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 (vegan) version in Tselementes' cookbook, which includes neither meat nor dairy products, just vegetables (ground eggplant is used instead of ground meat), tomato sauce, and bread crumbs. Another variant is "" ("lit." 'eggplant, little shoe style') which consists of whole small eggplant stuffed with ground meat and topped with béchamel and baked. In the Levant, moussaka is a cooked dish made up primarily of tomatoes and eggplant, similar to Sicilian caponata, and may also include chickpeas. It may be served cold as a mezze dish, or hot. The Egyptian version of moussaka is made from layers of fried eggplant immersed