What is Borani Banjan?

Silky fried eggplant layered with tomato and garlicky yogurt, finished with dried mint — Kabul’s favorite way to honor a vegetable.

Where does Borani Banjan come from?

Borani Banjan is a Afghan dish from Kabul, Afghanistan.

Can Borani Banjan be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?

Yes. This Borani Banjan recipe includes ingredient substitutions to make it vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, or egg-free — including several of those at once, such as gluten-free and dairy-free together.

How long does Borani Banjan take to make?

About 55 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 35 minutes cooking), serving 4.

Borani Banjan — a Kabul, Afghanistan recipe

Name: Borani Banjan
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Afghan
Ingredients: 2 large eggplants, sliced into thick rounds; 3 tomatoes, sliced; 1 tbsp tomato paste; 5 cloves garlic, half minced, half grated; 1 green chili, sliced; 1.5 cups thick plain yogurt; 1.5 tsp dried mint; 1/2 cup neutral oil; for 4 flatbread, to serve

Asia → 🇦🇫 Afghanistan → Kabul

Borani Banjan

Afghan · easy · serves 4

prep 20 min · cook 35 min

~359 cal · 5g protein · 18g carbs · 30g fat (estimated, per serving)

🍽️

Layered eggplant with tomato and white garlic yogurt, dusted with mint

🇦🇫 Kabul

Borani banjan appears whenever Afghan hospitality does — a dish that treats eggplant with the ceremony other cuisines save for meat. The layering matters: hot tomato-braised eggplant, cool garlic yogurt, and a last snowfall of dried mint.

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Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.

🥕 Vegetarian

🌱 Vegan

🌾 Gluten-Free

🥛 Dairy-Free

🥜 Nut-Free

🥚 Egg-Free

Ingredients

Serves 4 —

•

2 large eggplants, sliced into thick rounds

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3 tomatoes, sliced

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1 tbsp tomato paste

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5 cloves garlic, half minced, half grated

•

1 green chili, sliced

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1.5 cups thick plain yogurt

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1.5 tsp dried mint

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1/2 cup neutral oil

•

for 4 flatbread, to serve

Instructions

1

Salt the eggplant rounds 15 minutes, pat dry, and fry in batches until deeply golden on both sides.

2

In the same pan, fry the minced garlic and tomato paste; layer the tomatoes and eggplant back in with the chili and a splash of water.

3

Cover and braise gently 15 minutes until everything slumps together.

4

Stir the grated garlic and salt into the yogurt.

5

Plate yogurt-eggplant-yogurt in layers, dust generously with dried mint, and serve warm with bread.

Kabul family-table tradition.

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🌏 While it simmers — know your destination

📍

Kabul. Where eggplant earns yogurt, mint, and respect.

🗺️

Afghanistan. Crossroads cooking of rice, yogurt, and mountain hospitality.

🌍

Asia. From street-cart woks to slow monastery kitchens.

The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.

👩‍🍳

Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker

Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →