Afghan-Style Grilled Eggplant with Tomato Sauce, Yogurt and Herbs

 From the Washington Post Ellie Krieger, food section 7/7/2021 - based on the traditional Afghan borani baijan but the eggplant is grilled (or roasted) and not fried.  Serve at room temperature or warm. Can be a meal, maybe with grilled flatbread.

This was REALLY good - I happened to have grilled eggplant slices on hand from the day before (prepared for pasta alla norma), and that saved me time.  Although, I also had a white potato that I wanted to use, so I roasted that, and added it to the dish.  All eggplant would have been wonderful. 

I had a lot of cherry tomatoes, so I used those.  There wasn't too much liquid to go around, but it was very tasty.  I skimped on the mint because I was too lazy to go outside to get more, but the bites with mint were super special.  I didn't have cilantro, so I can't speak to that.  Definitely a keeper! 

The grilled eggplant and onion, and the yogurt sauce can be kept for 3 days in the fridge.

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cup non-dairy, low fat or whole milk plain yogurt

2.5 tsp (2 large cloves) finely grated garlic, divided

2 Tbsp water, plus more as needed

3 small or 2 medium firm, globe eggplants, about 1.5 pounds total, trimmed and sliced 1/2" thick

1/2 medium red onion (~4 oz) sliced 1/3" thick

4 Tbsp olive oil, divided

1 tsp kosher salt, divided

1 pound fresh, ripe tomatoes, chopped, with their juices (or sub 28 oz can no salt added diced tomatoes with their juices)

1/2 tsp sweet paprika

1/4 tsp ground turmeric

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 Tbsp chopped fresh mint leaves

2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro leaves

DIRECTIONS:

1) in a medium bowl, combine yogurt with 1/2 tsp of garlic and, if needed, water, 1 Tbsp at a time, until the yogurt is the consistency of thin pancake batter and can be easily drizzled.  Cover and refrigerate until needed.

2) Preheat the grill or a grill pan over a medium-high heat.  Brush both sides of the eggplant and onion with 3 Tbsp of the oil, then sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt

3) Working in batches, if necessary, grill the eggplant and onion until tender and have grill marks, 3-4 minutes per side for the eggplant and 2-3 minutes per side for the onion.  Transfer the grilled vegetables to a plate.

4) In a large, deep skillet with a lid over medium-high heat, heat the remaining 1 Tbsp of oil until shimmering.  Add the remaining 2 tsp garlic and cook, stirring until it turns pale golden, 20-30 seconds.  Add the tomatoes, paprika, turmeric, remaining 1/2 tsp salt and the pepper and cook, stirring frequently until the tomatoes have broken down and have become thick and saucy, about 6 minutes.  If the mixture seems dry, add 1-2 Tbsp of water.

5) Stir 2 Tbsp of water into the skillet, then add the eggplant and onions, gently nestling them into the sauce and spooning some of the sauce over them. Reduce the heat to low, over, and simmer until the eggplant is very tender and has absorbed some of the sauce, but it still retains its shape, 5-7 minutes.  Remove from the heat and let cool.

6) To serve, spread about 1/2 cup of the yogurt on a serving platter or divide it among individual plates, with each plate getting 2 Tbsp.  Layer the saucy eggplant mixture on top of the yogurt, then drizzle with the remaining y0ogurt and sprinkle with the mint and cilantro.