If I had to choose a favorite cuisine, hands down it would be Afghani! To me, it seems like a perfect cross between desi and middle eastern cuisine. The food is very flavorful, yet the spices don’t overpower the food. The dishes are rich, flavorful, fragrant, savory, and sometimes even a little sweet. I’d be happy to eat Afghani food for the rest of my life!
Growing up in NY/NJ, I could always find delicious Afghan food to take care of my cravings. But I wasn’t so fortunate when I moved to Dallas. Granted, Dallas does have a couple of nice Persian restaurants, they just can’t compete with the ones on the East Coast. Which is why I decided to take matters into my own hands and learn to make a few Afghani dishes.
I’m still a newbie at this, but I wanted to share with you the recipe for borani banjan because I think I’ve pretty much nailed it 🙂 I’ve made it for family and friends, some who have never tasted this dish before, and everyone has loved it!
Borani banjan is a dish made with eggplants, tomatoes, and yogurt. Usually this dish is made with fried eggplants, but I bake mine to make it a bit more healthier. And I also add onions to the tomatoes. I hope you enjoy this easy and delicious dish as much as I do!
- - 2 eggplants
- - ½ cup yogurt
- - 1 onion
- - 4 tomatoes
- - 3 cloves garlic
- - 1 tsp finely grated ginger
- - ⅓ cup of olive oil
- - 1 tsp salt
- - ¼ tsp red chili powder
- - ½ tsp turmeric powder
- - ½ tsp dried mint, ground
- Wash and slice eggplants to about ¼ inch thickness. Lay flat on a baking sheet and spray about half of the olive oil, making sure to coat well. Bake for 20-30 minutes on 350, flipping half way through. Cooking times may vary, just make sure the eggplant is cooking and soft all the way. Prepare the topping while eggplant bakes.
- Finely chop the onions and fry them in remaining olive oil until they are transparent, about 4-5 minutes on medium heat.
- Add chopped tomatoes, ginger, garlic, and spices. Fry until tomatoes are cooked and oil releases to top. About 10 minutes. Make sure to keep stirring continuously.
- In a bowl mix the yogurt with a clove of grated garlic.
- Take out eggplants and layer them on a dish.
- Put the onion and tomato masala on top, spreading it evenly.
- Now spread yogurt on top. Sprinkle the dried mint on yogurt.
- All done! Enjoy this delicious and scrumptious dish with some Kabuli pulao!
Looove Baanjaan! You did a great job, it looks delicious!! ☺️☺️
Thank you, your compliments mean a lot to us 🙂
Gonna need a recipe for that kabuli pulao 🙂
Will start working on it, M! 🙂