Hunkar begendi?

When I was in Istanbul fairly recently, I had an amazing dish of hunkar begendi (eggplant cream) with tas kebabi (spicy lamb stew) on top. Does anyone know of a place that does a good version of this? The only mention I found was of the now closed Topkapi. Turquoise has it on the menu, but it seems expensive at $17 and I'm also leery b/c it lists it as made with mozzarella, which is not (as I understand it) what it should be made with. Thanks.

Abraus,

I have not had it and cannot speak to it's authenticity, but it is on the menu at Topkapi. I hope that when (and if) you do find a satisfactory version, you'll let us know.

EDIT: Topkapi is no longer in business. See below
Topkapi
2544 W Peterson Ave
Chicago, IL 60659
(773) 274-9970
http://www.topkapirestaurant.com/

Best,
Michael

HI,

I would contact Cafe Demir. If the contact information in this post doesn't respond, then check a phone directory. Culinary Historians had a dinner there within the last 18 months that many considered very authentic. I heard recently he has revived an older menu, which many people were begging to shift to.

Topkapi is one of those places I pass on my way to somewhere else. It's on my list of places to visit. If you do go, then please report back.

Regards,

Thanks. For some reason I thought Topkapi was closed. Hopefully I will get there and Cafe Demir soon.

Abraus wrote:Thanks. For some reason I thought Topkapi was closed.

For some reason I think you are right. I believe Topkapi is now a Romanian (or maybe it is Bulgarian?) night club called Cafe Select (or maybe it is Select Cafe).

d4v3 wrote:

Abraus wrote:Thanks. For some reason I thought Topkapi was closed.

For some reason I think you are right. I believe Topkapi is now a Romanian (or maybe it is Bulgarian?) night club called Cafe Select (or maybe it is Select Cafe).

Yeah, you're right. Sorry about that. It's been over a year since I've been.

From Dish newsletter, March 2006:

Peterson Park’s traditional Turkish restaurant Topkapi has morphed into Cafe Select (2544 W. Peterson Ave; 773-274-9970), a full-on Eastern European nightclub, replete with leopard-print and velvet upholstery and ear-splitting DJ-spun tunes.

Best,
Michael

I still haven't made it to Cafe Demir, but I did finally make hunkar begendi from the recipe on this website:

http://www.cliffordawright.com/recipes/ ... gendi.html

I used kasseri as the cheese and the begendi turned out really well. I also made the stew recipe that is linked to and while it was a good lamb stew, it wasn't exactly what I was looking for as it really wasn't spicy at all. Nonetheless, on a cold winter day, eggplant cream and lamb stew is a tough combination to beat. Be forewarned, a little of the begendi goes a long way.