BORANI

(Recipe in English is below. Borani tarifi için burayi tiklayin)

Borani is a popular dish with spinach beet or spinach in the Middle East, not only in Turkey. In Turkey, I know that people prepare Borani either with spinach or with spinach beet. Furthermore, there two different preparations that I know of. One of the preperation is quite simple: saute the onion that you chopped fine in the butter, chop the spinach beet (or the spinach), saute it with the onion, break an egg or two on it and serve it with yoghurt and garlic sauce on top. The other recipe is richer in ingredients however only uses the stem of the spinach beet and a bit more difficult to make. The recipe I am posting below is inspired by the more difficult one; but not entirely same with the authentic recipe. I believe that I made it a bit easier to prepare and healthier by skipping the frying part. I also added walnuts. 

Anyway, here’s the recipe. I hope you will like it!

Ingredients (serves 5 – 6)

1 bundle of spinach beet (or spinach); seperate the stem and the leaves, chop them fine

spinach beet

spinach beet, chopped

spinach beet stems

spinach beet stems, chopped

200 gr minced meat

1 medium to big onion, grated

onion, grated

2 spoons of bulgur

A handful of walnuts, ground (not as thin as powder though, you must have small bits still)

Water, just enough to fill a medium size pot (not entirely full: leaving enough space to boil and add the ingredients of course)

1 spoon of butter and a few drops of olive oil

100 gr chickpeas, boiled*

100 gr boiled chickpeas

100 gr black eye beans, boiled*

100 gr boiled black eyed beans

Salt and pepper to your liking

For sauce (totally optional): mix 5 – 6 spoons of strained yoghurt with a teeth of garlic that you crushed. Add salt to your liking. Spread it over your plate. Additionally, you can also melt butter and roast some ground red pepper in it (be careful not to burn it) and spread it over the yoghurt and garlic mixture on your plate. 

Method:

1. Place the bulgur, onion, minced meat, the salt and pepper in a bowl and knead well. Make small balls (the ideal size would be as big as grape) of the mixture; if you wetten your hand before you roll the mixture in your hand, it goes smoother without much sticking to your palms.
2. Take the water in a medium size pot and boil it. Add the bulgur balls to the boiling water and let it boil for about 10 minutes (first on high fire than on low). Skim off the scam.
3. Saute the stems of the spinach beet in butter and olive oil. They have to be soft.
4. Add the stems, the chickpeas, the black eyed beans to the bulgur balls and let it boil for 5 – 10 minutes.
5. Add the leaves that you chopped fine. Let it boil for 3 – 4 minutes if you want the leaves still a bit fresh. If not, then boil longer.
6. You can serve it with yoghurt with garlic sauce that you spread over your dish. 

Step 1 - make small meatballs

Step 3 - saute the stems of the spinach beet

Borani

* Soak the chickpeas and black eyed beans in water overnight. Boil them soft the day after.