National cuisine of Egypt. What is the national cuisine, traditional dishes and food in Egypt? Egyptian food recipes
Health
Not everyone knows that Egypt is famous not only for its unique ancient monuments and pyramids, culture and revolution, but also amazing dishes are prepared here. Egyptian food is a mixture of dishes from many different peoples who have come here throughout the history of Egypt and brought their special recipes with them. Find out what are the most popular and delicious dishes Egyptians eat today. You will most likely want to try them.
1) Kushari
Kushari is considered the national Egyptian vegetarian dish and consists of pasta with tomato sauce, which is mixed with rice, lentils, caramelized onions, garlic and chickpeas. Due to the fact that this dish has 4 sources of carbohydrates, it has become a very popular lunch dish and can be bought right on the Egyptian streets for the last 100 years. Interestingly, kushari is not of Egyptian origin, some of its ingredients were brought here by the soldiers of the British army in the 19th century. Pasta was imported from Italy, tomatoes from Latin America, and rice from Asia. However, it was the Egyptians who came up with the idea of mixing everything together to make a very satisfying, tasty vegetarian dish.
2) Full medames
This dish is made from beans served with vegetable oil, garlic and lemon juice. It gained great popularity in Egypt. Ful medames was prepared during the time of the pharaohs of the Twelfth Dynasty. The word "medames" in translation from the Coptic language is translated as "buried". The name comes from the way this dish was originally prepared: a pot of beans was buried in hot coals and sand. Today, full medames is complemented by many other foods, such as butter, tomato sauce, tahini, fried or boiled eggs, and pastrami. Traditionally, however, it should be eaten on its own along with bread.
3) Fatta
Considered a Nubian dish, fatta is usually prepared on the occasion of an event, such as when a woman gives birth to her first child, or on holidays, both Christian and Muslim. Fatta consists of layers of rice and fried bread, which is poured over meat soup with garlic and vinegar. Large cuts of beef and well-done eggs are also served with a rice and bread base. Fatta is a rather high-calorie dish; it is prepared at any time of the year, with the exception of fasting.
4) Mulukiya
Mulukiya is made from the leaves of the jute plant, which grows in eastern and northern Africa. In Egypt, this dish is prepared as follows: jute leaves, garlic, coriander are cut and boiled together with meat, such as chicken, beef or rabbit. Served with Egyptian bread or rice. Interestingly, in different parts of the country, mulukia is prepared differently, for example, in cities that are located by the sea, such as Alexandria and Port Said, it is made on the basis of fish or shrimp. At the end of the 10th century, the dish was banned by the caliph Abu-Ali al-Hakim bi-amri Allah, but even after the ban was lifted, some religious sects still refuse to eat this dish in memory of this caliph.
5) Fesik
Fesik is a traditional Egyptian dish that is served only during the Sham el-Nessim holiday, celebrated in the spring since the time of the pharaohs. This dish is a fermented salted and dried mullet. During the preparation of this dish, the fish is dried in the sun, then salted. It is usually prepared by a special person called fasakani. Due to the complex cooking process, fesik can be poisonous if not cooked properly. Fish is usually stored in thick glass jars, which are tightly closed, as it has a rather strong smell. This dish is usually served with Egyptian bread, chopped onions and lemons.
6) Taro soup
Taro or taro is a plant native to Southeast Asia, which was brought to the Mediterranean regions of Egypt in ancient times. Taro tubers are peeled and boiled in meat broth with garlic and coriander. After the tubers are boiled, they are used to make puree soup, served with bread. Taro is served during the Coptic Christian feast of the Epiphany.
7) Halva
Halva is a popular sweet dish from the Middle East, which is loved not only in all Mediterranean countries, but already all over the world. In Egypt, halvah is made from sesame paste and given it completely different shapes. Often in halva you can find a variety of additives, including pistachios, pine nuts and almonds. Halva is eaten at any time of the day, and can also be added as a main ingredient to many other dishes, for example, sakalans - a mixture of halva, honey and whipped cream. Interestingly, halva is one of the few Egyptian dishes that can withstand high temperatures without spoiling, and it does not require any special conditions.
