Delicious Recipes For Moussaka From Around The World

2024 Author: Jasmine Walkman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 08:29

There are many historical, cultural and ethnic intertwines in the Balkans. No wonder that in different parts of the peninsula one finds the same songs, dishes or customs. Each nation adds something of itself and often appropriates the copyright to the work for the world.

Moussaka is often accepted by the world cooking community as a typical Greek dish, and pop culture strongly supports this fact. However, the truth is that its name is of Arab origin and it appeared on Greek territory much later than the time of Homer.

Arabic moussaka

Necessary products: 1 eggplant (400 g), 5-6 potatoes

For the sauce: 70 g butter, 2 tbsp. flour, 2 tsp milk, 2 tsp. dry chicken broth, nutmeg, white pepper, salt, 1 egg, 50 g mozzarella

For the stuffing: 0.5 kg minced meat, 1 onion, 2 cloves garlic, 1 tomato, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. dill and parsley, nutmeg, curry, salt, pepper, basil, rosemary, 1/2 tsp. Red wine

Method of preparation: Cut the eggplant into circles, put in salted water and leave for 20-30 minutes. Then drain and fry until semi-finished. It is placed on a napkin to absorb the fat.

Cut the potatoes into circles and fry until semi-finished. Drain. Fry the onion until golden, add the minced meat, then the grated tomato, garlic and spices. Pour the wine and stew under a lid, stirring occasionally. Arrange the fried eggplant, minced meat on top and potatoes on top.

Bechamel sauce is prepared from the products and after it cools down, lightly beat the eggs in it and stir. Pour the sauce over the moussaka. Grate the mozzarella on top and bake in a preheated 180 degree oven for about 40 minutes.

This is today's popular recipe for Arabic moussaka. In the original translation, however, "moussaka" literally means "chilled" and in the Arab world under this name is a salad of tomatoes and eggplants, served as a cold appetizer.

The most popular version of moussaka is Greek. It is a dish of three layers.

Moussaka in Greek

Necessary products: 1 kg potatoes, 1 kg eggplant, 1/2 kg ground beef, half a head of minced onion, 250 g canned tomatoes, a little tomato juice, half a glass of white wine, a glass of olive oil, a handful of chopped parsley, salt, pepper, a pinch of cinnamon and Indian nut.

For topping: 1 liter of milk, a cup of flour, half a cup of olive oil, two eggs, cheese.

Method of preparation: Cut the aubergines into circles and arrange in a pan with a little salt on each. Peeled potatoes are cut into circles and fried in olive oil.

Remove from the pan before they are completely ready and set aside. Fry the aubergines lightly in the same olive oil, and after removing them, put them on napkins to absorb some of the fat.

Fry the onion until browned, add the minced meat, after ten minutes and the wine, tomatoes, tomato sauce, parsley, salt, pepper and cinnamon to taste and half a glass of water. When the water is absorbed, remove the mixture from the stove and add the grated yellow cheese.

For the filling, mix a glass of milk with the flour. The remaining milk is boiled and mixed slowly with stirring to obtain a thick slurry. After removing from the heat, add two beaten eggs, along with the nutmeg.

Arrange a row of potatoes on the bottom of a greased pan. Cover with the meat mixture. Arrange a layer of eggplant on top and cover it again on top. The last layer is covered with the filling. Bake the moussaka in a moderately strong oven until browned.

The Turkish variety of moussaka differs from the Greek in the specific order of layers and topping. However, there are Turkish recipes in which the products are also arranged in three layers, the latter consisting of sliced tomatoes.

Turkish moussaka

Necessary products: 500 g ground beef.½ canned tomatoes, ½ jar of pickles, 1 carrot, 5-6 eggs, 1 kg of potatoes, 150 ml of milk, butter, cheese, salt, pepper.

Method of preparation: The minced meat is mashed with tomatoes. Eggs and carrots are boiled. Mashed potatoes are prepared. The minced meat is fried. Spread half of the mashed potatoes in a greased pan, occasionally melting the spoon in melted butter so that it does not stick to the mashed potatoes.

Add the minced meat on top and arrange the sliced pickles, carrots and boiled eggs on it. Spread the other half of the puree on top. Sprinkle with grated yellow cheese and bake in the oven.