Badimjan Dolmasi

Wash the eggplants, make a lengthwise slit in each without cutting all the way through, sprinkle with salt and set aside for 30 minutes. Rinse off the salt, drop the eggplants into boiling water and blanch for 2 minutes, then pat dry.

Cut the tops off the sweet peppers, keeping them as lids, and remove the seeds and membranes. Cut the tops off the tomatoes, scoop out the flesh with a spoon, finely chop it and set aside for the filling.

Melt 15 g of ghee in a wide frying pan. Add the ground lamb and cook, stirring, until the liquid has evaporated. Add the finely chopped onion and cook for another 5 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.

Add half of the chopped tomato flesh to the meat along with the chopped basil, cilantro and cinnamon. Stir, warm through for 5 minutes and remove from the heat; let the filling cool for 5 minutes.

Fill the eggplants through the slit, and stuff the peppers and tomatoes with the filling, without packing it right to the edges. Cover the peppers and tomatoes with their cut-off tops.

Arrange the vegetables tightly, cut side up, in a wide pot or deep frying pan. Dot with the remaining ghee, pour water around the vegetables, cover with a lid and simmer over low heat for 50 minutes, until the vegetables are tender but not falling apart.

Mix plain yogurt with crushed garlic. Let the dolma rest for 10 minutes, spoon over the juices from the pot and serve with the garlic yogurt.