Salma’s Boramiyeh (Syria)

Salma is a Syrian refugee, now living in the UK, who learnt this dish from her mother and loves it because it takes her back to memories of her homeland.

Boramiyeh is a traditional salad-starter made with lentils that takes its name from a village in Afrin, Northern Syria. Traditionally, it would be cooked up on Fridays in Salma’s home village when families gathered together to share food.

Salma’s advice is to eat it once a week as a nutritious health-kick – and apparently it is also recommended to women after they have given birth to help them recover.

Ingredients:

1 Aubergine

1 courgette

3 tomatoes

1 onion

1⁄4 kg brown lentils

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon dried mint

1 kg yogurt (fat free)

1⁄2 bunch of parsley

1 tablespoon olive oil

Method:

Cut all of the vegetables into triangle-shaped pieces.

Put all the vegetables in a large pot half-filled with boiling water. Keep boiling on a low heat for 45 minutes until they become soft. Strain the vegetables using a sieve.

Boil the lentils for half an hour, then add the boiled and drained lentils to the vegetables (please note that different lentil types may require shorter or longer cooking time. It is better to taste the lentils to make sure they are soft).

Add the salt and pepper as well as the dried mint. Stir the yoghurt and add to the mixture.

Finish by topping with extra mint, chopped parsley and olive oil.