Hunkar Begendi And Tas Kebab

Aubergine was said to have been brought by the Spaniards from Southeast Asia in 17th century, but it already featured in cookbooks at the time of Sultan Mehmed The Conqueror in 15th century. Maybe that's why we have a large aubergine repertoire in our cuisine,from pickle to jam salad to bake, over 200 recipes..
Hunkar Begendi is definitely a palatial dish from Ottoman Court. It's name (meaning "The sovereign approved/relished it") and it's refined, sophisticated way of cooking proves it. Also as a sign of being an Ottoman dish, it is prepared in two stages: Fumed aubergine sauce and stewed meat.

Hunkar Begendi sauce:
2 large, firm aubergines
3 tbsp flour
2 tbsp butter
2 glasses of milk (heated with 1/4 onion and 1 bay leaf)
pinch of sugar
pinch of nutmeg
salt
3 tbsp grated mozzarella

Prick aubergines with a knife to prevent them bursting under grill, when they are burned turn the other side, burn very well. Then leave to cool. In the mean time prepare the bechamel sauteing flour with butter adding milk and seasoning.
Peel the aubergines crusty burnt skin. They come out very easily as strips after cutting the head. Scoop the flesh out, discard the seeds if there is any..Taste it. It should be sweet with very nice fumed aroma. Chop well, then add to the bechamel with mozzarella and nutmeg, incorporate. It should be broken white in colour.
When you taste it, if it is somehow tangy, bitter, unpleasant to you, drain the juice marinade with some milk, then drain and use. Istanbul women used to do in the older days. I don't know why other recipes recommend lemon juice. It shouldn't be.

Tas Kabab:
450 g lamb meat (cut into 3 cm cubes)
1 large onion (chopped julien)
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp flour
1 tsp tomate paste
salt, black pepper
pinch of cinnamon (optional)

Tas means bowl. In the authentic version they put raw meat,onion and seasonings into a bowl then turn it upside down to the tray, adding some water when necessary and cook very slowly. It is actually steamed inside the bowl. Cooking in a saucepan like I did makes it modernised. But I can say that result is really satisfying.
Place the chopped meat and onion with olive oil in a saucepan, put the lid on, cook on a moderate heat adding water when necessary till meats are tender. When it is still juicy, add flour, tomato paste, spices, and seasoning.
In the end you will see the onions will melt and produce a rich, creamy sauce and the meat will keep their shape, but when you touch with a fork they will easily flake. It maybe a good idea to marinade the meat with onions a day before if you are using other than lamb. I prefer preparing the tas kebab well in advance. It makes things easier.
When serving the dish, you can put the sauce and the meat side by side, or serve the meat on top of the sauce.