, Armãnji, Rrãmãnji) are an ethnic group native to the southern Balkans who speak Aromanian, an Eastern Romance language. They traditionally live in central and southern Albania, south-western Bulgaria, northern and ...

of the

Pindus The Pindus (also Pindos or Pindhos; el, Πίνδος, Píndos; sq, Pindet; rup, Pindu) is a mountain range located in Northern Greece and Southern Albania. It is roughly 160 km (100 miles) long, with a maximum elevation of 2,637 metres ...

region of Greece, made with locally gathered nettles into a soup thickened with flour.

Variations

''Borani-e Esfanaj'' is a cold Persian salad made with spinach and yogurt, and other types of borani salad dishes are found in

and other Middle Eastern cuisines. ''Borani-e Khiar'' is an Iranian salad with yogurt, cucumber and walnut. The spinach yogurt salad is known as ''Sabzi Boranee'' in Afghanistan. ''Borani-e Bademjan'' is a Persian version made with eggplant, also with yogurt.

Terminology

Variations

References

See also