Persian cooking has a delicious range of yoghurt-based dips. This spinach borani is one of them.
Boranis are delicious small, yoghurt-based dishes that are always part of a Persian spread. They can be plain, like a Labneh (maast-e chekideh in Farsi) or are made with different vegetables - aubergines, broad beans or spinach. The consistency, creamy and smooth, goes well with fish, meat, vegetables and rice.
You will have to strain the yogurt for a couple of hours through muslin ( cheese cloth) while it hangs in the sink over a bowl. The longer you leave it the firmer the yoghurt becomes.
- Ingredients
- 1 kg plain Greek yogurt , strained to get some of the liquid out
- 250 gr fresh baby spinach
- 1 smal Spanish onion, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- oil and butter for frying
- 30 gr golden raisins, washed
- 80 gr toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
- juice of 1/2 a lemon
- 1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes, salt and pepper to taste
the strained yogurt
in a little butter and olive oil gently fry the turmeric and chilli
add the chopper onions and gently cook until onions are soft
add the spinach and cook until spinach is starting to wilt, add the lemon juice and raisins
mix the garlic, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper into the strained yogurt
once the spinach and onions are cool, mix them through the yogurt
mix every thing together
pour it in a serving bowl and arrange the walnuts on top
refrigerate until needed. The borani will keep up to a week in fridge.
