Layers of fried aubergine and minced lamb or beef in a cinnamon-scented tomato sauce, under a thick crust of béchamel, baked.
What makes it moussaka
Aubergine slices, fried or roasted.
Minced meat in tomato with cinnamon and allspice.
A thick béchamel, often with egg yolk and cheese, baked golden.
Where it comes from
Dishes of layered aubergine and meat under much the same name are made across the Balkans and the eastern Mediterranean. The Greek version with its deep béchamel top is usually credited to Nikolaos Tselementes, a chef trained abroad whose cookbook of the early twentieth century shaped modern Greek home cooking.
It's a dish for Sundays and gatherings, and it's best left to settle for an hour before it's cut.