This recipe for Bouranee Baunjan - eggplant with garlic yogurt sauce was on a back-burner for years, until I stumbled across it just the other day. That's what happens when you don't save all your recipes in one place.
Making this eggplant dish is a bit involved, but not difficult at all and well worth it. It is especially delicious with Kurdish rice, but you can serve it with regular rice or pita bread to soak up the juices and garlic yogurt sauce. Give it a try, you'll love it. Ask my husband who generally dislikes eggplant.
In the past years, I learned to love it and as you can see here, often enjoy it as a main dish, side dish, and appetizer.
Ingredients:
- Eggplant
- Tomato
- Tomato pasteOnion
- Coriander
- Turmeric
- Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
- Olive oil
- Plain yogurt (Greek style)
- Garlic
- Chopped fresh Cilantro, Parsley or Mint, for garnish
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Rinse eggplants, cut the stems off, and peel into strips. Cut into ½-inch-thick slices. Spread slice on a flat surface or tray and sprinkle generously with salt. Leave for 30 minutes then rinse and pat dry with paper towels.
- Meanwhile, peel the garlic, crush, and place it on a piece of aluminum foil. Sprinkle with salt and drizzle with a ½ teaspoon of olive oil. Wrap the foil around garlic.
- Place eggplant slices on a large (or two medium), greased baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Place the garlic pouch on the sheet, between the eggplant slices. Bake the eggplant and garlic for 20-30 minutes or until the eggplant is lightly browned. Don't worry if your thinner slices are dry, they will absorb the sauce later in the process.
- In a medium saucepan heat one tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Sauté sliced onions until browned and slightly caramelized, then stir in red pepper flakes, if using. Remove onions from the pan with a slotted spoon.
- Place tomatoes in the same pan and cook until they break down, for about 8 minutes. Add tomato paste, water, turmeric, coriander, pepper, and salt to taste. Cook the sauce over medium-low heat for 15 minutes or until it begins to thicken.
- Layer half of eggplant slices in an 8-inch square baking dish or a loaf pan. Top the eggplant with half of the onions and half of the tomato sauce. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
- Cover with aluminum foil and place in a preheated 350-degree oven for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 minutes longer, to reduce the excess liquid.
- Combine yogurt, mashed garlic cloves, and a pinch of salt. Top eggplant with yogurt. Sprinkle with cilantro, parsley, or mint. Serve with fresh pita bread or Kurdish rice.
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Eggplant with Garlic Yogurt Sauce – Bouranee Baunjan
Ingredients
- 2 medium Eggplants
- 1 large ripe Tomato chopped
- 1 tablespoon Tomato Paste
- 1 large Onion sliced thin
- ½ teaspoon Coriander
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric
- Salt
- ½ teaspoon black Pepper
- Pinch of Red Pepper Flakes optional
- ¼ cup Water
- Olive oil
- 1 cup firm plain Yogurt (Greek style)
- 2 cloves Garlic
- Salt to taste
- Chopped fresh Cilantro Parsley or Mint, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Rinse eggplants, cut the stems off and peal into strips. Cut into ½-inch-thick slices. Spread slice on a flat surface or tray and sprinkle generously with salt. Leave for 30 minutes then rinse and pat dry with paper towels.
- Meanwhile, peal the garlic, crush and place on a piece of aluminum foil. Sprinkle with salt and drizzle with ½ teaspoon of olive oil. Wrap the foil around garlic.
- Place eggplant slices on a large (or two medium), greased baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Place the garlic pouch on the sheet, between the eggplant slices. Bake the eggplant and garlic for 20-30 minutes or until eggplant is lightly browned. Don't worry if your thinner slices are dry, they will absorb the sauce later in the process.
- In a medium saucepan heat one tablespoon oil over medium high heat. Sauté sliced onions until browned and slightly caramelized, then stir in red pepper flakes, if using. Remove onions from the pan with a slotted spoon.
- Place tomatoes in the same pan and cook until they break down, about 8 minutes. Add tomato paste, water, turmeric, coriander, pepper and salt to taste. Cook the sauce over medium-low heat for 15 minutes or until it begins to thicken.
- Layer half of eggplant slices in an 8-inch square baking dish or a loaf pan. Top the eggplant with half of the onions and half of the tomato sauce. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
- Cover with aluminum foil and place in a preheated 350-degree oven for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 minutes longer, to reduce the excess liquid.
- Combine yogurt, mashed garlic cloves and pinch of salt. Top eggplant with yogurt. Sprinkle with cilantro, parsley or mint. Serve with fresh pita bread or Kurdish rice.
I have a bit of a hard time with eggplant, but the flavors and presentation make it look out of this world delicious! Thanks for sharing this to Throwback Thursday and I've pinned it to our board! https://www.pinterest.com/dadwhats4dinner/throwback-thursday/
I used to hate until I learned how to remove its bitterness. Let it sit salted, rinse and dry. Hope you'll give it a try one day 🙂 Thanks for stopping in.
Wow, Jas, this sounds soooo good! Thanks for sharing at My Flagstaff Home!
Jennifer
It really is yummy! Thank you, Jennifer 😀
I love eggplant, this sounds like a wonderful preparation, pinning to try soon! Thanks for sharing at What'd You Do This Weekend?!
Thanks, Joy! So nice of you to always visit 🙂
Was just thinking this morning I need to eat more vegetarian meals. This looks delicious. I love eggplant and the spices are some of my favourites.
Well, good! I hope you'll try it. It really is delicious 🙂 Thanks for stopping in!
This is a pretty dish and looks delicious! Thanks for sharing on What's for Dinner linky party!
Thanks for hosting, Helen!
Eggplant is one of my favourite veggies...Lijep pozdrav iz bosne!
Oooh, otisla na zimske radosti? Uzivaj Jasna i pozdravi mi Bosnu 😀