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Thank you for watching me make musaka. I hope you enjoyed it.

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From the lens Making Serbian Musaka with Potatoes.

Do you make a different version of musaka or moussaka? Most people think it's only made with eggplant, but my husband's family always made it this way.

  • CelticWays Mar 14, 2012 @ 2:23 pm | delete
    yummy, yummy, I'm making this tonight, but a vegetarian versions
  • traveller27 Nov 24, 2011 @ 6:46 pm | delete
    Looks great. Blessed by a travelling angel.
  • LizMac60 Nov 23, 2011 @ 7:05 am | delete
    Looks lovely. Blessed.
  • BarbRad Nov 23, 2011 @ 12:38 pm | delete
    Thank you for your blessing, Liz. I appreciate it.
  • Beadsnresin Nov 19, 2011 @ 5:20 pm | delete
    Thanks for sharing this, i love both potatoes and eggplants.
  • milla Oct 24, 2011 @ 1:15 pm | delete
    the bestttt...but better with pork..:-))
  • daria369 Oct 21, 2011 @ 7:27 pm | delete
    My mom made musaka the same way as in your recipe - and quite often, too! Thank you for sharing,
  • crushwb Aug 16, 2011 @ 4:56 pm | delete
    yum
  • MaxReily Jul 27, 2011 @ 6:33 pm | delete
    This sounds yummy. Thanks for a great recipe. I think it could even be made with vegetarian ground "beef" and be delicious.
  • Tolovaj Jul 1, 2011 @ 9:23 am | delete
    I hear about eggplant version when I was already addicted to potatoe musaka. This is original for me too. Best regards from Slovenia!
  • spritequeen Jun 8, 2011 @ 9:24 am | delete
    This looks really good! Can't wait to try it!! (Will have to use the eggplant, though, as NONE of my kids like potatoes - little weirdos! lol)
  • BarbRad Jun 8, 2011 @ 11:56 am | delete
    If you use eggplant, use one of the recipes just for eggplant -- one with a tomato sauce base. Substituting eggplant in this recipe for the potatoes probably wouldn't work well.
  • Margo_Arrowsmith Apr 13, 2011 @ 4:53 pm | delete
    Looks good
  • sukkran Apr 8, 2011 @ 10:04 pm | delete
    learned a new recipe. thanks for your step by step instructions. nice recipe lens.
  • SMisic Dec 20, 2010 @ 12:07 pm | delete
    We make a recipe almost identical to this for Musaka; however, we use a mix of ground pork and beef (1/2 lb of each) and add a couple of teaspoons of Vegeta to the meat before frying. It is so yummy. :)
  • termit_bronx Dec 5, 2010 @ 4:56 pm | delete
    Musaka, yummy! I'm from Slovenia, Serbia isn't so far away :)
  • CCGAL Oct 24, 2010 @ 9:21 pm | delete
    I'm going to try it your way - I make something very similar to this, but the topping is different. I didn't know there was a potato musaka, so this lens was very educational and enjoyable for me. **Blessed**
  • BarbRad Oct 24, 2010 @ 9:38 pm | delete
    Thank you for your blessing.
  • Natasha Oct 11, 2010 @ 3:41 pm | delete
    Thank you for the recipe. In response to Stephanie and the whole Slava dilemma. Her family's falls on the 19th of December which is a fasting day (during an observed fast - there are 2 or 3 during the year - the main one before Easter I believe), therefore no meat, dairy or animal by product. A lot of Slavas are not on fasting days and enjoy plenty of meat :) unless it happens to be on a Friday and that year you will need to make some fish. Interestingly enough, Slavas are rooted into pagan tradition before the conversion to an observed religion. It is interesting how many people follow traditions that are passed on but know little about them or how they got started. Serbs are the only people to have this tradition and celebrate it with great pride. On another note, I much prefer the potato musaka to the eggplant one.
  • BarbRad Oct 11, 2010 @ 6:13 pm | delete
    Thanks for shedding more light on this for us. I read an entire thesis on Slava and the author did go into both the pagan roots you mentioned and the Christian roots in the context of Serbia's history. There are a lot of things we do differently, since my husband is now a member of a reformed church and he never was part of an Orthodox congregation, though his parents were both buried by an Orthodox priest. We celebrate Slava because of his Serbian culture and its symbolism that is universal for all Christians.
  • SMisic Dec 20, 2010 @ 12:11 pm | delete
    Where did you find the thesis on Slava? I would be very interested in reading it. My husband is Orthodox, and we have celebrated Slava (with a huge pot of sarma) since we have been together because of the tradition, but I would like to understand the history.
  • BarbRad Dec 20, 2010 @ 1:18 pm | delete
    My husband met a reformed pastor who spoke at a local church. We got talking, had them over for lunch, and it turns out he had done this thesis while studying at Fuller Seminary in California. He wanted someone to proofread it for the English (after publication at Fuller, where it sits in the library). My husband was authorized to be sent a copy and we paid to have copied from a disk sent from Novi Sad. I and several others have had a crack at correcting and trying to discern the intent of some rather complex English sentences. But it the process I did read the entire thesis, while others read only the couple of chapters they were given. It is heavy historical and theological writing that takes intense concentration. Parts of it were very interesting, but others were really difficult to get through. If you are really interested, click on my biographical sketch below or at the top right and you will find a contact button where you can send your contact information so maybe your husband can talk to mine.
  • stargazer00 Sep 16, 2010 @ 6:10 pm | delete
    I've never made either, but I've been planning to make Greek Moussaka as I do make several other Greek dishes. My son had moussaka while he was in Greece this past summer and said it was wonderful.
  • Stephanie Sep 16, 2010 @ 3:19 pm | delete
    On Slava, you're not supposed to be eating meat or dairy so it's interesting that you would make this dish on that specific day....hmmm
  • BarbRad Sep 16, 2010 @ 3:59 pm | delete
    Stephanie, that's something I never heard. My mother-in-law always used to serve Sarma. Also, I read an entire thesis by a Serbian theological student about Slava, and I never heard this. I was always told it was a feast day with a special meal. Perhaps different families have different traditions. If you have a link to support this, please send it to me by clicking on my name or my bio (above) and there will be a link for contacting me.
  • Stephanie Sep 17, 2010 @ 6:14 pm | delete
    I'm not serbian, I just married one lol this is what the tradition is in the family, I guess...My son was born on December 19th so we could never have a cake made with dairy...*shrugs*
    P.S.m I'm currently making the musaka (it's in my oven as we speak) will let you know how it worked out, mind you I'm a big fan of Vegeta over salt and pepper
  • Andrea Sep 19, 2010 @ 5:19 pm | delete
    I happened upon your site looking for a recipe similar to something my mother-in-law from Belgrade used to make. I am going to try this, it seems very similar to the best I can recall. What prompted me to write was Stephanie's comment about no meat or dairy on Slava - my husband (ex) was born in Novi Sad and lived in Belgrade. My in laws often were here in the US for Slava, which the family celebrated on Dec 19. We started with Zito, had a wonderful soup, and the main dish was usually some roast with potatoes and gibanica (sp?) Meat and diary played a very big part in the feast. Stephanie - what part of Serbia is your husband from?
  • BarbRad Sep 19, 2010 @ 5:35 pm | delete
    My in-laws are also from Belgrade. I hope this recipe turns out to be what you're looking for. It's tasty, either way. Thanks for commenting.
  • Milan Nov 26, 2010 @ 5:44 am | delete
    Just about the whole fasting discussion. You don't fast because of the slava, it's just that you have a fasting period in the year, and St. Nikola which is celebratet in our church calendar on the 19th dec. falls into that period. My slava is on the 9th jan. and in that time it is alowed to eat meat and milk products.
  • Stephanie Nov 29, 2010 @ 1:01 pm | delete
    BTW, this recipe ROCKS!
  • Vera Sep 23, 2010 @ 2:20 am | delete
    Just a comment of the meat and dairy. I am a Serbian American married to an Orthdox priest. In the Orthodox Religion there are four fasting periods(abstain from dairy and meat) during the year plus most Wednesday and Fridays. December 19th happens to be a huge holiday and slava day for many Serbs, St. Nicholas' Day,. It falls during advent (one of these four lenten periods). Thus, we Orthodox Christians who follow our faith will not eat meat, eggs, and dairy. Slava that fall at any other time almost always have meat including: sarma, roasted pork, roasted lamb, etc. I hope this clarified your inquiries.
  • Stephanie Nov 29, 2010 @ 1:00 pm | delete
    my mother in law is from belgrade, my husband is canadian.
    LOL I already went through this with Barb...Refer to the following site. http://www.babamim.com/slava
    Quote from site: "Although most Slavas are celebrated with traditionally rich foods, some Slavas are celebrated as strict Fast days, such as St. Nicholas (Dec. 19). No meat, no dairy products are allowed that day, but that doesn't stop families from celebrating bountifully."

