Aubergine koftas in tomato and spinach sauce

You'll need a food processor for this. Don't skimp on the aubergines' cooking time - they need to be fairly dry so the koftas hold together - so, for many, this will be a weekend dish, They freeze well, though,, and can be made without the sauce, so you can double amounts and freeze half for another day.

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Step 1

Heat four tablespoons of oil in a large, wide, nonstick pan. When very hot, add the aubergine and cook, stirring often, for 15 minutes, until soft and browning. Add half the garlic, cook for two minutes, then stir in the cinnamon, pepper, cumin, tomato pure, breadcrumbs and a teaspoon and a quarter of salt. Cook for two minutes more, turn off the heat and leave to cool. Once cool, blitz in a food processor and rinse out the pan. Use your hands to roll the mix into 16 koftas (about 35g each) and put on a plate. Heat two tablespoons of oil in the same pan and, once hot, lay in eight koftas, spacing them well apart. Leave undisturbed for a few minutes, until the bottom is crisp, then use a fish slice to lever them off the pan, flip and cook until crisp and burnished mahogany all over (eight minutes in all). Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining koftas. Set aside while you make the sauce. Heat three tablespoons of oil in the same pan on a low to medium heat and, once hot, add the rest of the garlic and cook for three minutes, until sticky and golden. Add the passata and 200ml water, and cook for 15 minutes, until jammy and thick. Add the chilli, garam masala and a teaspoon of salt, cook for five minutes, then add the spinach handful by handful and stir to wilt. Turn down the heat to a whisper, pop the koftas into the sauce and leave to warm through gently. Serve with naan for dipping and scooping.