🍆 Hünkar beğendi

Name: Hünkar beğendi
Total time: 100 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Turkey · Istanbul
Ingredients: 600 g lamb shoulder, cubed; 1 onion, chopped; 2 tomatoes, grated, 1 tbsp tomato paste; 4 large eggplants; 300 ml milk; 30 g butter; 2 tbsp flour; 60 g grated cheese; 1 tbsp vegetable oil, salt, pepper

Origin: Turkey · Istanbul

665kcal

per serving · 350 g

190kcal

per 100 g

32 gProtein9 g / 100 g

46 gFat13 g / 100 g

35 gCarbs10 g / 100 g

Hünkar beğendi, “the sultan liked it”, is a stew of tender braised lamb served on a smooth purée of smoky, flame-roasted eggplant. The purée is enriched with milk, butter and cheese until it is creamy like a béchamel. The savoury lamb in tomato sauce and the silky smoked eggplant are served together as a main course.

Diets

✓

No porkfor halal, the meat must be halal-slaughtered

✓

Low-carb10 g carbs per 100 g

Not vegetarianbecause of: lamb

Not veganbecause of: lamb, cheese, milk, butter

Contains glutenno wheat, barley or rye in a typical recipe

Contains dairybecause of: cheese, milk, butter

Allergens

Contains (in a typical recipe):

⚠ Gluten ⚠ Milk

What it is made of

lambeggplantcheesemilkbutter

Recipe

4 servings100 min

Ingredients

600 g lamb shoulder, cubed
1 onion, chopped
2 tomatoes, grated, 1 tbsp tomato paste
4 large eggplants
300 ml milk
30 g butter
2 tbsp flour
60 g grated cheese
1 tbsp vegetable oil, salt, pepper

Method

Brown the lamb in the oil, add the onion, then the tomatoes, tomato paste, salt and a cup of water. Cover and simmer for about 1 hour until tender.
Roast the eggplants directly over a flame or under a hot grill until charred and soft. Peel and chop the flesh finely.
Melt the butter, stir in the flour for 1 minute, then whisk in the milk and cook until thick.
Stir the eggplant and cheese into the sauce and season.
Spread the eggplant purée on plates and spoon the lamb and its sauce on top.

How to make it lighter

Use lean lamb leg and skim the fat from the sauce.
Halve the butter and cheese in the purée; the smoky eggplant keeps it flavourful.
Serve with a green salad rather than rice or bread.

History

The name means roughly “the sovereign liked it”. It is a classic of Ottoman palace-style cooking, and a popular story links it to the visit of the French empress Eugénie to Istanbul in 1869, though this cannot be confirmed. Today it is a fixture of traditional Turkish restaurants.

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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →