Today's recipe Hünkârbeğendi or hunkar begendi, is a classic Turkish dish, going back to Ottoman cuisine. In 1867, when Sultan Abdulaziz visited France, he, in return, invited Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie of France to Istanbul. The empress also brought her chef cook with her while visiting Istanbul.
In Istanbul, the Sultan ordered his best chefs to create a special dish. The French cook started cooking with the Turkish cooks in the palace kitchen and as he was preparing the bechamel sauce, the Turkish cook was roasting some eggplants. He was also very interested in the sauce the French cook was preparing. All of a sudden he came up with the idea that if two were mixed, the combination would have a great taste. This new recipe was now the Sultan's favorite. The dish was thus named as ‘Hünkar beğendi’ (‘the Sultan liked it’) and served to the Empress.
Made with bechamel mixed with smoked eggplant and topped with lamb stew with a tomato & onion gravy. The eggplant bechamel is simply called "Begendi" in Turkish cuisine and can be paired with a variety of meat, such as chicken, lamb or beef.
Let's see how this delicious dish is prepared and hope you enjoy the video and the recipe!
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Hunkar Begendi
Ingredients:
• 500 g lamb
• 1 kg eggplants
• 3 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1.5 cup milk
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tomatoes
• 500 ml hot water
• 150 g shredded kasar cheese (alternatively: mozzarella or gruyere)
• Salt to taste
• 2 tsp black pepper
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