Egypt: Recipes and Cuisine

Egyptian cuisine goes back 5000 years to the time of the pharaohs. The pyramid builders survived on a diet of onions, garlic, coarse bread and beer. Beer is now out of the picture, but those other basic ingredients, supplemented by tomatoes, okra, eggplant, favas, lentils, pasta and rice, still form the foundation of Egyptian food today. Meat has always been spare for Egyptians, given the small sliver of grazable land either side of the Nile. But dairy cattle provide a variety of farmer-style cheeses, and dishes using domesticated pigeon are favorites.

Typical Egyptian Dishes

Appetizers

Baba Ghanoush (Middle Eastern eggplant dip)
Hummus bi Tahini (Chickpea and sesame dip)

Soups and Stews)

Milookhiyya (Green herb soup)

Eggs and Dairy

Beid Hamine (Egyptian slow-cooked eggs)
Gibna Beida (Feta-style cheese)
Gibna Rumy (Cheddar-style cheese)
Mish (Ancient farmhouse-style cheese)

Poultry

Biram Ruzz (Baked rice mold with chicken)
Hamam Mahshi (Pigeons stuffed with bulgur)

Meats

Bamia (Ground lamb and okra stew)
Kuftat (Spiced meatballs)

Vegetables and Beans

Fool Medames (Fava bean stew)
Koshari (Lentils, rice and pasta)
Tamiyah (Fried chickpea patties)

Breads and Grains

Aish (Pocket bread)
Biram Ruzz (Baked rice mold with chicken)
Feteer Meshaltet (Egyptian puff pastry with dips)
Fireek (Cracked green wheat)
Kushari (Lentils, rice and pasta)

Sauces

Dim’a Musabika (Spicy tomato sauce)
Taratour (Sesame sauce)

Desserts

Basboosa (Semolina cake with honey-lemon syrup)
Couscous (Cinnamon-scented sweet)
Esh es Seraya (Bread and honey sweet)
Mihallabiya (Rose-scented pudding)

Breakfast

Ful Medames (Fava bean stew)
Beid Hamine (Egyptian slow-cooked eggs)

Recommended Cookbooks


	Egyptian Cooking: A Practical Guide
	Food fit for Pharaohs: An Ancient Egyptian Cookbook

Egyptian Recipes

Aish

(Mediterranean pocket bread; see Pita recipe)

Baba Ghanoush

(Middle Eastern eggplant dip)

Baba ghanoush is a very popular appetizer and dip in the Middle East. Its smoky, rich flavor of the eggplant goes well with wedges of pita bread or with raw vegetables. Try using it as a sandwich spread or rolled up in wraps. Read more »

Basboosa

(Egyptian semolina cake)

A favorite Egyptian sweet, basboosa is a semolina cake that is baked and soaked with a floral-scented syrup. Its melting sweetness goes well with a cup of hot coffee or tea. Read more »

Beid Hamine

(Egyptian slow-cooked eggs)

Beid hamine is an Egyptian dish with origins in Egypt's ancient Jewish community. The long cooking time comes from the Jewish tradition of slow cooking food overnight to serve on Shabbat, when cooking is forbidden. Slow, steady heat makes the eggs creamy and smooth, and the onion skins impart a delicate flavor and attractive brown color to the whites. Coffee grounds aren't necessary, but they help give the eggs the desired brown color. The oil keeps the water from evaporating too quickly. Read more »

Ful Medames

(Egyptian slow-cooked fava beans)

Ful medames is an ancient Egyptian dish with origins that reach back to the time of the pharaohs. This simple dish of slow-simmered fava beans seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and spices is the daily breakfast meal for millions of Egyptians. Read more »

Hamam Mahshi

(Egyptian braised squab stuffed with cracked wheat)

Egyptians have kept pigeons, also known as squab, since ancient times, and their mud brick pigeon lofts dot the skyline up and down the Nile. One of their favorite ways of serving pigeon is as hamam mahshi (ha-MAM mah-SHEE), stuffed with cracked wheat and gently braised. Read more »

Hummus bi Tahina

(Middle Eastern chickpea and sesame dip)

Hummus is popular appetizer, or meze, throughout the Middle East. Serve with grilled or toasted pita bread cut into wedges. Or use as a sandwich or wrap spread. Read more »

Kefta

(Middle Eastern spiced meatballs)

Spiced meatballs are common in one form or another from Morocco in the west through the Middle East (kefta or kufta), to Greece (keftedes), Turkey (köfte), Armenia (kyufta), Iran (kufteh, or koofteh) and all the way to India (kofta) in the east. All names for these little balls of wonder derive from the Persian verb kuftan, which means "to grind." Read more »

Kushari

(Egyptian pasta, rice and lentils with tomato sauce)

Kushari is a simple yet healthful dish of pasta, rice and lentils widely sold in small Egyptian restaurants and roadside stands. With its full complement of protein, a spicy topping of tomato sauce and crispy fried onions, kushari is often considered the Egyptian national dish. Read more »