Moussaka

Moussaka

A dish of moussaka.
Course	Main course
Place of origin	Bulgaria, Greece, Middle East (cooked salad form), Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania, Turkey, Slovenia and Serbia (3-layer form)
Region or state	The Balkans and Eastern Mediterranean
Serving temperature	Hot
Main ingredients	Eggplant and/or potatoes, minced meat
Variations	Multiple

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

In Greece, the dish is layered and typically served hot. In Turkey, it is sautéed and served in the style of a casserole, and consumed warm or at room temperature. In Arabic countries, a variant is eaten cold. Many versions have a top layer made of milk-based sauce thickened with egg (custard) or flour (béchamel sauce).

The English name for moussaka comes from Greek mousakás (μουσακάς), which derived from the Turkish musakka, which itself came from Arabic musaqqa‘ah (مسقعة), meaning "chilled".