The next recipe in my Eat Like a Local guest post series comes all the way from Tbilisi in Georgia and it couldn’t be better-timed, as I know many of you are taking part in Veganuary and this eggplant recipe is 100% vegan-friendly.
Walnut-stuffed eggplant wraps are a popular dish in Georgian cuisine, as I found out when Baia Dzagnidze of the Red Fedora Diary blog sent her recipe over to me. When you feast your eyes upon this tasty eggplant recipe and see the stunning photos of the dish for yourself, I bet you’ll be itching to dash to the supermarket and pick up all the ingredients so you can give it a go for yourself.
What I love the most about this recipe is that it uses ingredients that are incredibly easy to source – most of them can probably be found in your nearest shop – so wherever in the world you’re reading this from, you should be able to find all the ingredients needed to give this eggplant recipe a go. Now, it’s over to Baia to share her recipe with you!
Baia Dzagnidze – Georgia
Tell us a bit about yourself.
Hi, I am Baia from Tbilisi, Georgia. By profession, I’m a journalist but in 2017, I shifted my career and started writing travel-related content for various local and international publications.
I love traveling, photography, and cooking. I’ve been blogging on and off at for a long time on different topics. Mostly, I published personal stories and short essays in Georgian, after 2017, I began taking my blog more seriously and made it into a bilingual, budget-friendly travel blog focusing mainly on lesser-known destinations, as well as popular ones.
When did you begin blogging, and why did you decide to start a blog?
I think it was 2006 or 2007 when I started my blog on Blogger. Blogging became very popular in Georgia and I wanted to be part of this trend. As I already mentioned, I was publishing personal stuff and I was insecure with it, so I didn’t continue and decided to shut it down in a year or so.
What is the best experience you’ve had as a blogger?
I still consider myself a relatively new blogger, therefore I don’t have many experiences as a blogger yet.
However, blogging is becoming more and more popular in Georgia and I occasionally get invited to review accommodation and restaurants, or attend press trips.
What advice would you give to new bloggers who are just starting out?
First, make sure you want to do it; it requires a lot of commitment and time. Then, do your research and find the niche you are most passionate about.
Afterwards, read lots of material about how to start a blog. It’s a process of trial and error, you’ll need to stay constantly up-to-date on new releases and updates. I still learn new blogging-related things every week.
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Georgian Walnut-Stuffed Eggplant Recipe
This popular eggplant recipe is a staple of Georgian cuisine. It’s an appetiser included in pretty much every occasion we host. It’s also a favourite meal for both Georgians and foreigners visiting the country.
Moreover, unlike many other traditional Georgian meals, it’s usually easy to make abroad as you can find all the ingredients in your local grocery store.
Georgian Eggplant with Walnuts (Badrijni Nigvzit)
Everyone has their own way of presenting the meal; some like to fold the eggplant strips in half whereas some like to roll them and my mother likes to tear the fried eggplant into pieces and then mix it up with the paste. She believes this is a better way to ensure the eggplant is fully coated. I tend to mix up what I do with the eggplant, depending on my mood of that day.
This eggplant recipe will be a unique addition to your dinner table on any occasion – your guests are bound to ask you to cook this dish for them again and again!
Ingredients
- 3 whole eggplants or aubergines medium-sized
- 50 g walnuts
- 1 onion small
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
- 1/2 tsp saffron
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp fenugreek
- 1 red pepper
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- pinch salt
- oil
Instructions
- Cut eggplant lengthwise so you get 3-4 pieces out of one.
- Place them in a bowl and add salt. Leave it like that for at least 30 minutes so that eggplant softens.
- Fry them on both sides. Do note that it will require lots of oil to fry them well. Once you are done let them cool.
- Meanwhile, ground walnuts either in a meat grinder, food processor or pestle and mortar along with the dried herbs.
- Remove the mixture from the bowl.
- Finally, chop the onion and fry in the same pan you fried the eggplants. Once it’s cool, add to walnut mixture with its oil.
- Add pressed garlic, chopped parsley, vinegar, peppers, and salt to the walnut mix and mix them with your hands.
- Take fried pieces of eggplant and spread the walnut mixture very lightly. Either roll it or fold in half.
- Once done, add pomegranate seeds for decoration.
Notes
If you like the look of these walnut-stuffed eggplant wraps, read up on more stuffed recipe ideas for inspiration for your next dinner party; you’ll be surprised at the possibilities!
What’s your favourite eggplant recipe? Share your tips with other readers in the comment box below.
I love the presentation for this dish! Not only does it sound amazing but it would definitely impress my family.
It would be pretty cheap to make too – a great recipe for feeding a crowd 🙂
I’ve not ate much Georgian food before but i really love this kind of thing, sounds so delicious!
I love the look of these wraps too. I’m not vegan but I do try and eat a few meat-free meals every week and these look delicious.
wow this is brilliant especially watching calories and healthier eating. I love it cant wait to try this
Yes, it is a pretty light dish. I can see me making it for a light lunchbox option one day soon.
Oh that is cool!!! another healthy food recipe for my diet. I can’t wait to make this for our feast 🙂
Enjoy. Let me know how you get on with it!
It’s lovely to be introduced to Baia and this recipe looks soooo good.
I love getting to know fellow food bloggers too. This series has really enabled me to connect with lots of new faces!
This looks very much the kind of recipe I’d enjoy, loving both aubergines and walnuts. Lovely to read about Baia and her blogging life, I’m so amazed she started in 2006 or 2007, she’s been going for even longer than me and I feel old sometimes!!
Me too 🙂 I have been blogging since 2010 and so I love it when I find someone who has been blogging for just as long or perhaps even longer than I have – now that is a sign of true commitment and dedication.
Oh I love the look of these! I was considering making something similar with eggplant/aubergine, red peppers and feta for a recipe challenge. Now I am considering adding some nuts to the mixture too!
I’m really into feta at the moment, so I love the sound of the dish you’re thinking of making. I do think some nuts would be a lovely addition too!
I love eggplants, but have never tried them out this way! These Walnut-Stuffed Eggplants surely look and sound divine – I’ll try making them. 🙂 I’m a vegetarian, so this will surely come in handy.
I adore walnuts and I reckon they’d add an irresistible texture to this dish.
Oooh I remember seeing this on your Insta and swooning! I really need to try this. Nice to read a bit more about the blogger behind it too!
It looks lovely doesn’t it? I’m dying to try out this recipe for myself.
Such a great series! This sounds like a good veggie option!
Thank you Jamie, I’m glad you’re enjoying it as much as I am. I think these aubergine wraps look gorgeous too.
I have 10 guests for Georgian cuisine this Friday and I want to make this starter as it looks easy for how many people is this recipe for?
Apparently it makes 10-12 eggplant wraps, according to the recipe author. Hope you enjoy the recipe – let me know how it goes! 😀