Classic Hunkar Begendi with Lamb

The thid “Hunkar” story goes like this: the dish was served to Empress Eugenie, wife of Napolean II, on a visit to Istanbul in the 1860’s. Sultan Abdul Aziz I was eager to please and he ordered the kitchen staff to prepare the best of Ottoman cuisine to the Empress. Eugenie was delighted! She sent one of her own French chefs into the kitchen to retrieve the recipe. The Sultan’s chef through out the Frenchman with the words, “an imperial chef cooks with his feelings, his eyes and his nose. Somebody must have “sung” as the recipe is now a Turkish fave found in restaurants throughout Turkey! The thid “Hunkar” story goes like this: the dish was served to Empress Eugenie, wife of Napolean II, on a visit to Istanbul in the 1860’s. Sultan Abdul Aziz I was eager to please and he ordered the kitchen staff to prepare the best of Ottoman cuisine to the Empress. Eugenie was delighted! She sent one of her own French chefs into the kitchen to retrieve the recipe. The Sultan’s chef through out the Frenchman with the words, “an imperial chef cooks with his feelings, his eyes and his nose. Somebody must have “sung” as the recipe is now a Turkish fave found in restaurants throughout Turkey!

Key points to remember for this dish is to char/blacken your eggplants on a gas or charcoal grill or open flame on a gas stove. It’s imperative to get that smoky flavour in the eggplant. Second, in-season ripe tomatoes work best but canned or jarred tomatoes will work well. Finally

Approx. 2lbs. of lamb meat (preferably shoulder)

¼ cup olive oil or butter

1 large onion, thinly sliced

½ cup diced green pepper

3 to 4 cloves of garlic, minced

2 to 3 bay leaves

6 to 7 whole allspice berries

2 Tbsp. Turkish red pepper paste (Biber Salcasi)*

2 tsp. of fresh thyme leaves

2 Tbsp. chopped parsley

2 cups plum tomatoes, hand crushed (or ripe tomatoes, passed though box grater)

2 cups hot water or stock

salt and pepper to taste

subheading: Smoked Eggplant Purée:

2 large eggplants (or 4 Tsakonikes or long-slender Japanese)

½ cup grated Kefalotyri or Romano cheese

2 heaping Tbsp. of cream cheese

2 Tbsp. of butter

2 Tbsp. of all-purpose flour

2 cups of milk

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup of chopped fresh chives or scallion greens

fresh ground pepper & salt to taste

subheading: Garnishes:

roasted cherry tomatoes and fried hot green peppers

Directions at kalofagas.ca

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