8) Dukkah
Dukkah is an Egyptian dish that is used as an accompaniment and can be eaten with Egyptian flatbread or raw vegetables like tomatoes and cucumbers. The dish is a mixture of herbs, nuts and spices such as mint, salt, sesame, coriander and cumin. Usually, dukka is made at home, and each family has its own variations, but it can also be bought from herbalists. The name "dukkah" comes from the Arabic word for "pound", which is associated with the process of its preparation. This dish is not well known outside of Egypt, although it has recently gained popularity in Australia.
9) Kunafa
Kunafa is an Egyptian sweet made from very thin kadaif pasta. The origin of this dish is shrouded in mystery and can be seen in medieval cookbooks in Egypt, Lebanon and Turkey, but the origin of this sweet remains unclear. Kunafu is made from very thin noodles. The batter is spread in a thin layer on a hot frying pan until golden and crispy. Then it is mixed with butter, butter or vegetable, and a filling of nuts, whipped cream, cream is wrapped in it. It is then baked and then served with fruit syrup.
10) Brynza is perilous domiati
Gibna domiati is a soft white cheese that is made in the city of Dumiyat in northern Egypt. Usually this cheese is made from buffalo milk, but sometimes cow's milk is added to the mixture. This is the most popular type of feta cheese, which is added to many Egyptian dishes, including sambusak (fried thin flatbread with feta cheese) or mesh (tomato or cheese sauce). Gibna domiati is aged in large cans for 1 to 3 years before it reaches the Egyptian table. Many Egyptian families are proud of the number of cans of cheese they have accumulated over a long period of time. They say that the longer the cheese is aged, the tastier it is.
As expected, Egypt, being at the crossroads of Asia and Africa, has absorbed all the most interesting and delicious recipes that you can imagine. Egyptian cuisine combines Turkish, Lebanese, Syrian and Greek cuisines, which have been harmoniously adapted to the tastes of the Egyptians.
Egyptian cuisine is traditionally considered tasty and relatively inexpensive, rich in all kinds of spices and sauces, so most dishes have a pronounced spicy taste. Since Egypt is mostly in the desert, vegetables and fruits are usually rarely used in dishes.
Another exception is pork, because Egypt is a Muslim country.
For every meal you will be served bread - aish.
Traditional bread - aish baladi - is a round and incredibly fragrant wholemeal cake that is rolled in ground wheat. Usually it is divided in half, like a pita, and filled with a variety of fillings. Bread can be dipped in an eggplant starter seasoned generously with olive oil and garlic; in a paste of chickpeas or sesame seeds.
Along with bread, the traditional menu of Egyptian cuisine includes legumes prepared in a wide variety of ways. For example, if you boil beans with vegetables and mash them with tomatoes, onions and spices, then you will get an excellent breakfast, which is served with an egg. Without an egg, this dish can be enjoyed for lunch or dinner.
The most popular and affordable dish of Egyptian cuisine is kushari - a mixture of different types of pasta with the addition of rice and tomato sauce.
Quite often, chickpeas and lentils are added to kushari. The dish is prepared in this way: pasta, rice and lentils are boiled, and vermicelli are fried in a pan in olive oil. Then all the ingredients are mixed, fried onions, spices and sauce are added. It turns out a very unusual, but very tasty dish.
Koshar is boiled beans, beans, lentils and other cereals, which are mixed with fried onions and poured with spicy sauce. As a denser lunch option, fish tagine is usually used - assorted seafood baked in a pot.
In general, it should be noted that, contrary to the global fashion for healthy eating and love for diets, the Egyptians make the main emphasis in their dinner meals. The Egyptian dinner is a very lengthy event as it consists of a range of dishes served. At the beginning of dinner, cold and hot appetizers are served: all kinds of vegetable salads, eggplants with garlic, gobnas (this is a kind of dumplings with cheese, fried in butter). Then comes the turn of the main dishes. For example, it can be a fried pigeon stuffed with porridge (pigeons in Egypt are bred solely for the purpose of eating later), and as a hot one - a jacket or kebab with rice as a side dish. Kofta is such sausages made from ground beef, and kebab is an ordinary shish kebab, but not marinated. Most often, all these dishes are cooked on an open fire.
Especially popular are fish dishes, which are the vast majority in Egyptian cuisine. As the main drink, the Egyptians prefer a slightly sour-tasting chilled decoction of Sudanese rose petals, known to us as hibiscus tea. As for coffee, all instant coffee, regardless of its manufacturer, is called Nescafe. Black coffee in Egypt is traditionally divided by the amount of sugar it contains: spada (bitter), mazbuta (medium) and ziyyad (sweet).