    I'm positive in this because, as I said, my son was born on december 19th and we could never have a REAL cake on that day lol His middle name is Niklas...how odd lol
  • AndyPo Feb 16, 2010 @ 11:59 am | delete
    Sounds great. Very interesting. I have always used aubergine when cooking (Greek style) moussaka, but potatoes are so much easier to find, so I shall try this.
  • bethd821 Feb 7, 2010 @ 8:42 pm | delete
    Sounds like musaka is delicious. Wish you weren't so far away, I might have shown up for dinner. 5*
  • Jewelsofawe Jan 26, 2010 @ 12:35 pm | delete
    This looks delicious! Blessed by an angel!
  • sandyspider Nov 17, 2009 @ 8:52 am | delete
    Great looking recipe!
  • mbgphoto Nov 11, 2009 @ 7:27 am | delete
    Barb...this looks really good. I like you step by step photos and instructions. Blessed by a SquidAngel
  • WindyWinters Nov 11, 2009 @ 3:13 am | delete
    I haven't tried musaka before but it looks really tasty. I like your step-by-step instructions with the photos. I will put in my favorites for a cold winter's day. :)
  • BarbRad Nov 10, 2009 @ 12:52 pm | in reply to Ramkitten | delete
    I've never tried it with eggplant, though I'm pretty sure it's a totally different recipe, using tomato sauce instead of a dairy/ egg sauce. I have never gotten beyond the instructions for cooking the eggplant in oil, which conjures up thoughts in my mind of greasy eggplant. Maybe you should find a good moussaka recipe with eggplant, try it, and share it with us. If you do, let me know and I'll lensroll it with this.
  • Ramkitten Nov 10, 2009 @ 8:51 am | delete
    Looks tasty! I wouldn't mind trying it with eggplant too--my favorite veggie.

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BarbRad

In my life I've been student, public library clerk, English teacher in public school, elementary teacher in private schools,card buyer for Logos Bookstore... more »

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