Borani Banjan بورانی بادمجان Afghan Eggplant Casserole Recipes

BORANI BANJAN (بورانی بادمجان), AFGHAN EGGPLANT CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Rinse and slice the eggplant into 1-cm (1/3-inch) thick pieces.
• Lay each slice side by side on lined baking sheets. (We'll be roasting the eggplants, although the traditional method is to deep-fry them.)
• Drizzle 5 tbsp of oil over the eggplants (no need to flip them) and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt. Roast in an oven at 425 °F for 25-35 minutes or until golden brown.
• Meanwhile, crush or chop the tomato and gather the spices (paprika, red pepper flakes, cumin, ground black cardamom, turmeric, salt, black pepper).
• Crush the garlic into a rough paste; reserve half for mixing into the yogurt (step 17). I use a mortar and pestle but a garlic press works too.
• Crush ginger and mix it into the garlic, along with tomato paste.
• Heat 3 tbsp of oil in a saucepan on medium-low heat. (If you have a laser thermometer, it should be around 300 °F.)
• Add the garlic-ginger-tomato paste and gently fry (temper) for a few minutes or until fragrant.
• Add all the spices and temper for another 30 seconds.
• Pour in the chopped tomatoes and mix thoroughly with the spices. Cover with a lid and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• When eggplants are roasted to a golden-brown colour, remove them from the oven. Keep oven on.
• Arrange a layer of eggplant at the bottom of a small casserole dish.
• Cover with a layer of tomato sauce.
• Continuing alternating the eggplant and tomato sauce until you reach your last layer of eggplant. Top with a layer of cilantro (reserve some for garnish if you'd like), then cover with the remaining tomato sauce.
• Cover the casserole either with an oven-safe lid or with a tight wrap of aluminum oil, then bake in the oven for 25 minutes at 425 °F.
• Meanwhile, mix together the yogurt with the remaining garlic.
• Remove casserole from oven and let stand 5 minutes before uncovering and serving. Top with yogurt and sprinkle with any remaining cilantro.