Today we're embarking on a culinary journey through Turkey—a country where East meets West, and every dish tells a centuries-old story. We'll prepare two legendary recipes that Turks have taken pride in for centuries.
🍆 Hünkâr Beğendi
An exquisite dish of Ottoman cuisine: the most tender braised lamb in tomato sauce on a bed of creamy eggplant purée with cheese. The texture is velvety, the taste is royal.
Ingredients:
For the meat:
• Lamb (or beef) meat — 600 g
• Yellow onions — 2 medium
• Fresh tomatoes — 3 (or 400 g canned in their own juice)
• Tomato paste — 2 tbsp
• Bell pepper — 1
• Garlic — 3 cloves
• Olive oil — 3 tbsp
• Ground black pepper — 1 tsp
• Sweet paprika — 1 tsp
• Ground cumin — 0.5 tsp
• Salt — to taste
• Water or broth — 200 ml
For the eggplant purée:
• Large eggplants — 4 (about 800 g)
• Butter — 60 g
• Wheat flour — 3 tbsp
• Milk — 300 ml
• Kashkaval cheese (or mozzarella) — 150 g
• Nutmeg — pinch
• Salt — to taste
Preparation:
Step 1. Roast the eggplants
Preheat the oven to 220°C. Pierce each eggplant with a fork in 4-5 places along its length (this prevents explosion during heating). Place the eggplants on a baking sheet lined with foil. Roast for 35-40 minutes, turning every 12-15 minutes, until the skin blackens and wrinkles and the flesh becomes completely soft when pressed. The eggplants should "deflate," and when pierced with a knife, the blade should enter without resistance.
Step 2. Make the eggplant purée
Cut the hot eggplants lengthwise, let cool for 3-4 minutes. With a spoon, scrape out all the flesh, separating it from the skin (discard the skin). Transfer the flesh to a sieve and press lightly so excess liquid drains off (2-3 minutes). Chop the flesh with a knife into fine purée or blend with an immersion blender until smooth with no lumps.
Step 3. Make béchamel sauce for the purée
In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour, whisking continuously for 2 minutes until the mixture becomes golden and a nutty aroma appears (but don't let it darken). Pour in the milk in a thin stream, whisking vigorously to prevent lumps. Cook for 4-5 minutes with constant stirring until the sauce thickens to the consistency of thin sour cream—it should coat the spoon in a thick layer.
Step 4. Combine eggplants with sauce
Add the eggplant purée to the béchamel sauce, mix thoroughly. Cook over low heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring continuously with a wooden spatula. Remove from heat, add the grated cheese, nutmeg, and salt. Stir until the cheese completely melts and the mixture becomes smooth, glossy, without grains. Cover with a lid and set aside.
Step 5. Cook the meat
Cut the meat into 2×2 cm cubes. Cut the onion into half-rings 3-4 mm thick, pepper into strips 5 mm wide, tomatoes into 1.5 cm cubes, mince the garlic with a knife. In a deep skillet or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over high heat. Place the meat in a single layer (don't overcrowd the pan), sear for 3-4 minutes without stirring, then flip and cook for another 3 minutes. The meat should develop a golden-brown crust. Transfer to a plate.
Step 6. Braise the meat in sauce
In the same skillet, sauté the onion over medium heat for 4-5 minutes until translucent and soft. Add the pepper, cook for 3 minutes. Add the garlic, tomato paste, spices, mix and cook for 1 minute until a bright aroma appears. Return the meat, add the tomatoes and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to minimum, cover with a lid. Braise for 1.5-2 hours (for lamb) or 2-2.5 hours (for beef), stirring occasionally. The meat is ready when it easily separates with a fork and the sauce has thickened and acquired a dark red color. If the sauce is too liquid, remove the lid 15 minutes before the end and evaporate excess moisture.
Step 7. Serving
Reheat the eggplant purée over low heat, stirring constantly, until hot. On a wide plate, place a generous portion of eggplant purée, smooth it out, making a small well in the center. Place the braised meat with sauce in the well. Serve immediately while the purée is still hot.
💡 Fact: The dish's name translates as "the sultan was pleased." According to legend, Ottoman Sultan Murad IV was so impressed by this dish that he ordered the chef rewarded with gold. Since then, hünkâr beğendi has been a symbol of Turkish cuisine luxury.
🫓 Lahmacun
Turkish "pizza"—the thinnest crispy flatbread with spiced meat filling, tomatoes, and herbs. Juicy, aromatic, with a light smoke of spices—perfect street food.
