Egyptian Food

Egytian food has it's own unique dishes, but overall it has many similarities with other Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Countries.
Some of the best food you will find in Egypt is in someone's home.  Many Egyptians are welcoming and will invite you to their house for a meal.  When I first traveled to Egypt, an Egyptian family that our group had just met, invited us right away to their house for dinner.The family did not have a lot of money; they lived in a very small apartment, and owned very little, but they were rich in ways that money can never buy. When it was time for dinner, they laid a large sheet down on the ground in the middle of their main room.  The mother and children brought out the bowls of food from the kitchen and we all sat in a circle and ate.  I do not remember everything that we ate, but I definitely remember chicken, rice and I believe okra.  Middle  and upper class families eat at a table like we do in the United States.
It is a great cultural experience, no matter what part of the world you travel to, to have a home cooked meal in someones house.  You learn so much about the way people live.

Here are a few of some popular foods and drinks in Egypt:

 Kushari: This is one of my favorite Egyptian dishes.  Last summer we tried making it at home. It is not difficult to make, but it is time consuming since there are so many things you need to cook that go into it.  Kushari is considered to be the Egyptian national dish, it consists of pasta, rice, lentil beans, garlic, chickpeas, crispy caramelized onions, with a slightly spicy tomato sauce on top. Kusari is even better when you pour a little vinegar on top of it all. It has been a popular lunch item in  Egypt for over 100 years because it is delicious, filling and very inexpensive.
 Interestingly enough, Kushari’s origins are not Egyptian at all, in fact it was a dish brought in by the British army in Egypt in the 19th century: the pasta was imported from Italy, the tomatoes are from Latin America and the rice from Asia, however the idea to mix them all together in one extremely delicious and vegetarian dish was conceived in Egypt.

Kushari; this photo was taken from a restaurant called "Cairo Kitchen" which serves homemade style foods. It was yummy!

Ful and Tamiya (falafel)

Ful is of the common staple foods in Egypt, it consists of fava beans served with oil, garlic and lemon juice. Ful Medames can be traced to Pharaonic roots, and quantities have been found in the Twelfth dynasty. The word “Medames” is Coptic for “buried” which refers to the way it was initially cooked: in a pot buried in hot coal or sand. Ful Medames can be served with many embellishments such as butter, tomato sauce, tahini, fried or boiled eggs and pastrami. However, the most traditional method is to eat it plain and salted in an Egyptian bread bun.

You may have heard of tamaya before; in the United States and various other countries, we call it falafel.  Falafel are delicious, deep fried balls of chickpea and herbs usually served with salad, or in a sandwich with hummus and pita bread.

If you’re in Egypt and you ask for falafel, more than likely what you will actually received are Tamiya, the superior Egyptian version of the classic Middle Eastern dish. The recipe for Tamiya – or the Egyptian falafel – is similar to that of traditional falafel, however instead of using chickpea, they use mashed white broad beans (fava beans) instead.

Ful and Tamiya

 Mahshi - (stuffed vegetables) A healthy vegetarian meal made by stuffing vegetables such as cabbage leaves, tomatoes, green peppers, grape leaves and eggplants with rice seasoned with herbs and spices. This is then placed in a pot and topped with tomato sauce and lemon.

Mashi and rice; the dish, from my dinner above, has small eggplants (aubergines), green peppers and zucchini. 

Molokhia (or Molokheyyah) - A soup made from finely chopped mallow leaves mixed with ground coriander and garlic. It is a staple part of Egyptian food though is normally only eaten at home. Sometimes chicken, lamb or rabbit is added to this greenish soup.

Molokhia is not my favorite Egyptian dish because of the mucus like texture that it has. 

 Shawarma - This popular Middle Eastern sandwich is made from shaved goat, chicken, lamb, beef, or turkey. It is rolled in pita bread and tahini sauce.

This is what the shawarma meat looks like before it is sliced of and put in pita bread for a sandwich.

Kofta - Sometimes called Kefta, these are spiced meatballs (looking more like small sausages than balls) often served on a skewer.

Baba Ghanoush

Baba Ghanoush - Made from grilled eggplant that is peeled then mashed and mixed with tahini (sesame seed paste), lemon juice, salt, pepper, parsley, cumin and dressed with olive oil. This dip has a smoky flavor and is best served with pita bread.

Some Egyptian Desserts:

Baklava - Layers of flaky pastry filled with chopped nuts and honey syrup.

You can find baklava in many Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries, but you can also find it in stores and restaurants in America.

Halawa - a popular confection in Egypt made from sesame paste. It is normally sold in blocks (by weight).  It is a bit too sweet for my taste.
When I was living in Egypt, my friend Christine and I were actually in a commercial for halawa and the product is in the picture below. They were looking for a diverse group of people to be in the commercial. We went to the studio, got make-up on, rehearsed the song in arabic and sang the jingle with a large group of people holding up the halawa product.  It was a fun experience, but I never did get to see the commercial on television.


Roz Be Laban - rice pudding with a hint of vanilla. This is my favorite Egyptian dessert, especially topped with pistachios or hazelnuts!

Umm Ali - Layers of bread soaked in milk with raisins and sometimes topped with nuts. It is served hot.


Some Drinks:

Karkaday is extremely popular, the locals say this hot drink calms the nerves. It is a red colored native drink made from dried hibiscus flowers, served either hot or cold.


Sahlab  is made from crushed orchis mascula, sesame seeds, coconut, milk, sugar with nuts and raisins on the top of it. It is served hot; Coffee shops have really good ones.


Hummus El Shams: This is a warm drink that is a little bit spicy.  It has garbanzo beans/hummus floating at the bottom. It is almost like having a meal or soup in a cup.

I was served this while visiting the Naguib Mafouz cafe in the Khan El Khalili Bazaar.

My favorite things to drink in Egypt are all of the fresh juices.  The two I love the most are mango and strawberry!

Ms. Fuller had the mango juice and Ms, Chambers and I had the strawberry. It was delicious!!!

I hope that gives you a sample of what some of the food and drinks are like here in Egypt.
If you were in Egypt, what would you most want to try?  Is there anything above that you have already had? If so, how did you like it?