Egyptian food: discover traditional cuisine

EISH BALADI – bread of life, a wheat flour flatbread baked in hot ovens or baking stones.

BATAW – flatbread made from whole wheat flour, cornmeal, and sometimes barley or millet. It is found in rural areas and baked on a hot surface, giving it a rustic texture.

EISH FINO – a soft, baguette-like white bread that is soft inside and usually cut open for fillings.

EISH SHAMSI – thick sourdough wheat bread, usually left to rise and dry in the sun before baking.

FETEER MESHALTET – pies from flaky pastry made of many layers of dough, ghee, and sweet or savory filling, sometimes referred to as Egyptian pizza.

FATTAH – Egyptian FATEH version, a bowl with rice with crispy flatbread and garlic tomato sauce, sometimes featuring meat.

KOSHARY – a rich dish of lentils, rice, and pasta mixed with spicy tomato sauce and crispy fried onions.

ROZZ ME‘AMMAR – is rice cooked with milk or cream and chicken broth and then oven-baked. It is a festive side dish served in a clay casserole bowl.

MASHI — bell peppers, zucchini, eggplants, tomatoes, vine leaves, or cabbage—ar hollowed out or prepared as wraps and filled with a mixture of rice, dill, parsley, mint, spices, and sometimes minced meat.

MOLOKHIA – is a slippery–consistency green soup made from molokhia leaves. It can be cooked with chicken, duck, or beef and served with rice, onions, and lemon.

SALATA BALADI – chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and onions, tossed with tangy vinegar-lemon dressing, fresh parsley, and dried mint.

TAAMEYA / FALLAFEL – ground fava beans mixed with onions, leeks, cilantro, parsley, and cumin and coated with sesame seeds. Eaten with tahini, pita, fresh tomatoes, and arugula.

FUL MEDAMES – mashed fava beans slow-cooked with cumin, flavored with olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, chili pepper and fresh parsley, served with flatbread.

HOMMOS EL SHAM – a combination of food and drink: spicy chickpea soup in a cup, flavored with onion, tomato, garlic, cumin, chili pepper, and lemon; served hot.

SHURBAT ADS – lentil soup flavored with lemon and cumin; usually pureed before serving and sprinkled with fried onions.

MESAQA’AH – Egyptian version of moussaka: fried eggplant in a spicy, garlicky tomato sauce, served with pita and tahini sauce.

BABA GANOUSH – smoky smashed eggplants, tomatoes, pomegranate molasses, garlic, cumin, mint and parsley, olive oil, and lemon juice.

SABANEKH – spinach stew, usually served with rice. It is commonly, but not necessarily, made with small chunks of beef.

QULQAS – taro root stew with garlicky cilantro sauce.

BAMIA – slow-simmered okra and tomato stew, can feature meat or be meatless, prepared with ta’aleya garlic sauce.

HAMAM MAHSHI – pigeon stuffed with rice or green wheat and herbs, spit-roasted or baked.

HAWAWSHI – spiced minced lamb or beef in a pita, stuffed inside the bread, and then baked or grilled, spiced with cumin, coriander, paprika, and garlic.

KAMOUNIA – a beef or lamb and cumin stew, sometimes made with offal, like bull genitals or liver.

SHAWARMA – a sandwich of shredded beef, lamb, or chicken meat rolled in pita bread with tahini sauce.

KOFTA – well-seasoned minced beef or lamb prepared with spices and parsley, rolled into a finger shape and grilled over charcoal, served with rice, pita, or veggies.

HALLA KEBAB – braised beef with onions and potatoes, seasoned with garlic, cumin, coriander, paprika, cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon, served with parsley and pita.

KEBDA ESKANDARANI – chopped liver sandwiches, a popular street food.

KAWARE – cow’s feet dish, cooked for an extensive four to five hours till it becomes like a jello, it is believed to be an aphrodisiac in Egypt.

YERSHIG / SUJUK / SUJUX – spicy, fatty beef sausage, highly flavored with cumin, garlic, paprika, and salt. Usually semi-dried and fried before serving.

PASTIRMA – highly seasoned, air-dried cured beef, often paired with scrambled eggs. It can be cut into slices, or fried or grilled lightly over a charcoal fire

SAYADEYA – specialty dish, grilled or fried white fish spiced with cumin and coriander, served on yellow rice with onions and tomato sauce and fried onions

SHRIMP TAGINE – shrimp stew is made in a traditional clay pot tagine. The stew includes onions, garlic, cumin, coriander, paprika, turmeric, cayenne peppers, tomatoes, bell peppers, and broth.

EGGAH – a thick omelet made with parsley, flour, cumin, cinnamon, coriander, turmeric, and sometimes veggies, cooked in a deep pan and served in slices.

SHAKSHUKA – tomato and pepper-based stew with onions, paprika and cumin, topped with poached eggs. Often includes feta cheese, may sometimes include green peppers and use more garlic than in other countries.

BAKLAVA – a crispy phyllo filled with mixed nuts, soaked in fruit syrup or honey.

KUNAFA – a crunchy and buttery phyllo filled with creamy pudding and drizzled with fragrant syrup and pistachios.

HALAWA

UMM ALI – mother of Ali, a national Egyptian pudding dessert where pastry is blended with pistachios, coconut flakes, raisins, and sugar. Mixed with milk or cream, flavored with cinnamon and baked.

BASBOUSA – syrup-soaked semolina cake, sweetened with rose or orange blossom water and cut into diamond shapes, also found in other Middle East and North African countries.

SWABA ZAINAB – fried dough soaked in sugar syrup in the form of fingers. Crunchy outside and soft inside.

ROZ BEL LABAN – a creamy rice pudding dessert made from rice, milk, and sugar, often flavored with cinnamon or vanilla.

ZALABIYEH – spongy cakes fried in oil.