Hünkâr Beĝendi

Emine Foat Tugay writes about this delicious egg-plant (aubergine) cream in her book Three Centuries. ‘Sultan’s Pleasure,’ she says,

Is a purée of egg-plant, with small pieces of meat cooked in butter and tomato juice placed in the centre. As in the salad, the egg-plant is cooked on a hot baking tin, peeled, and mashed. A little melted butter is poured over it just before serving. The dish derives its name from a legend. Once upon a time a sultan went out hun