Hünkar Beğendi (or Sultan's Delight) is an authentic Turkish lamb and eggplant recipe dating back a few hundred years. This delightful dish is made of succulent lamb stew served on smokey&cheesy aubergine purée. The meaning of Hunkar begendi is "Sultan liked it" and that's precisely what happened when the palace cook created and served this amazing dish to Sultan Murad IV. It's no surprise he did.
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Hunkar Begendi is a very easy dish to put together yet has a luxurious feeling to it when you put the first bite in your mouth. It is a great dish for dinner parties to impress your guests. I've cooked this recipe many times over the years and it never disappointed me.
Why This Recipe Works?
- Hunkar Begendi (or Sultan's Delight) is a very easy recipe to follow with step-by-step instructions and pictures.
- This authentic aubergine&lamb dish is perfect to impress your guests at dinner parties.
- It's a versatile dish. You can replace the lamb with beef or chicken, and they all work great with the smokey aubergine base.
- The leftovers freeze beautifully! Let them cool down entirely, place them in an airtight container and keep them in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Aubergines (a.k.a Eggplants) in Turkish Cuisine
Aubergine is a popular ingredient in Turkish cooking as it is widely available. It pairs perfectly with lamb and there are many recipes made with lamb and aubergines together such as Greek Moussaka (Musaka) and Patlican Kebabi - Eggplant Kebab.
Aubergines are so versatile, you can pickle them or make jam with them. You can turn them into dips (Baba Ganoush Without Tahini), or stuff them (Karniyarik - Mince Stuffed Aubergine). Us Turks are obsessed with this purple fruit as much as we are obsessed with Borek.
Ingredients and Substitutes
Turkish Lamb Stew
What Cut of Lamb For Stew?
Well-exercised muscles rich in collagen such as the shank, shin, or shoulder are the typical cuts of meat for slow cooking. I use lamb shoulder for this recipe as well as most of my other lamb recipes such as Slow Cooked Lamb Ragu and Sac Kavurma (Turkish Lamb Sauté). However, you can use any other part of the lamb as long as they are marbled with some fat.
The cooking time will vary depending on the size of the lamb pieces and the cut of the meat. Check your lamb stew regularly after 1 hour of cooking time, and continue cooking until they are fork tender.
Other ingredients you need for the lamb stew are:
- Onions - They are a must when making a stew. I love the umami flavor and sweetness they add to the dish. White, brown, or yellow onions work best with this recipe.
- Chicken stock - The best option is to use homemade chicken stock. You can substitute it with vegetable stock or water. You can also use stock cubes if you don't have any stock in hand. Make sure you don't add too much salt as ready-made stocks and stock cubes contain salt already.
- Peppers - You can use Turkish green peppers, Spanish Padron peppers, or bell peppers for this recipe.
- Tomato paste - It is the staple of Turkish cooking. It adds an umami flavor to the dishes as well as a bright red color. You can find it in Turkish or Middle Eastern shops. You can also buy it online from Amazon.
- Cumin - It complements the lamb dishes perfectly. Adjust the amount to your taste or omit it if you don't like its taste.
Aubergine Purée
- Aubergines / Eggplants - Pick slightly firm but not hard aubergines when buying them. Discard the seeds after cooking if there are any.
- Butter - Use good quality butter for the béchamel sauce which is the base for aubergine purée.
- Cheese - You can use kashar cheese, cheddar cheese, or gruyere for this recipe.
- Nutmeg - It adds a sweet and soft aroma to the sauce. It goes perfectly with béchamel or any other dairy-based sauce.
How to Make Hünkar Beğendi - Sultan's Delight?
It is very easy to make this traditional Turkish lamb and aubergine dish and to achieve the best results, you need to follow a few simple steps:
Cook the Lamb Stew
Heat a large heavy-based pan or dutch oven on medium to high heat. When it's hot, add the olive oil and brown the diced lamb. Do it in two batches if your pan is not large enough to ensure nice and even browning.
Lower the heat to medium, add the onions, and sauté until soft and slightly browned.
Stir in the peppers along with the garlic. Cook for a few more minutes stirring continuously to avoid burning the garlic.
Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, pepper paste, cumin, salt, and black pepper.
