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Borani Banjan Recipe

5 from 11 votes
This is my friend'a take on the Afghan classic, borani banjan, fried eggplant on a flavorful tomato-onion base, drizzled with sour yogurt.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings: 6 people
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Afghan
Ingredients Method Notes

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)

Method
 

  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 teaspoon 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.

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.