Borani — Iran

Borani is a family of Iranian salads and side dishes built on a base of thick yogurt, mixed with cooked vegetables and garlic; the name covers several distinct preparations rather than one fixed recipe, spinach, eggplant and pumpkin among the most widespread. This page documents the spinach borani found across Iran, where it appears on the sofreh (dining spread) as a cold mezze-style side alongside bread, rice dishes or grilled meat. Related versions travelled into Turkish, Caucasian and Afghan kitchens, where borani or similar yogurt-vegetable mixtures are also prepared, each keeping its own page on AllGastronomy. To prepare it, spinach is washed, wilted or briefly sautéed with chopped onion and garlic, then left to cool before being folded into thick yogurt, often strained, seasoned with salt and sometimes a little dried mint. It is spread on a plate, drizzled with olive oil, and occasionally topped with a few fried onion or garlic slices for crunch. What sets this spinach version apart from the eggplant borani reported from ancient Persian sources, or the Urfa version made with lamb and vegetarian meatballs, is chiefly the main vegetable and the presence or absence of meat; the yogurt base, the garlic, and the role of the dish as a cold side are shared across the family, without any of these versions taking precedence over the others.