Eggplant Purée (Begendi)

Ingredients

• 6-8 medium sized eggplants
• 2 glasses of milk
• 2 tablespoons of flour
• 100 gr. margarine
• salt and pepper and grated cheese (optional).

Directions

Put the margarine, flour and milk into a saucepan, place over moderate heat and sauté for 2 minutes, making sure that the flour doesn’t turn golden, and add salt and pepper. This is called meyane (béchamel sauce). Eggplants, cooked as described in the “Eggplant Salad” recipe, are mixed with meyane, and grated kasar cheese may be added. Begendi is traditionally accompanied by roasted veal or lamb and then is called Hünkar Begendi (Sultan’s delight).