Moussaka

Moussaka

A dish of Greek moussaka
Course	Main course
Place of origin	Egypt, Greece, Middle East (cooked salad form), Levant
Region or state	The Balkans and Eastern Mediterranean
Serving temperature	Hot or cold
Main ingredients	Eggplant or potatoes, minced meat
Variations	Multiple
Cookbook: Moussaka   Media: Moussaka

Moussaka (/muːˈsɑːkə/, UK also /ˌmuːsəˈkɑː/, US also /ˌmuːsɑːˈkɑː/) is an eggplant (aubergine)- or potato-based dish, often including ground meat, which is common in the Balkans and the Middle East, with many local and regional variations.

The modern Greek variant was created in the 1920s by Nikolaos Tselementes.^{[citation needed]} Many versions have a top layer made of milk-based sauce thickened with egg (custard) or flour (béchamel sauce). In Greece, the dish is layered and typically served hot. Tselementes also proposed a vegan variant for orthodox fast days. Romania also has a vegan version that replaces meat with mushrooms or a mix of sautéed onions and rice.

The versions in Egypt, Turkey and the rest of the Middle East are quite different. In Egypt, messa'aa can be made vegan or vegetarian as well as with meat; in all cases, the main ingredient is the fried eggplant. In Turkey, mussaka consists of thinly sliced and fried eggplant served in a tomato-based meat sauce, warm or at room temperature. In Saudi Arabia, muṣagga‘a is eaten hot, but in other Arab countries, it is often eaten cold, but occasionally hot as well.