Hünkâr Begendi
This dish is uniquely Turkish, and was developed in the Ottoman palace kitchens. A current legend surrounding the name of the dish, which means “sultan’s delight,” places it in 1869, when the Sultan Abdul Aziz entertained Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III, in his white rococo palace of Beylerbey, on the Asian side of the Bosporus. The Empress was ecstatic about the creamy eggplant sauce which served as the bed for a stew and asked for the recipe to be sent to her cooks. The Sultan’s cook explained that he could not give the recipe, because he “cooked with his eyes.” Serve it with rice.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 6
Ingredients
For the Stew
For the Eggplant Cream Sauce
Preparation
Step 1
For the lamb stew, fry the onion in the oil until soft. Add the meat and garlic and cook, turning the meat, until lightly browned all over. Add the tomatoes, sugar, salt, and pepper. Cover with water and simmer, with the lid on, for 1–1 1/2 hours, until the meat is very tender, adding water if it becomes dry, and letting the liquid reduce at the end.
Step 2
For the sauce, prick the eggplants with a pointed knife so that they do not burst in cooking. Put them on a sheet of foil on a baking sheet and roast them in the hottest oven for about 1/2 hour, turning them on their side (not right over) until they feel very soft when you press them. Peel carefully. Then drop them in a bowl of water with the lemon juice and leave for 15 minutes, to keep their flesh white.
Step 3
Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the flour, and stir over very low heat for about 2 minutes, until well blended. Remove from the heat and add the milk gradually, beating vigorously all the time. Season with salt and white pepper, add nutmeg, if you like, and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for about 15 minutes, until the milk sauce thickens.
Step 4
Drain the eggplants in a colander and press out as much of the water and juices as possible. Chop them with a pointed knife in the colander, then mash them with a fork. Mix with the milk sauce, beating vigorously until well blended. Return to the heat, add the grated cheese, stir until melted, taste, and add salt and pepper. (The traditional way is to add the eggplants first, before the milk, but I find it easier to make the béchamel-type sauce first and then incorporate the eggplant.)
Step 5
Serve the stew with the eggplant cream sauce in a ring around it.
