TOPKAPI PALACE - ISTANBUL ( Topkapi Sarayi )

Topkapi Palace was ordered by the Sultan Mehmet 11 and was built in mid fourteen hundreds. The palace was home to as many as 4.000 people. At the end of Ottoman Empire in 1921, the palace was transferred and today it is used as a museum.

HUNKAR BEGENDI ( SULTAN'S LAMB WITH SMOKED AUBERGINE )

This is a great lamb dish from the period Ottoman Empire, from the Palace kitchens and still enjoyed today all over Turkey. It was so enjoyed by the sultan of the Topkapi Palace that it has the name Hunkar Begendi which literally means Sultan's favourite dish.

INGREDIENTS

• I large aubergine
• 450 g tender lamb, cut into small chunks
• 2 tbsp oil or butter
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 2 clove garlic, 1 chopped one left whole, peeled
• 2 tsp chopped thyme
• 2 tsp chopped mint
• half a can of chopped tin tomatoes or 3 fresh tomatoes, chopped
• 1 cup of hot water
• salt and ground pepper to taste

FOR THE CREAMED AUBERGINE

• 1 tbsp  fromage frais
• 1tsp lemon juice
• 1 heaped tsp cornflour
• half a cup milk
• 2 tsp butter
• 2 tbsp of grated Edam cheese
• salt and black pepper to taste.

METHOD

First  SMOKE THE AUBERGINE  by placing the washed aubergine directly on to the medium heat gas flame on top of the stove. Turn the aubergine until the skin is charred on all sides and the flesh feels soft. This will take about 15 minutes. Let it cool for 5 minutes then hold the aubergine under running cold water and gently peel off the charred skin. Set aside.

In  the mean time, brown the meat, in  a non- stick large pan with  2 tbsp of oil. Transfer the meat into a plate and cook the onion in the same pan and oil. When the onion is pale in colour, return the meat  into the pan and mix with the onion. Add the tomatoes, garlic and herbs. Add the hot water just enough to cover the meat  and let it simmer for about one hour on the low heat. During cooking if the meat gets dry add little bit more water to prevent it sticking. Turn the heat off , season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

MAKE THE CREAMED AUBERGINE

Cut and mash the aubergine in a bowl with fromage  frais  and lemon juice . Set aside. In a separate bowl mix the cornflour with the milk. add the cheese, salt and pepper.

Melt the butter in anon stick pan, add the milk, cheese and cornflour mixture and mix and cook it into a smooth white sauce. Turn the heat to low and add the aubergine mixture into the pan with the sauce. Mix well and turn the heat off. Transfer the creamed aubergine into the serving plate. Arrange the lamb over the aubergine and decorate with fresh mint and thyme leaves.

Serves 2.

NARLI GULLAC ( GULLAC WITH POMEGRANATES )

Hi all, gullac is a very light and delicious desert, especially popular during Ramazan. It is made from starch, flour,  milk and poured over a large  hot pan (sac ) thinly and cooked dry, then packed away for later use. It is wafer like, fine, dry and round pastry leaves are the basis for  this delicate desert. Gullac dates back to ottoman period of Sultans and Pasa's, as favorite in the palaces. It gets its name gul, meaning rose. So using the rose water for this desert is a must.

YOU NEED

• 10 gullac leaves
• 1 litre of milk
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1 cup pistachio nuts, chopped
• 2 tbsp rose water
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 pomegranate, seeded

First heat the milk with sugar, rose water and vanilla. It has to be just warm enough to touch not very hot. Pour 1 cup of  milk into a large tray. Then place a gullac leaf in the tray making sure the leaf is completely soaked. Place the second leaf and some more milk to soak. Do the same with the third, forth and fifth leaf. Then spread the walnuts over it generously. Then continue to layer the milk and the remaining 5 leaves as above. Pour the rest of the milk mixture over the leaves to make sure no dry bits left. Then sprinkle the desert with chopped pistachios. Finally cut  the desert into diamond or square shapes and leave it in the tray for the milk to be absorbed totally for about  30-45 minutes.

Decorate with pomegranate seeds just before serving.

COOKS NOTE: It is best to use full fat milk for a special treat but it is just as nice with semi skimmed milk and less sugar to make it low calorie desert.