Creamy Eggplant Puree

Hünkar Beğendi

Preparation info
  • Serves

    4

    as a main dish
    • Difficulty

      Medium

Appears in

By Aglaia Kremezi

Published 2014

  • About

An Ottoman Sultan, a French Princess . . . and Hünkar Beğendi—all the necessary ingredients for romance, intrigue, and culinary invention. According to legend, this rich and creamy eggplant puree was created in the eighteenth century by one of the Sultan’s cooks. The occasion was a dinner given in honor of a French princess visiting the palace of the Ottoman ruler in Istanbul. The French were known for their love of vegetable purees, so the cook paid homage to the princess by present