Borani Banjan
This is my friend'a take on the Afghan classic, borani banjan, fried eggplant on a flavorful tomato-onion base, drizzled with sour yogurt.
- Prep time
- 10 min
- Cook time
- 50 min
- Yield
- 6 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 2 cups full-fat yogurt (preferably ¼ of it will be sour yogurt)
- 1 ½ tsp crushed garlic
- ¾ cup neutral oil (canola/sunflower/vegetable)
- 3 eggplant (sliced crosswise)
- 3 red onion (sliced in half rings)
- 4 roma tomatoes (sliced crosswise)
- 5 green chilies, preferably bird's eye chili (thinly diced)
- 1 tsp salt ((or to taste) )
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- ½ tsp red chili powder, preferably Kashmiri red chili powder
- 1 tbsp pomegranate seeds ((optional) )
- 1 tsp dried mint ((optional) )
- ½ tsp red chili flakes ((optional) )
Instructions
- 1
Transfer yogurt to a flat serving dish and lightly whisk until it has an even consistency. Stir in 1 teaspoon of crushed garlic. Set aside.
- 2
In a non-stick skillet, heat ½ cup of oil. When hot, lower heat to medium and fry the sliced eggplant until medium brown, roughly 1 - 2 minutes each side. Lower heat and add oil as needed. Once fried, pat fried eggplant with paper towels to absorb excess oil. Set aside.
- 3
In a large non-stick saucepan, heat ¼ cup of oil. Add sliced onions and fry on low heat until translucent, about 7 – 10 minutes. Add remaining ½ tsp of crushed garlic and fry for a few seconds until fragrant.
- 4
Add tomatoes, green chilies, salt, turmeric and red chili powder. Stir on medium heat until the tomatoes soften. Cover the saucepan and let it simmer on medium-low heat for 5 minutes.
- 5
When the tomatoes release some water, add eggplant. Dial heat to very low, cover, and let it steam for 10 minutes.
- 6
When ready, remove the saucepan from the stove. Layer the eggplant on top of the yogurt and top with the tomato-onion curry. Garnish with dried mint, red chili flakes and pomegranate seeds.