Instructions: Saute the onion in the hot oil until light golden.

Add the red pepper and z minutes later the garlic.

Saute everything together for a minute without allowing it to brown.

Add the rest of the ingredients apart from rice and the herbs and simmer for 10 minutes until the sauce is thicker.

Mix in the rice and parsley.

Season to taste cover and cook gently until the water has been absorbed approximately 15-20 minutes.

Test the rice after 15 minutes and if needed in the meantime add a little hot water.

When the rice is just tender mix in the dill and remove from heat.

The dish should be quite moist and the rice not overcooked.

Garnish with more parsley if you wish.

Serve with plain yoghurt and a plate of Feta or fresh goats cheese and a large green salad.

Burani was originally a family of aubergine dishes cookedfor Princess Burans wedding to the powerful Caliph alMamoun son of Harun alRashid in ninth century Baghdad. Her real name was Khadijah but she was better known under the pet name of Buran after a Persian princess of the seventh century. There are still dishes called braniya in both Algeria and Morocco which centre round aubergines and meat. How could this lead to present day burani or borani or in fact the indian biryani which are all glorified pilaffs? Such are the mysteries of culinary evolution! I suspect that the dish was transformed with the addition of grain in Turkey.

Serves 4

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