Give it a good stir before adding the Chicken Stock or water. Adding stock to your dishes enhances the flavor. Make sure you reduce the amount of salt when using store-bought stock or stock cubes.
Bring the mixture to a boil, take the lid off and then gently simmer on low heat for 1.5 hours or until the lamb is tender.
Check the liquid and add more stock if needed. Stir the lamb every half an hour or so to make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom. If there is too much liquid in the pan, cook further without the lid until the sauce thickens.
Prepare the Aubergine (Eggplant) Purée
Start cooking the aubergine purée while the lamb stew is cooking.
To prevent the aubergines from bursting, prick each one with a toothpick a few times and place them on a gas burner or BBQ.
Cook them until soft and the skin is charred while turning them frequently. Place them in a bowl and then let them cool down.
Alternatively, cook the eggplants on the grill or by resting on a gas-burning stove.
If these aren’t an option, you can preheat the oven to 200° C (390° F) and then bake them for about 45 minutes or until the flesh is soft.
Although they won't have the smokey taste we are after, they will still taste great!
Peel the aubergines and discard the seeds if there are any. Finely chop the aubergines and then place them in a sieve to get rid of their bitter water. Set them aside until needed.
In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, add the flour and then cook for 2 minutes stirring continuously.
Whisk in a little of the warm milk at a time, stirring continuously, until you have a smooth and velvety sauce. Cook for a few minutes until thickened, stirring continuously.
Mix in the aubergine, and the grated cheese, and then season it with salt and nutmeg. Keep warm until you serve it.
When the lamb is tender and the sauce is rich and thick, remove it from the heat.
Spoon the aubergine purée on a plate and then top it up with some lamb stew. Garnish with chopped parsley.
Top Tips From The Chef
- Adding stock to your dishes enhances the flavor. Make sure you reduce the amount of salt when using store-bought stock or stock cubes.
- The cooking time for lamb stew will vary depending on the size of the lamb pieces and the cut of the meat.
- Pick slightly firm but not hard aubergines when buying them. Discard the seeds after cooking if there are any.
- To prevent the aubergines from bursting, prick each one with a toothpick a few times and place them on a gas burner or BBQ.
- You can roast the aubergines in the oven if you don't have a BBQ or a gas stove. Preheat the oven to 200°C and then bake them for about 45 minutes or until the flesh is soft. Although they won't have the smokey taste we are after, they will still taste great!
- Place the finely chopped aubergines in a sieve to get rid of their bitter water.
How to Serve Hunkar Begendi?
The most popular way to serve Hunkar Begendi is with Lentil and Bulgur Pilaf (Mercimekli Bulgur Pilavi), Bulgur Pilaf, or Turkish Rice Pilaf (Sehriyeli Pilav).
For a lighter meal option, serve it with a bowl of salad such as Tomato and Walnut Salad (Gavurdagi Salatasi), Beetroot and Feta Salad, Taboule (Lebanese Tabouli Salad), or Indian Chickpea Salad (Chana Salad), and a slice of Homemade Sandwich Bread.
Recipe FAQs
Hunkar Begendi is an Ottoman dish dating back several centuries, created in Topkapi Palace (Istanbul) for the Ottoman Sultan Murad IV.
Aubergines are very tricky to cook and if you don't get them right, they taste quite unpleasant with a rubbery texture.
My favorite ways of cooking the eggplants/aubergines are grilling them on a BBQ or gas stove on high heat, shallow frying them with a generous amount of oil, or roasting them in the oven covered with a generous amount of oil.
You can keep the leftovers for up to five days when refrigerated in an airtight container. If you want to keep them for longer, you can freeze them for up to 3 months.
Related Recipes
For more delicious aubergine/eggplant recipes why not try:
Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.
I hope you enjoy the process of making this authentic Hünkar Beğendi (Sultan's Delight) recipe as much as you enjoy eating it! 🙂
Bon appétit! / Afiyet olsun!
Hünkar Beğendi (Sultan's Delight)
Equipment
Ingredients
Lamb stew
- 800 g diced lamb
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion (diced)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 Turkish green peppers (diced)
- 2 large tomatoes (diced)
- 1 teaspoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon red pepper paste (optional, can be replaced with tomato paste)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 cup chicken stock or water (240 ml)
Smokey Aubergine Pure
- 750 g aubergine
- 40 g butter
- 40 g all purpose flour
- 400 ml full fat milk (warm)
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 100 g cheddar or kasar cheese (or both) (grated)
- chopped parsley (to garnish)
Instructions
Cooking the Lamb Stew
- Heat a large heavy-based pan or dutch oven on medium to high heat.
