Name: Meatballs in Tomato Sauce with Aubergine Purée (Hünkâr beğendili köfte)
Yield: Serves 4-6
Cuisine: Turkish
Ingredients: 2 hot green peppers or 1 green chilli, kept whole; 2 tablespoons plain flour for rolling; 5 tomatoes, skinned and chopped; 1 lb/450 g minced beef; 2 onions, grated; 2 tablespoons olive oil; ½ teaspoon salt; 5 cloves garlic, crushed with salt; 4 oz/120 g kaşar peyniri, grated; salt and freshly ground pepper; small bunch of parsley, chopped; 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar; 1 tablespoon butter; 2 tablespoons plain flour; 1 teaspoon sugar; salt and freshly ground black pepper; sunflower oil for frying; ½ pint/300 ml milk; 4 cloves garlic, crushed with salt; 1 teaspoon kırmızı biber; 1 onion, finely chopped; 4 aubergines

Preparation info

Serves
4-6

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Classic Turkish Cooking

By Ghillie Basan

Published 1995

About

A classic Istanbul dish, a relic of the Ottoman Empire; literally translated as köfte with ‘Sultan’s Delight’. The beğendi component is the aubergine purée, which can also be served with a number of other grilled meat and köfte dishes. The meatballs and sauce can be prepared ahead of time, but the beğendi is best served fresh. You can replace kaşar peyniri with Parmesan.