Spiced lamb & aubergine skewers
Food writer Helen Graves' spiced lamb and aubergine skewers are oddly satisfying to make. Bunch up the aubergine, thread it onto skewers with juicy lamb meatballs, then lay them over a generous swoosh of thick, cooling yogurt rippled with ready‑made aubergine pickle. Perfect for a barbecue spread, and even better with warm flatbreads or pittas on standby for scooping up every last bit of creamy yogurt and rich lamb juices. Follow Helen Graves on Instagram.
- Makes6
- CourseLunch
- Prepare25 mins
- Cook15 mins
- Total time40 mins
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp sunflower or neutral oil, plus extra for greasing
- 500g lamb mince
- 3 cloves garlic, grated
- 20g ginger, grated
- 3 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 aubergines, sliced very thinly lengthways
- 250g strained Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp Patak's Aubergine Pickle
- 2 limes, juice of 1, 1 cut into wedges
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Method
Prepare the barbecue for cooking with the coals banked to one side. Once lit, use a piece of oiled kitchen paper and tongs to oil the grill bars and prevent food from sticking.
In a bowl, combine the lamb, garlic, ginger, 2 tsp garam masala and the remaining spices with a pinch of salt and mix well with your hands for a few minutes (this will help it stick to the skewer). Divide into 18 golf ball- sized meatballs (just under 30g each).
Toss the aubergine slices with the sunflower oil, the remaining 1 tsp garam masala and a pinch of salt. Fold an aubergine slice to bunch it up like a caterpillar, then thread onto a metal skewer, followed by a lamb meatball. Repeat with another 2 slices of aubergine and 2 meatballs. Repeat with another 5 skewers. Cook directly over the coals for a few minutes on each side, or until lightly charred, cooked through and no pink meat remains, moving the skewers to the cooler side of the barbecue if the fat drips and the fire starts to flare up.
Meanwhile, mix the yogurt with a pinch of salt and spread onto a platter. Ripple 1 tbsp of the pickle through the yogurt. Mix the remaining 1 tbsp with the lime juice and olive oil. Serve the lamb kebabs on the yogurt with the pickle and lime juice mixture brushed over them, plus the extra lime wedges.
Nutritional
Typical values per skewer when made using specific products in recipe
Energy | 1,503kJ/ 362kcals |
|---|---|
Fat | 28g |
Saturated Fat | 12g |
Carbohydrates | 6.8g |
Sugars | 5.7g |
Fibre | 2.7g |
Protein | 18g |
Salt | 0.8g |