Bouranee Baunjan (Eggplant with Yoghurt Sauce)
Submitted by roses16914
Afghan layered eggplant with tomatoes, peppers, and onions topped with garlic yogurt sauce. This vegetarian main dish is comfort food at its finest, served with flatbread.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
20 minREADY
40 minBouranee Baunjan is the kind of dish that makes eggplant skeptics become eggplant believers.
Sliced eggplant gets salted to draw out bitterness, then fried until golden (but not completely cooked). Layer it in a pan with translucent onions, sweet green peppers, and juicy tomato slices, adding a hint of chili between the layers for warmth. Everything simmers together until the vegetables soften and meld.
The real showstopper is the chakah, a thick garlic yogurt sauce. Half goes on the bottom of your serving dish, the tender vegetables get piled on top, then you finish with more yogurt and a drizzle of the cooking juices.
Serve with warm flatbread for scooping. Each bite gives you silky eggplant, sweet vegetables, and cooling, tangy yogurt.
Kitchen Tips
- Salt eggplant for 30 minutes to remove bitterness and excess moisture
- Fry eggplant in batches; don’t crowd the pan or it steams instead of browns
- Use drained (thick) yogurt for chakah so it doesn’t run everywhere
- Lift eggplant slices gently when serving to keep them intact
- This reheats beautifully; make it ahead for easy entertaining
Ingredients
Directions
Cut the stems from the eggplants and leave peel.
Slice into 1 cm pieces.
Spread on a tray and sprinkle slices liberally with salt.
Leave for 30 minutes, then dry well with paper towels.
Pour enough oil into skillet with a lid, to cover base well.
Fry eggplant until lightly browned on each side.
Do not cook completely.
Lift onto a plate.
Add more oil as required for remaining slices.
As oil drains out of eggplant, return this to the pan and add onions.
Fry gently until translucent.
Remove to another plate.
Place a layer of eggplant back into the pan.
Top with some sliced onion, green pepper rings and tomato slices.
Repeat using remaining ingredients and adding a little salt and the chili between layers.
Pour in any remaining oil from the eggplant.
Add onion and water, cover and simmer gently for 10 to 15 minutes.
Combine chakah ingredients and spread half the sauce into base of serving dish.
Top with vegetables, lifting eggplant gently to keep slices intact.
Leave some of the juices in the pan.
Top vegetables with the rest of the chakah and drizzle the remaining juices over it.
Serve with flat bread.
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