Borani banjan (braised eggplant with yoghurt)

Silky eggplant, rich tomato sauce and served with creamy yoghurt – this Afghan traditional recipe is pure comfort. Social entrepreneur and founder of Community Construction Hedayat Osyan shares his version of this classic Afghan eggplant dish, which is commonly served with rice or bread.

Credit: Jiwon Kim

• serves

  2

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil, for cooking
• 3 globe eggplants, sliced into 1-2 cm rounds
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tomatoes, crushed
• ½ tbsp ground coriander
• ½ tbsp ground black pepper
• ½ tbsp ground turmeric
• Salt
• 1 onion, thinly sliced into rings
• 1 tomato, thinly sliced into rings
• 2 jalapeño chillies, thinly sliced
• Dried mint, chilli flakes, roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley, Afghan bread, to serve

For the yoghurt sauce  

• 2 cups plain yogurt
• 1 tsp dried mint
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• Salt, to taste
• 2-3 tbsp water, as needed

Instructions

1. Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Fry the eggplant slices in batches, turning occasionally, until golden. Remove to a paper-towel lined plate.
2. Meanwhile, heat 3 tbsp oil in a large saucepan. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant, then add the tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, ground spices and a generous sprinkle of salt. Increase the heat to high and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened.
3. Stir through the fried eggplant, onion rings, sliced tomato and chilli. Bring to a simmer on medium heat, then cover and cook for a further 10 minutes.
4. While the eggplant simmers, combine the ingredients for the yoghurt sauce in a medium bowl, adding enough water to thin to your preferred consistency.
5. Spoon some yoghurt sauce onto a large serving platter, then top with the borani banjan. Drizzle with a little more yoghurt, then sprinkle with dried mint, chilli flakes and parsley. Serve with fresh Afghan bread.

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

Want more from The Cook Up? Stream all the seasons here and for free at SBS On Demand.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.