Eggplant with meatballs Curry

Ingredients

• 10,5 oz (300 g) beef mince
• 1 small yellow onion
• 2 medium garlic cloves
• 1 tsp garlic paste
• 1 small eggplant, diced
• 2 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
• 1 tbsp madras curry powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tbsp yogurt
• a handful fresh mint, chopped
• vegetable oil
• nutmeg
• pepper
• salt

Instructions

1. Transfer the beef to a large mixing bowl and season with the garlic paste and a good sprinkle of pepper, nutmeg and salt. Add half of the cinnamon, a teaspoon of curry powder and a teaspoon of freshly grated ginger.
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3. Knead the mince well. Taste a bit of the mince and add extra pepper or salt to taste if necessary. After that roll the seasoned beef mince into even balls, each about 1 oz (30 g) in weight. You should end up with 8 meatballs.
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5. Pour a little vegetable oil in a large non-stick pan and place it over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the meatballs.
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7. Bake them on all sides until golden for 5 to 6 minutes.
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9. Transfer the baked meatballs to a clean plate and cover them with tinfoil. Peel and chop the onion and garlic cloves. Add them to the hot pan (don’t remove the burnt bits from the meatballs - this will give extra flavor to your sauce).
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11. Gently cook the onion and garlic over medium heat for 5 minutes until lightly browned. Dice the eggplant up and add it to the pan.
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13. Stir well, add a little splash of water and cook the eggplant and onion for 5 minutes. Then add the bay leaf, the tomato paste, the rest of the grated ginger, cinnamon,curry and the cumin seeds. Season with a pinch of pepper, nutmeg and salt.
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15. Stir the eggplant well and add ½ cup (120 ml) of water to the pan. Bring this to a good boil and simmer the eggplant sauce 7 minutes until soft. Then add the browned meatballs again.
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17. Stir and cook for another 8 minutes until the meatballs are cooked through. Add extra water if necessary. In the end add the yogurt and half of the chopped mint.
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19. Check the seasoning. Add extra pepper or salt to taste if necessary. Transfer the eggplant curry and meatballs onto warm deep plates. Sprinkle with the remaining chopped mint. Serve hot.

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