Moussaka at room temperature. In the Arab countries it is usually eaten cold or hot depending on the country. The English name for moussaka has Arabic origin "musaqqa‘a" (), literally 'that which is fed liquid'. It was reborrowed from Greek "" () and from other Balkan languages, all of which borrowed the word from Ottoman. The word is first attested in English in 1862, written "mùzàkkà". Most versions are based primarily on sautéed aubergine (eggplant) and tomato, usually with minced meat, mostly lamb. However, the Greek version includes layers of meat and eggplant topped with a Béchamel ("white") sauce, and baked.
Moussaka Moussaka Moussaka (, or ) is an eggplant- (aubergine) or potato-based dish, often including ground meat, in the Levant, Middle East, and Balkans, with many local and regional variations. The most famous version of the dish today appeared in the 1920s with the publishing of Nikolaos Tselementes' culinary book in Greece. 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. In Turkey, thinly sliced eggplant is fried and served in a tomato-based meat sauce. Turkish "mussaka" may be consumed warm or