Ingredients
Aubergine
- 2large aubergines, about 800 g, sliced into 1.5 cm rounds
- 2 tspfine salt
- 150 mlvegetable oil for frying
Tomato layer
- 3tomatoes, chopped, or 300 g tinned chopped tomatoes
- 1onion, sliced
- 3garlic cloves, sliced
- 1green chilli, split
- ½ tspturmeric
- ½ tspground coriander
- 1 tspsalt
- 100 mlwater
- 1 tbspoil
Chaka
- 300 gthick strained yoghurt
- 2garlic cloves, crushed to a paste with salt
- ½ tspsalt
To finish
- 2 tspdried mint, crushed
- ½ tspchilli flakes
- a drizzle of the frying oil
Directions
- Salt the aubergine rounds on both sides and stand them in a colander for 30 minutes, until beads of dark liquid appear; pat them completely dry, which stops them drinking the whole pan of oil.
- Heat the oil in a wide frying pan to a shimmer and fry the slices in batches for 3 minutes a side, until deep gold and collapsing-soft in the middle. Drain on paper.
- Pour off all but a tablespoon of oil and soften the onion in it for 6 minutes over medium heat.
- Add the garlic, turmeric and coriander for 30 seconds, then the tomatoes, chilli, salt and water, and simmer 10 minutes until it thickens into a loose sauce and the oil rises to the surface.
- Beat the yoghurt with the garlic paste and salt until smooth and spreadable, and let it come to room temperature.
- Spread half the chaka over a wide serving plate in a thick layer.
- Lay the fried aubergine on it, overlapping, then spoon the tomato sauce over so it pools between the slices; some cooks return the layered dish to the pan, cover and steam it for 10 minutes so the flavours settle.
- Spoon the rest of the chaka over the top in ribbons, leaving the tomato showing through in patches.
- Crush the dried mint over the whole plate, scatter chilli flakes, trickle over a little of the aubergine oil and serve warm or at room temperature with naan.
Technique
- Burani means the layered yoghurt treatment, after the Abbasid queen Puran; the same method is applied to potato, spinach and courgette across Afghanistan and Iran.
- Serve it warm, never fridge-cold. The contrast between warm aubergine and cool but not chilled chaka is the whole architecture of the dish.
- If you must use less oil, brush the slices and roast them at 220°C (425°F) for 25 minutes; they will not be as silky, and Afghan cooks would say so.
Substitutions
- No strained yoghurt: hang full-fat plain yoghurt in muslin for 3 hours. Qurut, reconstituted and thinned, is the older and much tangier topping used in the countryside.
Variations
- Burani kadoo swaps the aubergine for sweet pumpkin cooked with a little sugar.
- Burani kachaloo layers fried potato rounds the same way and is the standard picnic version.
History
Burani dishes are named after Buran, the ninth-century Abbasid bride whose name attached to yoghurt-topped eggplant across the Persian world.
Frequently asked questions
What is Badenjan Burani?
Badenjan Burani is a salad & side from Afghanistan: fried eggplant slices layered with garlicky yoghurt and dried mint. Burani dishes are named after Buran, the ninth-century Abbasid bride whose name attached to yoghurt-topped eggplant across the Persian world.
How long does Badenjan Burani take to make?
Badenjan Burani takes 20 min plus 30 min salting of preparation and 40 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Badenjan Burani?
Yes, within limits. No strained yoghurt: hang full-fat plain yoghurt in muslin for 3 hours. Qurut, reconstituted and thinned, is the older and much tangier topping used in the countryside.
What is the most important thing to get right in Badenjan Burani?
Salt the aubergine rounds on both sides and stand them in a colander for 30 minutes, until beads of dark liquid appear; pat them completely dry, which stops them drinking the whole pan of oil.
