Borani Banjan Recipe
This is my friend'a take on the Afghan classic, borani banjan, fried eggplant on a flavorful tomato-onion base, drizzled with sour yogurt.
Ingredients
- 2 cups full-fat yogurt preferably ¼ of it will be sour yogurt
- 1 ½ teaspoon 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 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder, preferably Kashmiri red chili powder
- 1 tablespoon pomegranate seeds (optional)
- 1 teaspoon dried mint (optional)
- ½ teaspoon red chili flakes (optional)
Instructions
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 teaspoon of crushed garlic and fry for a few seconds until fragrant.
- 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.
- When the tomatoes release some water, add eggplant. Dial heat to very low, cover, and let it steam for 10 minutes.
- 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.
Notes
When preparing the onion-tomato base, Nur initially put the garlic before the onion. I hate the splutter and always prefer to add ginger or garlic after caramelizing the onions.
I also prefer to breakdown the tomatoes and stir them on high heat for about 10 minutes before dialing heat to low and adding the eggplant to steam.
I also prefer to breakdown the tomatoes and stir them on high heat for about 10 minutes before dialing heat to low and adding the eggplant to steam.