Ingredients
675g minced lamb or beef
1 onion finely chopped or grated
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
A pinch of chilli powder, or to taste
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Vegetable oil for shallow frying
6 eggs
Salt and pepper

For the Tomato Sauce
2 onions chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
675g tomatoes, roughly chopped
1-2 teaspoons sugar, to taste
1 small chilli, seeded and chopped
3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
3 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander
Salt


Method
First make the sauce, using a large, frying pan that you can bring to the table. Fry the onion in the oil until soft, then stir in the garlic. Add the tomatoes, sugar, the chilli and some salt. Mix well, and simmer for 20 minutes, until the sauce has reduced and thickened. If it thickens too much, just add a little water or dry white wine to allow the tomatoes to cook well.

Meanwhile, make the meatballs. Mix the mince meat, onions, parsley, spices and some salt and pepper and gently knead to a soft paste with your hands.

Rub your hands in some oil so the meat doesn’t stick, then roll the mixture into balls (anything from marble to walnut size) and place them side by side on a plate.

Heat a thin layer of vegetable oil in a pan and fry the meatballs briefly in it in batches, shaking the pan and turning the meatballs to brown them all over. They should still be pink inside. Lift out with a slotted spoon and leave to drain on kitchen paper.

If you are preparing things in advance, at this stage you can put the recipe on hold in the fridge and only precede when you are nearly ready to serve.

Add the parsley and coriander to the tomato sauce, put in the meatballs and simmer for about 5 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through.

Break the eggs over the sauce and simmer gently until the whites have set. Serve immediately


Variation To turn this recipe into an awesome pasta sauce, leave out the eggs and double the tomato sauce.