Cooking with Colm O'Gorman: Banjan Borani or Afghan spiced aubergine with yoghurt 

And my top  tip for cooking aubergine well

This vegetarian recipe is warming and perfect served with flatbreads. 

It has been a while since I shared a vegetarian recipe, so one is I think, rather overdue. I posted photos of this week’s dish a few weeks back on my social media and got a lot of requests to share the recipe. Banjan Borani is a gorgeous Afghan recipe that can be served as a side dish but would also make a lovely supper or lunch served with warm flatbreads. The combination of warm lightly spiced vegetables, with all the depth of umami flavour from the aubergine and the sweetness of sauteed onion and tomatoes, served on a bed of whipped, garlicky, slightly salty yoghurt is just sensational.

This is the third Afghani recipe I have shared in the past few months. It really is a beautiful cuisine. Many of the dishes originate from Persia and are beautifully spiced and fragrant.

As exotic as it might sound, this dish requires just a few ingredients all of which are readily available in local supermarkets. You will see that I fry the aubergine in olive oil here. I have also tried this dish with aubergine that I tossed in olive oil and baked in the oven or in my air fryer. Both methods worked ok but did not give the same texture and flavour as you get from frying the aubergine in a generous amount of olive oil, so I do recommend that you pan fry the aubergine. If you really do want to use less oil though, just toss the sliced aubergine in about 80ml of olive oil, spread the slices in a single layer across some backing trays and then put them in the oven at 180°C until they are soft. About twenty minutes will do it. Be careful not to overcook the aubergine if you do oven bake or air fry it. You are aiming for a soft, smooth texture. Overcook the aubergine and it will dry out and become chewy and a little tough.

Some recipes suggest that you should salt and soak the aubergine for thirty minutes before cooking it to remove any bitterness. This is not necessary anymore though as modern varieties of aubergine are much less bitter than older varieties. A quick thing on salt. I generally use flaky sea salt in my recipes. If you are using fine salt instead, reduce the amount by half to avoid oversalting your dish.

If you fancy a very special feast, you could serve your Banjan Borani as a side dish with some Kubali Pulao, with Bolani, Afghani stuffed flatbreads, as a starter or on the side. Both of those recipes are available on ieFood.

Banjan Borani – Aubergine with Yoghurt Sauce

A spiced aubergine stew from Afghanistan that is a perfect vegetarian main course

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 5 mins

Cooking Time

 35 mins

Total Time

 40 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 3 aubergines

• 3 red onions 

• 2 cloves garlic

• 300g cherry tomatoes 

• 2 green chillies

• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder

• ½ tsp chilli powder

• 1 ½ tsp flaky sea salt

• 500g full-fat Greek yogurt

• Juice of half a lemon

• Olive oil

• To serve:

• Some pomegranate seeds

• Flat leaf parsley

• Fresh mint

Method

1. Wash and cut the aubergine crossways into slices about 5mm thick.  Peel and slice the onions and crush the garlic. Wash and cut the cherry tomatoes into halves. Wash and finely chop the green chillies. This is usually a lightly spiced dish, so remove the stalks and seeds, but if you want a bit more heat, it is fine to leave them in.

2. Heat a large non-stick frying pan over a high heat and add four tablespoons of olive oil. Lower the heat to medium and fry the aubergine until it is browned on both sides, about two to three minutes per side should do it. You will need to work in batches to fry it all. Add more oil as you need it as the aubergine will soak up quite a bit of oil as it cooks. Once you have fried each batch, allow it to drain on some kitchen paper to absorb some of the oil as you move on to the next. When you have fried all the aubergine, set it aside.

3. Heat a large saucepan over a high heat and add a few tablespoons of olive oil. Turn the heat down to low and fry the onions for about ten minutes until they are soft and translucent. Add one clove of crushed garlic and fry for another minute. Add the green chilli, turmeric, one teaspoon of flaky sea salt, tomatoes and chilli powder. Stir well to combine everything and cook for about five minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes begin to soften. Pop on a lid and simmer over a low heat for another ten minutes until the tomatoes release their moisture and you get a nice sauce-like consistency.

4. Add the cooked aubergine on top of the sauce. Replace the lid and let it steam for another ten minutes over a low heat.

5. In the meantime, spoon all the yoghurt into a large bowl and whisk until it is smooth and creamy. Add the second clove of crushed garlic, the juice of half a lemon and half a teaspoon of flaky sea salt. Whisk again to combine.  

6. Chop some fresh flat-leaf parsley and mint and prepare some fresh pomegranate seeds.

7. Using a large bowl or serving platter, spread out the yoghurt, and when the aubergine and tomato sauce is ready, spoon that over the top of the yoghurt. This dish looks especially nice if you layer most of the aubergine in the centre of the bowl of yoghurt with the tomato sauce on top. Finish the dish by scattering the freshly chopped herbs and some pomegranate seeds over the dish.