"This recipe came from our neighbour Mona, who grew up in Hama in Syria, her childhood home built along the river. A wonderful cook, she would make this layered dish whenever she came to one of our gatherings. It has lived on in our spreads ever since." - Karima Hazim Chatila & Siline Tabbouch

“We use aubergine (eggplant) in all manner of recipes. It is a wonderful vegetable when it’s roasted, charred, and smoky, and we all know how fantastic baba ghanouj is. This recipe works as a starter or as part of a shared table and it screams summer…

We love the layered flavours you get in an Indian curry, especially when they skew sweet-sour. Which they do here, thanks to jaggery, tomatoes and – yum! – tamarind paste. There are a few steps to making this but none are hard. It’s a perfect Sunday cooking project and you can make extras and freeze them for during the week too…