Hünkar Beğendi A Classic Turkish Recipes

HüNKAR BEğENDI RECIPE - SULTAN'S DELIGHT

Steps:

• Melt your butter over a medium heat in large saucepan.
• Now add your lamb and stir it round until it starts to brown.
• Once your lamb is browned all over, add your onion and garlic and stir.
• Cook for 5 minutes or so, until your onion starts to sweat.
• Now add your chopped tomatoes, tomato paste (salça) and one cup of hot water.
• Stir everything together.
• Add your thyme/oregano (kekik), salt & pepper and stir.
• Once your stew is simmering, put a lid on the pan and turn the heat to low.
• Simmer your stew for around 1 hour, until the lamb has softened and your sauce has thickened.
• Remove from the heat and make your 'beğendi' puree...
• Preheat your oven to 240 degrees.
• Prick your aubergines with a sharp knife and place on a baking tray in the centre of the oven.
• Bake the aubergines until they are soft to touch (around 15-20 minutes).
• Remove from the oven and leave them to cool.
• Once cooled, make a slit along the length of each aubergine.
• Scrape out the pulp with a teaspoon.
• Discard the skins and as many of the seeds as possible.
• Chop up the pulp.
• Now melt your butter in a saucepan over a medium heat.
• Once melted, gradually add your flour, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon.
• After you've added all your flour, your mixture will be relatively solid and now you can start to add your milk.
• Add your milk a little at a time, again, stirring continuously so that the mixture remains smooth.
• Keep going until you have used up all of your milk and you have a smooth, milky mixture.
• Keep stirring and after a couple of minutes, you will notice the sauce start to thicken.
• Once the sauce has started to thicken, add your aubergine. Keep stirring, gently.
• Now add your grated cheese and keep stirring until your 'beğendi' sauce has thickened enough to make a suitable nest for your lamb.
• To serve, share the beğendi sauce between your plates, making a little nest in the centre of each.
• Now spoon the lamb stew into the nest and allow the sauces to run over the aubergine puree.
• Sprinkle the parsley over the lamb and serve up your Sultan's Delight.