Borani banjan is an Afghan eggplant dish baked with spicy tomato gravy. This naturally vegan-friendly recipe makes for a comforting, aromatic winter casserole.
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 at 425 °F (218 °C) for 25–35 minutes or until golden brown.
Prep Tomato Gravy
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 later. 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 heat.
Add the garlic-ginger-tomato paste and gently fry (temper) for a minute or two 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.
Assemble and Bake
When eggplants are roasted to a golden-brown colour, remove them from the oven. Keep the 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 (218 °C).
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.