“Porcupine” Meatballs with Eggplants and Tomatoes

Adding rice to meatballs is an old tradition, which can be found in many cuisines around the world. The “porcupine” version is also known in quite a few of them, especially in the Persian and Chinese cuisines.
However, in many of these versions the whimsical “porcupine” effect, i.e. the rice grains protruding noticeably, is not always as pronounced as you can see here.