Hünkar Beğendi Recipe
Updated: Feb 22, 2022
(2-4 persons, Preparation: 30 mins, Cooking time: 50 mins)
The Story of the Recipe
Hünkar Beğendi is one of Turkey’s favorite dishes and no wonder it was the sultan’s favorite too. The main ingredients are cubed pieces of meat on a bed of eggplants topped with an exquisite sauce. An ideal candidate for your main course which will leave your guests fully contented. It’s a dish which was inherited from the era of the Sultans and hides a sad love story behind it. Give it a try and you won’t regret it.
Ingredients
200g diced meat of your choice
3 tablespoons of Oro di Milas EVOO
1 onion
1 pepper
1 tomato
About 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
1 and a half to 2 glasses of water
Salt, pepper
3 eggplants
1 cup of milk (you can add more if needed)
1 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon of flour
Half a glass of grated cheddar
Cooking directions
Roast the eggplants in the oven or on the stove after having removed the seeds.
Peel and chop the roasted eggplants.
Fry the oil and flour in a heated pan.
Add the eggplants to the pan and mash well.
Turn the heat down and add the milk to the eggplants by mixing it slowly and well.
Then add the cheddar, mix well and turn off the heat.
In a separate pan heat some olive oil.
When the pan is hot, add the meat and fry until all water is released.
Chop finely the onions and peppers and add them to the mix.
When they're roasted, add the tomato paste and mix it well.
Add the chopped tomatoes.
Add 1 and a half to 2 glasses of water, close the lid and wait until the meat is cooked well.
When the meat is ready add salt and pepper. (You may use a pressure cooker if you think the meat will take long to cook. You may use the meat's broth instead of water to cook it).
Serve the meat on top of the eggplants mix.
Afiyet olsun!