Egyptian cuisine is not very diverse. It is not as complex as French or Italian cuisines, nor is it as heavy as some of the Gulf cuisines. It also doesn't rely on a huge amount of spices. Egyptian cuisine is very simple, and this simplicity makes it very tasty.
In addition to its own culinary traditions, the cuisine of Egypt has absorbed the characteristics of neighboring countries: Greece, Turkey, Libya, Lebanon, Syria.
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plant food
Most Egyptian cuisine has been based on vegetables and legumes for thousands of years. Mainly because vegetables are much cheaper than meat. The most popular, in addition to beans, vegetables in Egypt: cauliflower, potatoes, eggplant, zucchini, okra, sweet and hot peppers, onions, as well as the rhizomes of the tropical plant colocassia, which are unfamiliar to us.
In addition to vegetables, the most diverse greens are very widely used in Egyptian cuisine: from the usual parsley, dill, cilantro, mint, green onions, leeks, thyme, celery, sorrel to exotic leaves of molokhia ( molohiya), which is also called Egyptian spinach for its high content of vitamins and minerals.
Meat and fish
Due to its geographical position, Egyptian cuisine is rich in fish, shrimp, squid.
In addition, poultry meat is quite popular in Egyptian cuisine, and pigeon meat is considered a special delicacy. This is unusual for us, but in Egypt pigeons are bred everywhere, there are small dovecotes even at restaurants.
The meat of large animals is practically not used in Egyptian everyday cuisine, only on major holidays like a wedding, the birth of a son or buying a house in Egypt, a sheep is slaughtered. The cow in ancient Egypt was considered a sacred animal, so there are no beef dishes in Egyptian cuisine. The situation is similar with pork, the use of which is prohibited here by Muslim laws.
Dairy
Dairy products, along with legumes and vegetables, form the basis of Egyptian cuisine. Goat and buffalo milk is most often used, cow's milk is less popular here. And there is also an exotic type of milk for us - camel milk, very thick and fatty, more reminiscent of heavy cream.
Cheeses also occupy a significant place in Egyptian cuisine. The most popular Egyptian cheese is Domiati, named after the Egyptian city of Domyat. This is a soft pickled cheese that is eaten both fresh and mature, aged for two to three months. Domiati cheese is made mainly from buffalo or cow milk, but there are also options from goat, sheep or camel milk, salt here, unlike similar European cheeses, is added directly to the milk, before adding rennet. This cheese has a sharply salted taste and a brittle structure.
Spices
Spices have been very popular in Egyptian cuisine since ancient Egypt. The most commonly used spices are anise, cumin, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, turmeric, coriander, saffron, ginger, bay leaf. All types of pepper are very loved: hot chili, black, white, green, both ground and peas. It was the Egyptians who began to use cinnamon many centuries ago.
Traditional dishes
Bread
Bread is an essential attribute of all meals. The main varieties of bread are flatbreads: Aish baladi, made from coarse wheat flour, and Aish Shamsi, made from white flour.
Khawashi is a bread cake stuffed with meat.
Shami bread is a traditional Egyptian flatbread served with Molokhiya soup.
Soups
Soups in Egyptian cuisine are prepared with both vegetable broths and poultry, fish or meat broths. Puree soups made from various vegetables are quite popular: tomato, lentil.
Shorba is a thick lentil soup inherited by the Egyptians as a legacy of the Ottoman Empire. Egyptian cuisine has its own peculiarities of its preparation. Curiously, the word Shorba in Egypt now means soups in general.
Molokhia (Mlokhia) - soup based on dried leaves of the plant of the same name, with the addition of chicken. Served with rice or flatbread and canned vegetables (mekhalel).
Khudar Bi l Mawasir - stew with vegetables in meat broth.
Ful Nabet is a sprouted bean soup.
Shorba Khudar Bi l Mavasir - egg soup with rice.
Main dishes
Koshari (also called Kushari or Kosheri) is a traditional and very popular Egyptian dish of lentils, rice and pasta seasoned with vinegar and tomato sauce.
Foul is a bean dish that the Egyptians eat mainly for breakfast. The classic version is made from beans with olive oil, lemon and spices. It is called Ful Medames. But there are many different variations of it with all kinds of additives: sprouted beans with herbs - Fuliya Bi l Khodra, stewed with tomatoes and hot peppers - Ful Bi l Tamatem wa el Felfel, stewed with butter beans - Ful Bi l Zebda, stewed with butter and lemon beans - Full Bi l Zet Bi l Laymun.
Fatta is a traditional Egyptian dish originating from Arabic cuisine (“fatta” in Arabic means crumbs). This is a very satisfying dish in which rice is placed on a flat cake, then pieces of meat and vegetable sauce with broth is poured on top. Served with vegetable salad of tomatoes and cucumbers. This dish is very filling and tasty. It is prepared only on major holidays, for a wedding, for the birth of the first child.
Shakshuka - eggs baked on a bed of fried tomatoes.
Hamine - eggs boiled with onion peel and cut in half. Served with salt, pepper and a slice of lemon.
Mahshi is another traditional and beloved Egyptian dish. It is vegetables stuffed with rice. Vegetables are used in a variety of ways: from zucchini, eggplant, potatoes to cabbage and grape leaves.
Pigeon stuffed with rice, baked on charcoal, is also one of the varieties of Mahshi. This is a separate dish worth mentioning. Each Egyptian hostess has her own recipe for cooking a dove. The most delicious part of the dish is the head.
Fytyr is a traditional Egyptian pie, something like a cross between pizza and pancakes. It is prepared with a wide variety of toppings, ranging from cheese and vegetables to sugar and honey.
Kofta - meatballs.
Shawarma is made from lamb or chicken.
Salads and appetizers
Taamiya is similar to falafel, usually served in sandwiches with tomatoes and pickles.
Munkacina - a salad of oranges, onions and olives, seasoned with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Mekhalel is the Egyptian version of canned vegetables.
Hummus is a mashed chickpea that is usually eaten as a snack with tortillas or pita bread.
Dukka - a mixture of nuts with herbs and spices, can serve as an independent snack or as an addition to the main course.
Dessert
When preparing desserts in Egyptian cuisine, nuts and honey are mainly used.
Umm ali (Om ali / Oum ali) - pieces of puff pastry with raisins, nuts and coconut chips, baked under a filling of hot milk with sugar and whipped cream.
Mukhalabiya (Mehalabiya) - tender milk rice pudding with honey, butter and nuts.
Sweet Gullesh is a dessert made from filo pastry with custard. Similar to baklava, but slightly less cloying.
Hegazeya is a yeast dough pie stuffed with sweet semolina, ground nuts and cinnamon.
Fytyr is a puff pastry pie with custard.
Beverages
Hibiscus tea is the visiting card of Egypt, here it is drunk always and everywhere, hot and cold. It perfectly quenches thirst and is a very healthy drink, tonic and invigorating. Another amazing property of hibiscus is that when cold, it is able to reduce pressure, and when hot, increase it.
Bedouin herbal tea is also popular, which is brewed from lemongrass growing there, as well as herbal tea with mint.
Coffee is also quite common in Egypt. Most often you can find Bedouin coffee. Arabica is brewed in a jug with a narrow neck for 18-20 hours in hot sand. It turns out a thick, viscous, very strong drink, which is drunk with water. Another popular option is Arabic, when coffee is brewed in a Turk.
Special mention is date milk (Khushaf) - a favorite delicacy of the Egyptians. Dried dates are poured with boiling buffalo milk and infused for 2-3 hours. It makes a delicious sweet milkshake.
Alcohol
Strong alcohol in Egypt is practically not consumed, with the exception of tourist areas. This is due to the fact that the population of the country is almost entirely Muslim. And also with the fact that at the legislative level there is a restriction on the number of producers of alcoholic beverages. There are only three of them here. Produced from strong - vodka, rum and whiskey, which taste similar to each other, red and white wine, tart and sour in taste. Beer is also gaining popularity, there are several brands: Heiniken, Sakara, Stella, Luxor, as well as fortified Meister.
Serving and etiquette
Recipes
Khushaf is date milk, a traditional and favorite drink in Egypt for both children and adults. It is very good to drink it in the morning, it works as an energy drink, charging and toning the body. In addition, this drink contains many vitamins and minerals, does not contain sugar at all, and at the same time ...
