Sultan's Delight (Hunkar Begendi)

Sultan's Delight (Hunkar Begendi)
07 May 2024

Sultan’s Delight is a special dish prepared with roasted eggplant, lamb, milk, and flour that has successfully passed down from the Ottoman Palace Cuisine to the present day. Today, it is identified with the Southeastern Anatolia Region. There are many rumors about how it originated.

Sultan’s Delight calorie information: Sultan’s Delight with meat has an average of 175 calories in a 100-gram portion (64% fat, 24% protein, 12% carbohydrate).

Prep Time : 20 mins
Cook time : 30 mins
Servings : 6 People
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Sultan's Delight (Hunkar Begendi)

Ingredients

For the meaty part:

  • 4 full tablespoons (100 ml) oil
  • 2 onions
  • 1 kg boneless diced lamb rump meat
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 bell pepper
  • 2 tomatoes
  • 2 teaspoon tomato paste
  • 3 pinches of salt
  • 1 pinch of black pepper
  • 3 glasses of water

For the eggplant 'delight' part:

  • 100 ml oil
  • 3 tablespoons of flour
  • 1.5 kg eggplant
  • 1 cup grated fresh cheddar cheese
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 1 pinch of grated nutmeg
  • 2.5 glasses of warm milk
Sultan's Delight (Hunkar Begendi)

Instructions

  1. First, finely mince the garlic and coarsely chop the peppers. Then dice the onions and sauté them in the pan until the oil is cooked.
  2. Add the meat to the onions. Cook over medium heat until it releases its water and absorbs it again.
  3. First, add the garlic, then add the chopped peppers to the pot. Peel the tomatoes, remove the seeds, cut them into cubes, and add them to the cooked meat.
  4. Add tomato paste, salt, black pepper, and 3 cups of water to the pot, mix well, and turn the heat down after boiling. Cover the pot and cook for 1 hour.
  5. For the eggplant part, add the oil and flour to the pot, stir over slow heat until it turns golden, and take it off the stove.
  6. Poke the eggplants with a toothpick and cook them directly on the fire. When the eggplants are cooked well on the outside, peel them and add them to the flour mixture in the pot.
  7. Turn the heat back on, mash the mixture over a slow fire, and mix everything well. Add the cheddar, salt, grated muscat, and warm milk; cook for 2 more minutes, then take it off the stove.
  8. Add the spices and set aside to rest.
  9. Pour the eggplant 'delight' on the service plate. Place the meat on it, and serve. Enjoy your meal.
Serving Suggestions

Put the eggplant ‘delight’ on the serving plate first, then the meat. You can prepare rice with garnishes and haydari with Sultan’s Delight.

Expert Tips
  • To increase the flavor of the eggplant, you can try roasting it in the oven. Before you start roasting the eggplants, you can keep them in oily garlic and lemon slices to make them aromatic.
  • Add the milk while stringing and slowly. If you want, you can boil the milk in advance and add bay leaves.
  • Make sure that the vegetables you will use in the recipe are chopped small. In this way, you will see that the vegetable flavor blends better into the dish.
  • For vegetable dishes such as eggplant, roasting will always give better results. This technique, which enhances the flavor of the vegetables, also allows the recipe to be made in a shorter time.
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