Turkish moussaka in Russian

Category: Meat dishes

Kitchen: turkish

Ingredients
Minced meat cutlet (your favorite)	1.5KG
Eggplant	2 medium
Bulb onions	2 large
Bulgarian pepper	2 large
Tomatoes	2 large
Vegetable oil for frying
Salt, spices	taste

Cooking method

Peel and cut the vegetables into large cubes
Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan and add onion. Saute for 3-5 minutes
Then add bell pepper
after 5 minutes - eggplant and fry everything until lightly browned
Add the tomatoes last. Season with salt to taste and heat for another 5 minutes.
We collect our moussaka. Put half of the minced meat on the bottom of the mold.
On top of minced meat - half of the prepared vegetables
Then the second half of the minced meat
And finally, the remaining vegetables

We bake in the oven under the lid at 180 degrees (convection 160) for one and a half to two hours. I bake for 2 hours, but I make sure that the vegetables on top are not too fried and that the juice does not boil away completely.

The dish is designed for

12 servings

Time for preparing:

2.5 hours

Cooking program:

Stove, oven

Note

This dish was read by my mother in the book "Turkish Cuisine" for so many years ... twenty years ago. It took root in our family, but, of course, it has undergone some changes.
First, the mince. I'm more than sure the original recipe was referring to ground beef. I, of course, have beef with pork and often with a predominance of pork. You can use the minced meat that your family uses to make cutlets. Minced meat should not be completely lean, the fat gives the dish juiciness and tenderness. I definitely add onions to the minced meat, but instead of a white roll, for this particular dish, it is very good to twist a large raw potato with meat. And, of course, it cannot do without my favorite spices - hops-suneli or utskho-suneli and coriander.
Secondly, vegetables. Of course, the ones listed in the ingredients are classics. This is the only way I cook during the season. But in winter there is not always an opportunity (including financial) to buy these vegetables. You can use frozen - your own or purchased. Just do not put them on the minced meat directly from the freezer - I already had such an experience - it burned up on top, but it never fried inside. Defrost in a skillet over high heat - at the same time, the excess liquid will evaporate.
But, by the way, it is very tasty to put coarsely chopped raw potatoes in the inner layer, and on top - slightly fried cabbage in oil. This is certainly not Turkish. But there is room for creativity! Bon Appetit!