Molokhia is a traditional Egyptian soup made from the leaves of the Molokhia plant and chicken. The root of molokhia is called molokh (mlokh) and in translation means king. Accordingly, Molokhiya is translated as "royal". In ancient Egypt, this dish was very popular among the kings. Therefore, molokhia was prepared for big holidays. It is usually served with traditional Egyptian flatbread…
If you are a genuinely inquisitive person, then try to go through the day eating like the average Egyptian. For people less interested in national cuisine, we recommend trying the Egyptian menu in fragments. Almost all more or less complex meat dishes, as well as many soups and sweets of modern Egyptian cuisine, are borrowed from the Turks, Lebanese, Mamelukes, Albanians, Arabs of Palestine or Yemenis - all those peoples who ever came to Egypt and owned it:
kyufta- meatballs fried on the grill; kebabs all kinds of kebabs;
pastrami- dried and smoked beef in a thick layer of spices;
chorba lentil stew flavored with lemon juice (the one for which Esau sold his birthright to Jacob). can be found and kara-chorbu(shepherd's stew);
baklava- Turkish sweet, rhombuses from puff pastry with spicy nut filling;
Malahabija- Circassian (Mamepyuk) dish, sweet and buttery rice boiled in milk with rose water, pistachio grits and spices;
shawarma- fried and thinly sliced meat wrapped in a flatbread with spices and herbs;
balladi yeast cakes (fritters).
Nevertheless, there are many dishes in Egyptian cuisine that can be safely considered national. The main one is tahina, mashed sesame seeds with vegetable oil. White cumin must be added to tahina. The walls of all Egyptian kitchens literally reeked of cumin - this is the most Egyptian smell. Tahini is served at the very beginning of the dinner, it is supposed to dip a flatbread into it. Tahini is followed by salad and main hot dishes:
full medames brew from local beans;
tarbe- lamb or veal stomach stuffed with meat;
mahalil- tinted with beets, peppered and salted shallots, olives, pieces of carrots and lemon: The Egyptians do not sit at the table without pickles, this is the first prevention for them from widespread unsanitary conditions. For the same reason, half-baked meat or fish is not eaten in Egypt.
Egyptian beef- marinated, fried and only then oven-baked meat;
lamb in Cairo- lamb shoulder, fried and then stewed in tomato;
grilled fish deep cuts are made in the fish before frying, salted, rubbed with spices or poured with lemon juice and only then placed on the grill;
shakshuka omelet with meat and tomatoes;
molocheya- mashed chicken soup, herbs, garlic and vegetables (potatoes, peppers, pumpkins, zucchini, tomatoes or carrots);
kibda lamb or beef liver with rice or flatbread, or even with apples, bananas and oranges;
kushari finely chopped pasta with lentils and onions;
Cairo chicken chicken pre-marinated and boiled until tender, smeared with honey and placed in a red-hot oven for one minute;
hibiscus truly national Egyptian drink. It is made from hibiscus flowers, a shrub of the Malvaceae family. It turns out a sour burgundy drink, which, unknowingly, can be mistaken for freshly squeezed pomegranate juice.
Features of national Egyptian cuisine
The classic Egyptian breakfast consists of two main courses: fula and felafile (or taameya).
Ful are boiled beans in a sour sauce, with spices and herbs, sometimes with the addition of finely chopped vegetables. Filafili are vegetarian cutlets made from grated legumes. In addition to this, a plate of tehina sauce (ground sesame and nuts with olive oil, spices) is served, in which during the meal you need to dip eis bread, fresh vegetable salad, gebna salad (cheese like cheese mixed with vegetables). All this should be washed down with cold hibiscus tea from the petals of the so-called Sudanese rose, which we better know as “Pharaoh tea”.
On weekdays, the Egyptians do not have a very tight lunch. The most popular lunch dish is koshar. The name is a little intimidating, but there is nothing nightmarish about this dish. It's just boiled beans, beans, lentils and other grains mixed with fried onions. All this is filled with a fiery liquid from the bottles supplied right there. The Egyptians, like fakirs, accustomed to sharp objects, swallow their portion. Europeans do it with apprehension, with tears in their eyes. In Cairo, you can pay only 1 pound for an impressive portion of koshara. If you have time, you can have a more substantial snack, for example, fish tagine (assorted seafood baked in a pot).
