Kaddu Borani: Pumpkin with Tomato and Yogurt Sauces

2 May

Kadu Borani - Kaddu Pumpkin Borani

While surfing Afghani food channels, I paused when I saw this layered, brilliantly colored thumbnail: “kaddu borani“, said its label. I hit play and by the end of it, had my mouth salivating and my heart saluting the beauty of this dish.

Kaddu borani takes a set of independently prepared ingredients (pumpkin + tomato sauce + yogurt sauce) and meshes them into something so exquisite, the end product is nothing short of a work of art.

Kaddu Borani

What’s “borani”?

That was the question foremost on my mind after first coming across the recipe. Wikipedia says:

Borani is an Iranian appetizer made with yogurt, spinach and other ingredients.

That had me puzzled, as my reference borani recipe used no spinach.

Further digging around online showed me several interpretations of “borani”.

It isn’t just pumpkin that is cooked borani style: a few other popular favorites are eggplant, potato, spinach, beetroot. The sauces have variations too: the yogurt sauce might use mint or do without it; the tomato sauce might call upon onions or not. The plating can get really creative, with garnishes of cheese and walnuts and pomegranate and spices and so on.

My kaddu borani recipe takes elements from the following: Arzo Food Channel, Zakia Hamidi’s Kitchen, Ashpazkhane Mazar.

Kaddu Borani - Pumpkin Tomato Garlic Sauce

Two departures from the source: I use fresh tomatoes instead of tomato paste as I don’t have the paste, and for pre-cooking the pumpkin, I don’t deep fry but use a stove-top grill pan instead.

You Need:

[For 2-3 servings]

For pan-grilling the pumpkin:

  • Pumpkin – 250 grams
  • Olive oil – 1 tablespoon [buy here]
  • Equipment*: stove-top grill pan [buy here]

*Note: Feel free to substitute stove-top grilling with another pre-cooking method of your choice: say, microwave grilling or shallow-frying. Or just stick to the classic way of deep-frying.

For the tomato sauce:

  • Tomatoes – 3 medium
  • Garlic – 3 fat cloves (~1 heaped teaspoon when crushed)
  • Salt – to taste
  • Cumin powder – 1/2 teaspoon [buy here]
  • Ground pepper – 1/4 teaspoon [buy here] (adjust to taste)
  • Red chili powder – 1/4 teaspoon [buy here]
  • Dry red chili – 1, cut into pieces [buy here]
  • Turmeric powder – 1/4 teaspoon [buy here]
  • Olive oil – 1 tablespoon [buy here]
  • Equipment: flat-bottomed, thick-walled pan with lid [buy here]

For the yogurt sauce:

  • Yogurt – 3/4 cup
  • Garlic – 1 clove
  • Salt – to taste
  • Dried mint – 1/2 teaspoon [buy here]

The links in the list above are amazon.com affiliate links. The Steaming Pot will earn a small commission if you buy via the links, at no additional cost to you.

Pumpkin, Tomatoes, Garlic, EEVO, Spices

How To Make Kaddu Borani:

1. Grill the pumpkin

Peel the pumpkin, chop into manageable chunks and scoop out its seeds. Slice the pumpkin chunks into thin slivers about 2-inches long.

Pumpkin on Chopping Board

Heat a large grill pan. When hot, spray some olive oil into the pan and place the pumpkin slivers.

Pumpkin Slices on Grill Pan, Just Placed

Let the pumpkin slivers toast undisturbed for a couple of minutes on medium-high, then check if the side facing down has started to turn golden. Move about only if you must to evenly distribute the heat.

Spray oil on the top, flip over the pumpkin slivers. Now toast the other side for another few minutes or till done.

Pumpkin Slices on Grill Pan, Almost Done

Sprinkle some salt and set aside till the tomato sauce is ready.

2. Make the yogurt sauce

Whisk yogurt with some salt. Add a crushed garlic clove and a sprinkling of dried mint to the yogurt, and whisk again.

Set aside (this yogurt sauce will be called upon in the final step).

Plain Yogurt Whipped with Garlic, Mint, Salt

3. Make the tomato sauce

Crush the garlic. Slice the tomatoes.

Tomato Slices and Crushed Garlic

Heat olive oil in a flat-bottomed thick-walled pan. On low heat, add the crushed garlic and dry red chili pieces to the hot oil.

Tadka of Crushed Garlic and Dry Red Chilies

Stir around and fry on low heat for a few seconds. Follow immediately with turmeric powder, cumin powder, red chili powder,

Give a quick mix and immediately mix in tomato slices and salt. Cook with lid on, on low heat.

Tomato Slices Added to Hot Oil

Cook the tomatoes for ~6 minutes, stirring once or twice in between.

Tomatoes, Cooking and Getting Mushy

Add half a cup of water and continue to cook covered for another 3-4 minutes, or till the tomatoes have turned into a sauce-like consistency.

4. Grilled pumpkin in tomato sauce

Layer the grilled pumpkin over the tomato sauce. Sprinkle ground pepper in between the layers.

Put the lid on and simmer on low heat for 5 minutes.

Grilled Pumpkin Slices over Tomato Sauce

Let the pan stand for another 5 minutes to absorb the flavors.

Pumpkin Slices and Tomato Sauce, Cooking in Closed Pan

5. Assemble kaddu borani for serving

Kaddu Borani - Pumpkin Tomato Yogurt Sauce

Take a wide serving plate. Spread at the bottom, the yogurt sauce prepared in step 3.

Layer over the yogurt sauce, the pumpkin and tomato sauce prepared in step 4.

Top with dollops of yogurt sauce.

Finally, garnish with a sprinkling of dried mint, chili flakes and ground pepper.

Kaddu Borani - Pumpkin Tomato Garlic Sauce

Enjoy kaddu borani with any bread such as chapatis or parathas.

Meal below: kaddu borani with ginger lime moong dal, masala bhindi, chapatis.

Kaddu Borani, Ginger Lime Moong, Masala Bhindi

Notes:

Try other pumpkin recipes:

Check out other dishes that use olive oil as starring ingredient:

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