Ingredients
| FOR THE BURGERS | |
| 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, roughly chopped | |
| 1 red onion, roughly chop half and reserve the other half to serve | |
| 3 cloves garlic | |
| 1⁄2 teaspoon salt | |
| 1 teaspoon turmeric | |
| 1 teaspoon cumin seeds | |
| 1 teaspoon garam masala | |
| 1 tablespoon curry powder | |
| 1 green chilli, roughly chopped | |
| 2 cups fresh coriander, plus extra to serve | |
| 600g lamb mince | |
| 1 large eggplant | |
| 1⁄4 cup olive oil | |
| 4-6 brioche burger buns or Indian flatbread | |
| mayo raita (recipe follows) | |
| tomato kasundi (recipe follows) | |
| 2 tomatoes, to serve | |
| 2 cups baby spinach, to serve | |
| 1 avocado, sliced, (optional), to serve | |
| FOR THE MAYO RAITA | |
| 1 small cucumber, grated | |
| 1⁄4 teaspoon salt | |
| 1⁄2 cup Greek natural yoghurt | |
| 1⁄2 cup good-quality mayonnaise (I use Best Foods) | |
| 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cumin | |
| 1⁄2 teaspoon ground coriander | |
| 1⁄4 cup mint leaves, finely chopped | |
| 1⁄4 cup coriander leaves | |
| FOR THE TOMATO KASUNDI | |
| 1 teaspoon salt | |
| 5 cloves garlic, crushed | |
| 1 large thumb-sized piece of ginger | |
| 2 teaspoons ground coriander | |
| 2 red chillies, deseeded | |
| 1 onion, roughly chopped | |
| 2 tablespoons olive oil | |
| 2 tablespoons black mustard seeds | |
| 1 tablespoon cumin seeds | |
| 1 & 1⁄2kg tomatoes, skinned and roughly chopped | |
| 1 tablespoon turmeric | |
| 1⁄4 teaspoon ground cloves | |
| 3⁄4 cup brown sugar | |
| 2 tablespoons tomato paste | |
| 1⁄3 cup cider vinegar |
 
Instructions
| 1. | Line an oven tray with baking paper. |
| 2. | Put the ginger, half of the red onion, garlic, salt, spices, and chilli in a food processor and whizz to a chunky paste. |
| 3. | Add half of the coriander and whizz again until it is chopped through. |
| 4. | Put the mince in a large bowl and tip in the spice paste. |
| 5. | Use your hands to mix well, then form into 4 mammoth or 6 small patties. |
| 6. | Put the patties on the prepared tray and use your thumb to make a small dent in the centre of each patty (this will help to prevent patty-shrinkage). |
| 7. | Cover the patties and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight. |
| 8. | Slice the eggplant into 1.5cm rounds and heat half of the olive oil in a large frying pan. |
| 9. | Heat the oven grill to medium. |
| 10. | Fry the eggplant slices in batches for 2-3 minutes each side, until cooked through and soft. |
| 11. | Set aside. |
| 12. | Heat the remaining oil and cook the patties for 4-5 minutes each side until cooked through. |
| 13. | While they are cooking, grill the burger buns and serve the burgers piled with mayo raita, tomato kasundi, tomatoes, spinach, onion rings, coriander and avocado (if using). |
| 14. | FOR THE MAYO RAITA |
| 15. | Put the grated cucumber in a sieve, sprinkle with salt and leave to drain for half an hour. |
| 16. | Whisk the yoghurt and mayo together with the cumin and coriander in a large bowl. |
| 17. | Stir in the fresh herbs and refrigerate in a sealed container until ready to use. |
| 18. | This can be prepared up to 3 hours ahead. |
| 19. | FOR THE TOMATO KASUNDI |
| 20. | Put the salt, garlic, ginger, coriander, chillies and onion in a food processor and whizz to a paste. |
| 21. | Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot and add the mustard and cumin seeds. |
| 22. | Cook for 2-3 minutes until they start popping then add the ginger and onion paste. |
| 23. | Cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes then add the tomatoes, turmeric, ground cloves, sugar, tomato paste and vinegar. |
| 24. | Stir to combine and bring to a simmer. |
| 25. | Cook uncovered for 90 minutes then transfer to sterilised jars and refrigerate until ready to use. |
| 26. | It will keep for at least 3 weeks in the fridge |
Recipes, food styling & photography Sarah Tuck
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