To spite all modern nutritionists, the Egyptians make the main emphasis in their diet on dinner. Dinner is the longest meal for them. First you need to warm up with a variety of cold and hot snacks. Taste gebnas (something like fried dumplings with cheese), easily walk through vegetable salads and touch basturma, try stewed eggplants with garlic irresistibly affecting Europeans.
Now we can move on to the main dishes.
Be sure to try the fried pigeon stuffed with porridge. Pigeons are specially bred here for gastronomic purposes. Some Egyptians eat them along with the bones. Pigeon is a pity, but you can get used to it. Although it is shocking to think that for full saturation you have to stir up an entire dovecote. The following hot dish will allow you not to die of hunger - a kebab jacket, accompanied by a cup of rice. Kofta is minced beef sausages, kebab is the same barbecue, but not marinated. In the classic version, all this is cooked on an open fire.
For dessert, a variety of pastries soaked in honey syrup and sprinkled with grated nuts are served, in which the Egyptians are great masters.
A comfortable hotel, a beach on the Red Sea and all inclusive - this is not all of Egypt. Somewhere out there, behind the walls of the hotel, in the Arabian desert, waves of sand roll, and the pyramids argue with time, and the eternal Nile flows.
And somewhere out there they cook simple falafel, eat warm tortillas with hummus and drink refreshing hibiscus tea.
Acquaintance with the national cuisine of Egypt is akin to an excursion. You need to go out into the city, find a restaurant where they cook local dishes, try something with an unpronounceable name - and be surprised how delicious it is.
We will talk about the most common Egyptian dishes and what you can offer your child from this.
Kitchen features
The national food in Egypt is an outlandish mixture of different culinary traditions. There are dishes typical for the entire Middle East, and a clear influence of Mediterranean cuisine, and very special food that is prepared only in this country.
Egyptian cuisine has several characteristic features.
- The popularity of legumes. It is a valuable source of protein, and much cheaper than meat. Almost all of the most popular Egyptian dishes are made from beans, beans, lentils or chickpeas.
- Original meat dishes. Basically, mutton, goat meat, rabbit meat, poultry meat are used for cooking, less often beef and never pork.
- Plenty of fish and seafood dishes.
- Frequent use of vegetables- fresh, boiled, stewed. In the first place in Egypt, perhaps, are eggplant, but salads from fresh vegetables and vegetable soups are prepared here very often.
- Small selection of cereals. Locals eat rice, bulgur and couscous, the rest of the cereals are almost non-existent.
- Generous use of spice th. Most of them are familiar - black and red pepper, cloves, coriander, cumin, zira, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla. But there are also special ones, almost never found in European cuisine. This is primarily mastic - light golden pieces of resin that are added to meat to give the flavor of game. Another amazing spice is mahleb, ground nucleoli from the seeds of wild cherries.
National dishes of Egypt
The names of the most popular Middle Eastern dishes are well known: falafel, hummus, halva, baklava. But this is only a tiny part of the national dishes of Egypt. Imagine the taste of unfamiliar food from the descriptions, and then during lunch in an Egyptian restaurant, remember if this is how you imagined the taste of full medames or kushari.
Snacks
In Egypt, it is customary to start a meal with appetizers. This tradition requires only one comment: the appetizers are so tasty that you can eat them before you are served the main course.
Full medames- bean puree seasoned with garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. Full medames can be simply spread on bread or eaten with scrambled eggs, boiled eggs, fresh vegetables.
This dish has many variations: when you see the name “Fuliya bi l hodra” or “Ful bi l zebda” on the menu, feel free to order it.
Gibna Domiati- soft cheese made from buffalo (sometimes cow) milk. This cheese is sold in cans, and aging only enhances its flavor. Therefore, you can take the domiati gibna with you as a reminder of your vacation or a delicious gift.
Dukka- a mixture of chopped nuts and fragrant herbs (most often coriander, sesame, zira, mint and thyme) with salt. It is difficult to call this dish just an appetizer, since dukka is used as a breading or as a mixture of spices for meat and fish.
But the most wonderful way to eat this fragrant dish is to break off a piece of bread, dip it in olive oil, then into dukka and put it in your mouth. For such a snack, cakes “aysh baladi” or soft Egyptian bread “semet” are suitable.
