• 4 medium eggplants (about 2.5lbs), halved lengthways
  • 6 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1.5 tablespoons sweet paprika
  • 1.5 tablespoons ground cinnamon
  • 2 medium onions (340g in total), finely chopped
  • 1lb ground lamb
  • 7 teaspoons pine nuts
  • 2/3oz (20g) flat-leaf parsley, chopped
  • 2 teaspoons tomato purée
  • 3 teaspoons caster sugar
  • 2/3 cup water
  • 1.5 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon tamarind paste
  • 4 cinnamon sticks
  • Salt and black pepper

 

Roast the Eggplants
Preheat the oven to 425F. Place the eggplant halves, skin-side down, in a roasting pan large enough to accommodate them snugly. Brush the flesh with 4 tablespoons of the olive oil and season with 1 teaspoon of salt and plenty of black pepper. Roast for about 20 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.

Make the stuffing
While the eggplants are cooking, you can start making the stuffing by heating the remaining olive oil in a large frying pan. Mix the cumin, paprika and ground cinnamon and add half of this spice mix to the pan, along with the onion. Cook on a medium-high heat for about 8 minutes, stirring often, before adding the lamb, pine nuts, parsley, tomato purée, 1 teaspoon of the sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt and some black pepper. Continue to cook and stir for another 8 minutes, until the meat is cooked. Place the remaining spice mix in a bowl and add the water, lemon juice, tamarind, remaining sugar, cinnamon sticks and half a teaspoon of salt; mix well.

Bake the eggplants
Reduce the oven temperature to 375F. Pour the spice mix into the bottom of the eggplant roasting pan. Spoon the lamb mixture on top of each eggplant. Cover the tin tightly with foil, return to the oven and roast for 1 hour 30 minutes, by which point the eggplants should be completely soft and the sauce thick; twice through the cooking, remove the foil and baste the eggplants with the sauce, adding some water if the sauce dries out. Serve warm, not hot, or at room temperature.