Ingredients:
For the dough:
• Wheat flour — 500 g
• Warm water (38-40°C) — 280 ml
• Active dry yeast — 7 g (1 packet)
• Sugar — 1 tsp
• Salt — 1 tsp
• Olive oil — 2 tbsp
For the filling:
• Ground beef (15-20% fat) — 400 g
• Ground lamb — 100 g (optional, for authenticity)
• Yellow onions — 2 medium
• Ripe tomatoes — 3 (or 200 g canned)
• Red bell pepper — 1
• Garlic — 4 cloves
• Fresh parsley — large bunch (50 g)
• Tomato paste — 2 tbsp
• Sweet paprika — 1.5 tsp
• Ground red pepper (hot) — 0.5 tsp
• Ground cumin — 1 tsp
• Ground black pepper — 0.5 tsp
• Ground cinnamon — pinch
• Salt — 1 tsp
• Olive oil — 2 tbsp
• Lemon juice — 1 tbsp
For serving:
• Lettuce leaves, parsley, mint
• Lemon wedges
• Pickled hot peppers (optional)
Preparation:
Step 1. Knead the dough
In a large bowl, mix the warm water, yeast, and sugar. Leave for 5-7 minutes—a foamy cap 3-5 mm high should form on the surface, confirming yeast activity. Add salt, olive oil, and half the flour (250 g). With a whisk or fork, mix vigorously until smooth. Gradually add the remaining flour, mixing first with a spoon, then with your hands. Transfer the dough to a work surface lightly dusted with flour. Knead for 8-10 minutes: fold the dough in half, press with the heel of your palm, rotate 90° and repeat. The dough is ready when it becomes smooth, elastic, stops sticking to your hands, and slowly springs back when pressed with a finger. Form a ball, place in an oiled bowl, cover with a damp towel. Leave in a warm place for 1-1.5 hours until the dough doubles in size—when pressed with a finger, the indentation should slowly fill back in.
Step 2. Prepare the filling
Cut the onion into fine 2-3 mm cubes. Cut the tomatoes into 3-4 mm cubes, pepper into 2 mm cubes. Finely chop the garlic and parsley with a knife (you can use a blender, but with pulsing movements so it doesn't turn to mush). In a large bowl, combine the ground meat, onion, tomatoes, pepper, garlic, parsley. Add the tomato paste, all spices, salt, olive oil, and lemon juice. Knead thoroughly with your hands for 3-4 minutes until the mixture becomes uniform, slightly sticky, and the vegetables are completely distributed. The filling should be paste-like but with visible vegetable pieces.
Step 3. Divide and roll the dough
Preheat the oven to maximum—250-260°C (if you have a convection mode, turn it on). Prepare 2-3 baking sheets, line with parchment. Punch down the dough with your fist to release air. Divide into 8 equal parts (100-110 g each), roll each into a ball. Cover with a towel. Lightly dust the work surface with flour. Take one ball, flatten with your palm. Roll from the center to the edges, occasionally flipping and dusting with flour, until you get a circle 22-25 cm in diameter and 2-3 mm thick—the dough should be almost transparent, you should be able to see the table surface through it.
Step 4. Spread the filling
Transfer the rolled flatbread to the prepared baking sheet. Take 1/8 of the filling (about 70-80 g), spread it in a thin layer over the entire surface of the flatbread, leaving a minimal 3-4 mm edge. Use a spoon or your hands to evenly smear the filling—the layer should be 2-3 mm, semi-transparent. If the filling sits in a mound, the lahmacun will be raw in the center. Repeat with the remaining flatbreads (2-3 fit on one baking sheet depending on size).
Step 5. Bake
Place the baking sheet on the middle oven rack. Bake for 7-10 minutes, watching the process closely. Lahmacun is ready when the edges of the flatbread have risen and turned golden-brown with dark spots, and the filling on the surface is covered with brown "toasted" dots but not charred. The dough at the edges should be crispy, while the center remains soft and flexible. If the oven is weak (up to 220°C), the time will increase to 12-15 minutes.
Step 6. Roll and serve
Remove the finished lahmacun from the baking sheet immediately onto a rack or plate. While the flatbread is hot and flexible, place several lettuce leaves, sprigs of parsley and mint on it, drizzle with lemon juice. Roll the lahmacun into a tube or envelope, press lightly. Serve immediately while the dough is crispy outside and soft inside.
Step 7. Store leftovers
If uneaten lahmacun remain, cool them completely, layer with parchment, and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Before serving, reheat in the oven at 180°C for 5-7 minutes or in a dry skillet for 2 minutes on each side—the flatbread will become crispy again.
💡 Fact: Lahmacun is considered one of humanity's oldest dishes—its prototypes were prepared in Mesopotamia 4000 years ago. In modern Turkey, it's the main street food: it's rolled up with greens and eaten right on the street, washed down with ayran.