Baba Ganoush- a dish of baked eggplant, popular in many Arab countries. Eggplant puree is seasoned with olive oil, sesame paste (tahina) is often added. Also, sesame paste is often put on the table as an independent dish and hommus(mashed chickpeas).
Soups
Dishes called shorba or shorbet are soups. Most often they are boiled in meat or fish broth, seasoned with vegetables, legumes, and eggs. Seasonings unusual for soup are used, for example, cardamom.
- Shorba hudar bi l mavasir- vegetable soup in meat broth.
- Shorba ful nabet- Sprouted bean soup seasoned with lemon juice.
- Shorba ads asfar- lentil soup puree.
- Sahina bi l beid wa el ruz- rice soup with egg.
- Lisan asfur- soup with pasta in chicken broth.
Main dishes
If snacks have only whetted your appetite, it's time to move on to serious food.
Kushari- a dish of pasta, rice, chickpeas and lentils seasoned with tomato sauce and garlic. This dish is not so ancient: it appeared on the Egyptian menu about 100 years ago, and it is believed that it was invented by the British, who occupied Egypt as a result of the Anglo-Egyptian war.
Be that as it may, several sources of slow carbohydrates in one plate at once are a guarantee that you will be full for a long time.
Mulukiya- a hearty dish with beef, rabbit, chicken or fish. But this is not the main thing in it, but the leaves of jute, a tropical plant whose tough stems are used to make ropes and burlap. Mulukiya is usually served with rice or Egyptian bread.
Falafel- Deep-fried chickpea patties. Spices are added to the minced meat, so the dish can be quite spicy. Falafel with sesame sauce and fresh vegetables wrapped in a tortilla is a great snack.
Fatir (fetir)- thin pies with sweet or spicy fillings. The dough for fatir is made puff, and the filling is made from cheese, minced meat, onion with an egg or from cottage cheese, raisins, jam.
Meat and poultry dishes
Meat in Egypt is not eaten every day. These are rather festive dishes that are prepared in honor of significant events. Among the daily dishes, one can only include kofta cutlets, which are made from a mixture of ground beef and lamb. But other names can be seen in the menu of restaurants.
Tarbes- minced beef or lamb cutlets wrapped in interior mutton fat and baked on charcoal. Under the same name, you can be offered a stuffed lamb stomach (gourmets will appreciate it).
Dema bi l lyakhma- roast beef in tomato sauce. Fahda dani - lamb ham stuffed with garlic and baked in the oven. Kishk bi l dagag - chicken in yogurt sauce. Often, instead of yogurt, laban, a tender curd cheese, is added to the sauce.
Butt mechamar- fried goose. The dish, it would seem, is common, but in Egypt it is prepared with the addition of mastic and cardamom, which is why goose meat acquires an unexpected flavor of game. Warak ainab - Egyptian dolma. It is made from minced rice and meat wrapped in grape leaves.
Fish dishes
Egypt is rich in fish and seafood. A rich catch is provided by the Red and Mediterranean Seas, the Nile, Lake Nasser. All this deliciousness is prepared only in specialized fish restaurants.
Pay attention to the cooking method: fish, shrimp, shellfish are fried on coals (mashui) or deep-fried (makli), less often they are baked in the oven.
We will mention only one unusual dish. Ruz bi fwake el bahr- Rice cooked according to a special recipe with seafood. It includes fish fillet, squid, shrimp, as well as walnuts and peanuts.
Egyptian cuisine desserts
The sweet dishes of Egypt are a test for gourmets. The abundance of dissimilar desserts makes you salivate, and there is only one way out: try everything.
Halva- Everyone's favorite sweet. In Egypt, halva is made from sesame seeds and crushed pistachios, almonds or pine nuts are added to it. Halva is one of the few products that keeps well even in hot climates.
We are accustomed to perceive halvah as an independent dessert, and the Egyptians use it to prepare another sweet dish - salakan. To do this, halva is mixed with honey and whipped cream.
Kunafa- a dish resembling a casserole of very thin pasta. In fact, this is not pasta, but kadaif dough, dried in the form of thin threads. Kunafa filling is made from nuts and whipped cream.
Basbusa- semolina pie. Basbous golden squares are decorated with nuts.
Ka "kat- soft and fluffy squiggle bagel sprinkled with sesame seeds. It smells in a special way, because mahleb is added to the dough - ground nucleoli of wild cherries. Their aroma is a bit like almonds and deceives the taste buds well: the bagel seems sweet, although there is almost no sugar in the dough.
