Borani

{{short description|Iranian appetizer}} {{Infobox food | name = Borani | image = Bouranee.png | caption = made from yogurt and spinach, Saffron. | alternate_name = | country = {{IRN}} (Persia) | region = | creator = | course = Salad, Dessert | served = Cold | main_ingredient = Yogurt, Vegetables | variations = | calories = | other = }}

thumb|Turkish borani with spinach

'''Borani''' ({{langx|fa|بورانی|bowrâni}}) is a salad dish from Iranian cuisine. It is also found in Turkish cuisine where it is associated with certain provinces like Isparta, Urfa and Van.<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = Springer| isbn = 978-1-4899-7648-2| last1 = Kristbergsson| first1 = Kristberg| last2 = Oliveira| first2 = Jorge| title = Traditional Foods: General and Consumer Aspects| date = 2016-03-09}}</ref> Some versions are made with spinach and yogurt, while the Ancient Persian 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 and Afghanistan.

==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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Akin |first=Engin |title=Essential Turkish Cuisine |publisher=Abrams |date=2015 |isbn=9781613128718 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dsKDCgAAQBAJ&dq=Borani+meze&pg=PT295}}</ref> In southern Albania the term describes a baked egg and spinach dish. In Gaziantep there is version without any yogurt, called borani, and made with black-eyed peas and ground lamb.<ref name=borani/>

In a study on the 'Foods and Breads of the Selçuk Period', Mehmet Zeki Oral defined borani as follows:<ref name=borani/>

<blockquote>"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."</blockquote>

Borani is present among the Aromanians of the Pindus region of Greece, made with locally gathered nettles into a soup thickened with flour.<ref name=borani/> The soup is served during the Tyrnavos carnival, and it symbolises the start of spring and fertility.<ref>{{cite web |title=Μπουρανί από τον Τύρναβο {{!}} ΣΥΝΤΑΓΗ |url=https://www.gastronomos.gr/syntagh/mpoyrani-apo-ton-tyrnavo/255475/ |website=Gastronomos.gr |access-date=11 May 2026 |language=el}}</ref>

==Variations==

''Borani-e Esfanaj'' is a cold Persian salad made with spinach and yogurt, and other types of borani salad dishes are found in Turkish cuisine and other Middle Eastern cuisines.<ref name=borani>{{cite book |title=Food and Language: Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cooking 2009 |isbn = 9781903018798|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3ilvBQAAQBAJ&dq=borani+spinach&pg=PT198|last1 = Hosking|first1 = Richard|year = 2010| publisher=Oxford Symposium }}</ref>

''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.<ref name=borani/>

==In other countries== In northern India, it is called Raita and in the south, it is called Pechadi.In Spain, its Persian name is Alborania, which is also used in Latin America. <ref>{{cite book|author= Najaf Daryabandari and Fahimeh Rastkar|date=2005–2006 |title= Cooking utensils |url= |location=Iran, Tehran |publisher=Nashre-e-Karnameh|page= |isbn=978-964-431-010-2 |access-date=}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==See also== *Tzatziki

Category:Iranian cuisine Category:Azerbaijani cuisine Category:Israeli cuisine Category:Mizrahi Jewish cuisine Category:Turkish cuisine Category:Aromanian cuisine Category:Yogurt-based dishes Category:Cuisine of the Caucasus Category:Afghan cuisine Category:Salads