- Add olive oil and brown the lamb, do it in 2 batches for a nice and even browning.
- Lower the heat and add the onions. Saute until soft and slightly browned.
- Add the peppers and garlic and cook for a few more minutes without burning the garlic.
- Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, pepper paste, cumin, salt, and black pepper, and give a good stir before adding the chicken stock or water.
- Bring it to a boil, take the lid off and gently simmer on low heat for 1.5 hours or until the lamb is tender.
- Check the liquid and add more if needed. Stir the lamb every half an hour or so to make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom. If there is too much liquid in the pan, cook further without the lid until the sauce thickens.
- Start preparing the smoky aubergine purée while the lamb is cooking.
Smokey Aubergine (Eggplant) Purée
- Prick the aubergines with a toothpick a few times and place them on a gas burner or BBQ.
- Cook them until the aubergines are softened and the skin is charred turning frequently.
- Alternatively, bake them in a 200° C (390° F) preheated oven for about 25 minutes or until the flesh is soft, but they won't have the smokey taste we are after.
- Place the aubergines in a bowl and let them cool down.
- Peel the aubergines and discard the seeds if there are any. Finely chop and place in a sieve to get rid of its bitter water. Set aside until needed.
- In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, add the flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring continuously.
- Whisk in a little of the warm milk at a time, stirring continuously until you have a smooth and velvety sauce. Cook for a few minutes until thickened, stirring continuously.
- Mix in the aubergine, and the grated cheese and season with salt and nutmeg. Keep warm.
- When the lamb is tender and the sauce is rich and thick, remove it from the heat.
- Spoon the aubergine purée on a plate and top it up with some of the lamb stew.
- Garnish with some chopped parsley.
Notes
- Adding stock to your dishes enhances the flavor. Make sure you reduce the amount of salt when using store-bought stock or stock cubes.
- The cooking time for lamb stew will vary depending on the size of the lamb pieces and the cut of the meat.
- Pick slightly firm but not hard aubergines when buying them. Discard the seeds after cooking if there are any.
- To prevent the aubergines from bursting, prick each one with a toothpick a few times and place them on a gas burner or BBQ.
- You can roast the aubergines in the oven if you don't have a BBQ or a gas stove. Preheat the oven to 200°C and then bake them for about 45 minutes or until the flesh is soft. Although they won't have the smokey taste we are after, they will still taste great!
- Place the finely chopped aubergines in a sieve to get rid of their bitter water.
Nutrition
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Geoffrey King
I had this at a friends house and I could never remember the name! Can't wait to try it 🙂
Ayla Clulee
This dish is one of the most popular dishes in Turkey and I really hope you enjoy my version of it 🙂
Ayla
Made this a few nights ago as part of my family's reunion and we all loved it. Thank you for the recipe – I’ll definitely be making it again.
Holly
I made this recipe & served it over couscous, we all loved it this way. Thanks so much for the recipe ❤️
Laurie
OMG! This is a truly fabulous recipe!! I was say “yum” after every bite and my husband was blown away with it.
Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe.
Abigail
Just made this yesterday and it turned out amazing, the whole family loved it. Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe, it will be added to my favourites.
Fi
There is seriously nothing on Earth like that eggplant purée done right. A wonderful recipe!
Holly
I made this recipe & served it over mashed potatoes, my kiddies favourite, they loved it this way. Thanks so much for the recipe.
Alix
I made this today for a company of 4. Served with garlic bread on the side. Absolutely delicious. Thank you for the recipe!
Darlene
Just made this and it’s definitely a winner and gonna be a staple for sure!
Amber
This is definitely a 5 star recipe. Lamb so tender. Will make again.
Becky
The best I’ve ever tried.
Thank you for sharing
Ayla Clulee
Hi, Becky! It is my pleasure. Glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Best wishes
Ayla x
Geraldine
My family loved it! It was also very simple to make and I will definitely make it again. Thanks so much.