Umm Ali- puff pastry dessert stuffed with coconut, raisins and almonds. The products are laid out in a mold, poured with hot milk and baked. This sweet is often compared to tiramisu.
Hegazeya- a pie stuffed with semolina and nuts. It smells unimaginably sweet, because cinnamon is added to the filling, but it does not taste sweet, so honey is often served with the pie.
exotic
Many Egyptian dishes somehow resemble the usual food. But not all: very unusual dishes are prepared in this country.
Fesik (fisikh)- a dish of salted fermented mullet or sardine. You can try fesik not at any time, but only on the spring holiday of Sham el-Nessim, which is celebrated at the end of April. The smell of this dish is not very pleasant. By the way, for the holiday of Sham el-Nessim in Egypt it is customary to paint eggs. They are served for breakfast with soft buns and green onions.
Mahshi- Pigeon stuffed with rice and baked on charcoal. Pigeons for culinary purposes are bred in poultry farms.
Taro soup- a dish that is prepared for the feast of the Epiphany. The tubers of the tropical plant taro (taro), which have a spicy taste, are eaten. For the broth, the taro is boiled along with the meat. Then the broth is seasoned with coriander, minced garlic and lemon juice, and the boiled tubers are mashed and served as a side dish.
Fatta- a spicy dish for big holidays and special occasions. It consists of rice and fried bread layered and topped with beef broth, garlic, spices and vinegar. Fatta is served with boiled beef and eggs.
Roz bil shaareya- This is boiled rice, to which fried small vermicelli is added.
For tourists, getting to know the peculiarities of Egyptian cuisine is more of an entertainment than a necessity. Therefore, in any case, the child will not remain hungry, even if he does not like or does not like the new food.
A child who is already eating from an adult table can be offered many Egyptian dishes. At the same time, it is advisable to try only one unfamiliar dish at a time and combine it with something familiar (for example, stewed or fresh vegetables).
There are few very spicy dishes in Egypt, but it is still worth tasting food before giving it to a child. The most spicy dish is fatta, which is also seasoned with vinegar. We do not recommend giving your child taro soup. Even common falafel can be too spicy to end up on a kid's table.
Meat dishes may seem greasy. Although fat is well absorbed in the dry climate of Egypt, the child should not lean on lamb dishes.
Drinks for children
The best drink in a hot country is water. In Egypt, you can only drink bottled water. But if you want to try something unusual, start with the asyr asab drink.
Asyr asab It's cane juice. A very sweet green-colored drink is considered an integral part of Egyptian cuisine. For sale, cane juice is usually mixed with the juice of other fruits. Important: you can’t store juice, drink it immediately after purchase.
Do not order drinks with ice in Egypt. Ice may well be made from tap water, which is dangerous.
Hibiscus- tea from hibiscus flowers. A sour drink, slightly tart in taste, quenches thirst well. In the heat of hibiscus, it is more pleasant to drink chilled.
Shai bi l nana- tea with mint. Mint is not brewed with boiling water, as usual, but fresh sprigs are placed in already brewed tea. Also in Egypt, tourists are treated to Bedouin tea with lemongrass. Coffee is also very popular in Egypt. Here it is brewed with cardamom. Ziyadah is sweet coffee, spada is bitter coffee, and mazbuta is coffee of medium sweetness.
Where to try
In tourist cities, there are many restaurants where you can try traditional Egyptian dishes. Delicious food is prepared and beautifully served in gourmet restaurants (national music often plays there). In the so-called Bedouin cafes, the menu is small and the service is simple, but everything is very tasty.
In Egypt, there are also fast food restaurants serving traditional dishes. Some establishments specialize in selling falafel: hot cutlets with fresh vegetable salad are sold in a soft tortilla.
Other cafes sell exclusively ful - it is also wrapped in a tortilla. Fatir pies are sold in a cafe called "fatatri".
Egyptian cuisine is rare in hotel restaurants. Often they are adapted, averaged, cooked without special spices. There is a plus in this: a child who does not like change will not spoil the mood with an abundance of unfamiliar dishes.
We wish you pleasant gastronomic discoveries! And as soon as you have an interest in other attractions in Egypt, take a look at the Kid Passage's collection of family entertainment. There are options for excursions for every taste.
