Tepsi Baytinijan

Method

1. Trim 1 medium aubergine and cut it across into rounds a good 1 cm thick. Lay them out on a tray, sprinkle with 0.25 tsp of the salt and leave to weep for 20 minutes, then press each slice dry with kitchen paper — wet aubergine will spit and drink oil.
2. Meanwhile make the kufta: put 100 g of minced beef in a bowl with 25 g of the onion, coarsely grated, the crushed garlic, 1 tbsp of chopped parsley, 0.5 tsp of baharat, 0.25 tsp of salt and 0.25 tsp of black pepper. Knead hard with wet hands for 2 minutes until the mixture turns sticky and pasty, then shape into 6 flat patties the width of the aubergine slices.
3. Pour the sunflower oil into a small deep pan to a depth of about 4 cm and bring it to 180C. Fry the aubergine in batches for 3-4 minutes a side until deep golden and collapsing, and lift onto kitchen paper. Slice 1 small potato into 5 mm rounds and fry 4 minutes until golden but not fully soft. Finally fry the patties about 2 minutes a side just to colour them; they finish cooking in the oven.
4. Heat the oven to 200C. Slice 1 medium tomato into 5 mm rounds and cut the remaining 25 g of onion into thin rings.