Hünkar Beğendi (The Sultan’s Delight) – Turkish lamb stew with an eggplant/bechamel sauce.
Hünkar Beğendi (The Sultan’s Delight) – Turkish lamb stew with an eggplant/bechamel sauce.
by PopcornDemonica
1 Comment
PopcornDemonica
**Hünkar Beğendi (The Sultan’s Delight)**
Apparently this is a few hundred years old. I don’t know how authentic it was once I tweaked it, but still delicious.
Servings: 6
​
**Ingredients**
**The Lamb Stew**
• 900 g leg of lamb diced (or if you prefer, chuck the whole lump in the slow cooker and pull apart later)
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 1 tsp mild chilli powder
• ½ tsp salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 medium onions halved then sliced
• 1 green capsicum bell pepper, halved, then sliced in 1cm/half in strips
• 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 4 medium tomatoes roughly chopped, about 2.5cm/1 in (or a tin of diced tomatoes if you feel lazy)
• 2 Tbsp sundried tomato paste
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 500 ml chicken stock
**Beğendi (eggplant/bechamel sauce)**
• 4 medium aubergines eggplants
• 3 Tbsp butter
• 3 Tbsp flour
• 500 ml whole milk
• 30 g parmesan cheese grated
• 30 g medium cheddar grated
• salt and pepper
• 1 large handful fresh parsley chopped
​
**Instructions**
**- Slow cooker tweak (is just for the lamb stew):**
**- Dice and brown the meat (cover with flour and chilli), or brown it as a massive lump and throw the whole thing in, in order to pull apart later (and just throw in the chilli).**
**- Chuck everything in the slow cooker and cook as depending on your cooker. I went for 6 hours on low, but my old slow cooker would have been 4 hours on high. You know your machine.**
*- You’ll still need to do the eggplant/aubergines and the bechamel sauce as per the original recipe*
​
**Eggplants/aubergines.**
• Place the aubergines over an open flame on a metal trivet and roast for about 15 – 20 minutes, turning from time to time, until the skin looks burnt and the aubergines are soft to the touch. You could also just place a sheet of foil over the gas flame, instead of a trivet. Leave to cool.
**Let’s make the Beğendi.**
• When the eggplants/aubergines are cool, scrape out the soft pulp and place in a chopper. Throw away the skins (or not. I didn’t).
• Chop or blend to a smooth purée and set aside.
• Now, let’s make some Bechamel Sauce. Melt the butter in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat.
• Add the flour and whisk with a small whisk or wooden spoon for 2 minutes until the roux has thickened, is bubbling and gives off a lovely cooked aroma.
• Slowly, add the milk, whisking continuously. Be careful, the first drip will splutter.
• Cook the bechamel sauce for 4 – 5 minutes until it thickens to the consistency of custard.
• Take it off the heat and stir in both cheeses until they melt. Shouldn’t take more than a minute.
• Now, stir in the aubergine purée, a pinch of salt and some freshly ground black pepper until it’s all completely mixed in and you have a beautiful aubergine cheese sauce. Check the salt and add more if necessary.
• Stir in half the chopped parsley.
**To Serve**
• You have 2 choices: serve the whole lot in a large platter or divide everything into individual plates. Whatever you go with, pour the smoky aubergine sauce onto a plate and top with the lamb stew.
• Scatter with the other half of the parsley and serve with plenty of bread.
1 Comment
**Hünkar Beğendi (The Sultan’s Delight)**
Apparently this is a few hundred years old. I don’t know how authentic it was once I tweaked it, but still delicious.
Servings: 6
​
**Ingredients**
**The Lamb Stew**
• 900 g leg of lamb diced (or if you prefer, chuck the whole lump in the slow cooker and pull apart later)
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 1 tsp mild chilli powder
• ½ tsp salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 medium onions halved then sliced
• 1 green capsicum bell pepper, halved, then sliced in 1cm/half in strips
• 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 4 medium tomatoes roughly chopped, about 2.5cm/1 in (or a tin of diced tomatoes if you feel lazy)
• 2 Tbsp sundried tomato paste
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 500 ml chicken stock
**Beğendi (eggplant/bechamel sauce)**
• 4 medium aubergines eggplants
• 3 Tbsp butter
• 3 Tbsp flour
• 500 ml whole milk
• 30 g parmesan cheese grated
• 30 g medium cheddar grated
• salt and pepper
• 1 large handful fresh parsley chopped
​
**Instructions**
**- Slow cooker tweak (is just for the lamb stew):**
**- Dice and brown the meat (cover with flour and chilli), or brown it as a massive lump and throw the whole thing in, in order to pull apart later (and just throw in the chilli).**
**- Chuck everything in the slow cooker and cook as depending on your cooker. I went for 6 hours on low, but my old slow cooker would have been 4 hours on high. You know your machine.**
*- You’ll still need to do the eggplant/aubergines and the bechamel sauce as per the original recipe*
​
**Eggplants/aubergines.**
• Place the aubergines over an open flame on a metal trivet and roast for about 15 – 20 minutes, turning from time to time, until the skin looks burnt and the aubergines are soft to the touch. You could also just place a sheet of foil over the gas flame, instead of a trivet. Leave to cool.
**Let’s make the Beğendi.**
• When the eggplants/aubergines are cool, scrape out the soft pulp and place in a chopper. Throw away the skins (or not. I didn’t).
• Chop or blend to a smooth purée and set aside.
• Now, let’s make some Bechamel Sauce. Melt the butter in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat.
• Add the flour and whisk with a small whisk or wooden spoon for 2 minutes until the roux has thickened, is bubbling and gives off a lovely cooked aroma.
• Slowly, add the milk, whisking continuously. Be careful, the first drip will splutter.
• Cook the bechamel sauce for 4 – 5 minutes until it thickens to the consistency of custard.
• Take it off the heat and stir in both cheeses until they melt. Shouldn’t take more than a minute.
• Now, stir in the aubergine purée, a pinch of salt and some freshly ground black pepper until it’s all completely mixed in and you have a beautiful aubergine cheese sauce. Check the salt and add more if necessary.
• Stir in half the chopped parsley.
**To Serve**
• You have 2 choices: serve the whole lot in a large platter or divide everything into individual plates. Whatever you go with, pour the smoky aubergine sauce onto a plate and top with the lamb stew.
• Scatter with the other half of the parsley and serve with plenty of bread.
Link to original (non slow cooker): [https://www.linsfood.com/hunkar-begendi-sultans-delight/](https://www.linsfood.com/hunkar-begendi-sultans-delight/)