Bamya (Egyptian style okra stew)

I love okra in all its forms, but none more so than in the hearty Egyptian stew bamya. As with a lot of Middle Eastern and North African foods, the recipes are shared throughout the region, but with subtle differences. Bamya in Egypt pretty much always contains meat of some sort, after much trialand error I found that rather than use  meat substitute, using grilled chunks of aubergine work perfectly. Especially when marinated in a sweet and sour vinegary marinade.
As with all my recipes, the amounts are approximations, use more or less liquid depending on how much okra you have.

Ingredients
300g okra
1 large onion 
1 aubergine 
Olive oil
8 garlic cloves
1 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp caraway seeds
2 tablespoons of tomato paste 
200ml of passata 
Margarine or butter (a good sized dollop)

For the marinade
A splash of balsamic vinegar
A splash of regular vinegar
Olive oil
1 tablespoon ground cumin, coriander and caraway seeds
Salt
1 tsp smoked paprika 

1. Cut the aubergine into large cubes and grill on a griddle pan until done, I don't add any oil. If you prefer you could roast the aubergine slices in the oven. You want them to keep a bit of body, so don't overcook
2. While the aubergines are cooking dry roast the cumin, coriander and caraway seeds and then grind in a pestle and mortar or a coffee grinder. (As an aside, this spice combination is known as tabil and is Tunisian in origin, while not strictly used in the Egyptian version, Egyptian cuisine does use coriander and cumin heavily, so as I always have tabil ready made I tend to just use that)
3. Tip the still hot aubergine cubes into a container and add the balsamic vinegar, regular vinegar and spices. Leave for at least an hour
4. Grate the onions, and fry in olive oil with 4 cloves of crushed garlic until golden brown
5. Add the okra and sautee for a few minutes
6. Stir in the spices and tomato paste and then add the passata. Top up with some boiled water if the sauce needs thinning down
7. Bring to the boil, and then simmer on a low heat for around 30 minutes or until the okra is tender
8. Now add the aubergine chunks and cook for another 10 minutes
9. As the bamya simmers, crush the remainder of the garlic and fry with the dried coriander in butter or margarine until golden brown, this is called the takliya and is the finishing touch in many Egyptian dishes
10. Pour the takliya into the bamya taking care not to miss a drop (I usually pour a little of the tomato sauce into the pan that the garlic has been frying in just to catch all of that garlicky goodness)
11. Serve with white rice and a squeeze of lemon joice