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Turkish

Hünkar beğendi (lamb on smoky aubergine purée)

Non-vegetarian

Hünkar beğendi

A rich tomato-braised lamb stew spooned over beğendi — a silky purée of flame-charred aubergine folded into a cheesy béchamel.

Hünkar beğendi (lamb on smoky aubergine purée) is a Turkish main course from Türkiye, ready in about 2 hours 5 minutes and made with lamb shoulder and eggplant. It serves 6 and is rated intermediate to cook.

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Hünkar beğendi: lamb stew on smoky aubergine purée with grilled pepper
Photo: E4024 / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-4.0
Prep
25 min
Cook
1 h 40 min
Total
2 h 5 min
Serves
6
Level
Intermediate
Calories
577

Ingredients

6 servings

Lamb

Beğendi

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Brown the lamb in the butter (opens in a new tab) and oil over high heat. Add the onion (opens in a new tab), garlic (opens in a new tab) and pepper (opens in a new tab) and cook until soft, then stir in the tomato paste (opens in a new tab), grated tomatoes (opens in a new tab), hot water, salt and pepper.

    Meat searing in a hot pan
    How it looks · Photo: Skylar Kang on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Cover and simmer gently for about 1¼ hours until the lamb is very tender and the sauce thick.

    • 75 min
    • low heat

    Food safety: Lamb should be tender and cooked through.

    A curry simmering in a pot
    How it looks · Photo: Bachir Mamud on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Meanwhile char the aubergines (opens in a new tab) directly over a high gas flame or on a hot grill, turning, until collapsed and blackened all over. Peel, drop the flesh into water with the lemon juice (opens in a new tab) for a few minutes, then squeeze dry and chop finely.

    Food cooking over a grill
    How it looks · Photo: Malte Luk on Pexels

  4. Step 4

    Melt the butter (opens in a new tab), stir in the flour for 2 minutes, then whisk (opens in a new tab) in the warm milk (opens in a new tab) until thick. Beat in the aubergine (opens in a new tab), cheese, nutmeg (opens in a new tab) and salt and cook a few minutes until smooth and creamy.

  5. Step 5

    Spread the beğendi on plates and spoon the lamb and its sauce into the centre.

    • 2 min

About this dish

Origin
Istanbul, Türkiye · Commonly attributedA classic of Ottoman palace cuisine.More food from Türkiye
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Main courses · Stews & braises
Cooking method
Braised, Grilled
Taste
smoky, creamy, savoury, mild
Diet
No nut ingredients · Low-carb · High-protein
All labelsNon-vegetarian · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-carb · High-protein · Carb-conscious
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Cook more with
Lamb shoulder · Eggplant · Butter · Onion · Garlic · Green bell pepper
Techniques
Grilling · Charcoal grilling · Simmering · Braising

Allergens

  • Contains: Milkfrom butter, milk, kaşar cheese
  • Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour
  • Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

577 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 570 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 18%
  • Carbohydrate 17%
  • Fat 65%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy577 kcal101 kcal
Protein27 g4.7 g
Carbohydrate24.6 g4.3 g
Net carbohydrate17.6 g3.1 g
Sugars13.4 g2.4 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre7 g1.2 g
Fat42.5 g7.5 g
Saturated fat20.1 g3.5 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol105 mg18 mg
Sodium933 mg164 mg
Salt equivalent2.3 g0.4 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
1067 mg
Calcium
211 mg
Iron
2.3 mg
Magnesium
70 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
173 µg
Vitamin C
33 mg
Vitamin D
1.2 µg
Vitamin B12
2.6 µg
Folate (DFE)
—

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Kaşar cheese: Provolone used as a stand-in; kaşar is a similar semi-hard pasta filata cheese.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Charring over an open flame is what gives the purée its smoky character — the oven is a weak substitute.

Common mistakes

  • Not squeezing the aubergine dry makes a loose, watery beğendi.

Storage

  • Refrigerate lamb and purée separately up to 3 days.

Reheating

  • Reheat the purée gently with a splash of milk.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Lamb

Used in steps 1, 4

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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