Food in Egypt: national cuisine and what they serve in hotels. Egyptian recipes National Egyptian dish

African cuisine is full of pungent, attractively aromatic, spicy flavors.

Of course, the culinary features of preparing dishes in the ancient state were greatly influenced by Europe, whose countries colonized Egypt for many years, but the Egyptians managed to preserve the unique differences of African cuisine and the oriental kaleidoscope of amazing tastes is still inherent in the traditional dishes of this country.

Features of the national cuisine of Egypt

The variety of dishes that are traditionally prepared in Egypt can impress even a sophisticated gourmet. It doesn’t matter what kind of cuisine a tourist who comes to Egypt is a fan of, in this country, for meat lovers, people who prefer fish dishes, people with a sweet tooth, and strict vegetarians, the national cuisine is able to offer such culinary masterpieces that they will become the “swan song” of taste. The only limitation that lovers of delicious food will have to face is the lack of dishes made from pork in the assortment of culinary dishes, because the majority of Egyptians profess Islam.

It is worth noting that the chefs of Egypt attach great importance to the thermal and chemical processing of food, since in the hot climate of Africa it is difficult to preserve food in a suitable and safe form for consumption, so the chefs of this country prepare all kinds of marinades using a large number of spices and with high quality, with all conscientiousness , fry the meat.

The peculiarity of Egyptian cuisine is not so much the list of dishes as the order in which they are served on the table in compliance with all the traditions of the feast. There is everyday cuisine, there is festive cuisine, and the main meal of the day, where the tables are crowded with an abundance of gastronomic delicacies, is dinner.

Egyptian bread

The basis of Egypt's national cuisine is bread, or rather bread cakes. It is interesting that in every Egyptian restaurant they are prepared in their own way, with a special recipe, baked independently and served warm, convex and voluminous in shape.

The traditional bread in Egypt is baladi bread (aish baladi) - a round flatbread made from wholemeal flour and rolled in finely ground wheat, which exudes a delicate aroma. Baladian bread is stuffed with various foods and during the meal it is dipped in pastes made from garlic-seasoned olive oil and eggplant, or Turkish nuts, and sesame seeds. The most delicious flatbreads in the country include bread made from white flour.

Meat, poultry and fish dishes

Meat is prepared in small quantities in Egyptian kitchens, and meat dishes are served with rice or vegetables. A very tasty dish is torly, made from beef or lamb, highlighted by vegetable goulash seasoned with onions and marjoram, which is sprinkled with a little lemon juice.

A very popular dish is kofta - these are meatballs put on skewers, which are made from minced meat with onions and spices that highlight the taste of this dish. Egyptian delicacies include kebabs - kebabs made from poultry or well-marinated meat. Pastrami will appeal to lovers of smoked meat; it is prepared from dried beef rolled in a thick layer of all kinds of spices. The tarbe dish is interesting for its varied taste - it is a lamb or veal stomach stuffed with meat.

You should definitely try chicken prepared according to the Cairo recipe in Egyptian restaurants. The marinated poultry is first boiled, then thoroughly coated with sweet honey and then brought to full readiness in a hot oven.

There are many fish dishes prepared in Egypt, the variety of recipes is impressive, but the national preparation of fish includes the excellent “grilled fish” dish. Several deep cuts are made on freshly caught fish, spices are rubbed into the meat, and the resulting semi-finished product is thoroughly fried on the grill.

Soups and salads

There are many soups prepared in Egyptian kitchens; interesting dishes include molokheyya cream soup made from chicken, garlic, all kinds of vegetables and herbs. Lentil stew, which in Egypt is called chorba, and shepherd's stew, called kra-chobu in the menu, are very tasty. Egyptian chefs prepare ful medames soup from local beans.
National Egyptian snacks

The main Egyptian snack, without a doubt, is tahini puree, made from conscientiously grated sesame seeds, which are mixed with white cumin and vegetable oil. This appetizer is served at the very beginning of the meal and a flatbread is dipped into tahini paste. Pasta is so popular in Egypt that many tourists note that the entire cuisine of the country is literally fragrant with cumin.

Many dishes from vegetables are prepared in Egypt, and tourists can try not only fresh vegetables, but also pickled and spicy-tasting natural gifts. For example, in Egyptian kitchens, torshi salad is prepared from pickled vegetables, and a mixture of tomatoes, onions and parsley, seasoned with olive oil and lemon juice is called tabulah salad. Rolled grape leaves into which minced meat and rice are placed are delicious. This dish is called wara inab and it is served both cold and hot.

The daily diet of an Egyptian necessarily includes beans, which are prepared here according to various recipes. The most original dishes include the “bean burger,” that is, small cutlets made deep-fried from ground beans, to which coriander, spices and garlic are added.

Egyptians love black tea and Turkish coffee, but they especially prefer to drink a sour drink made from the leaves of the Sudanese rose, called hibiscus. This drink normalizes blood pressure and helps the body cope with the heat. Many tourists who have visited Egypt recommend trying Asyr Asyp cane juice, which is prepared right in front of the tourist who ordered the drink.

Dessert

The whole world has heard about oriental sweets and Egyptian cuisine has borrowed a lot in terms of desserts from Turkish cuisine. Baklava was born in Turkey, but Egyptians believe that this dish was first prepared in their country. Baklava is made from puff pastry soaked in juicy honey filling, which is stuffed with nut filling.

The true sweets of Egyptian national cuisine include basbousa - a sweet cake baked from semolina, soaked in honey and sprinkled with nuts.

Egyptian cuisine is replete with a variety of spicy dishes.

But when studying this issue, you can easily notice similar parallels when certain national dishes of Egypt are exactly reminiscent of Turkish, Albanian, Arabic and others. Therefore, the easiest way is to get acquainted with Egyptian dishes step by step.

Let's look at them.

Name of the dish	Description
Ful	Boiled beans with vegetables in sour sauce. They are usually decorated with finely chopped herbs and can be generously seasoned with spices. Served for breakfast.
Filyafili	Vegetarian cutlets made from a porridge-like mass made from legumes. Served with light Tahini sauce. Served for breakfast.
Tahini	The sauce is made from finely chopped nuts with sesame seeds, seasoned with olive oil and spices. It can be added to Gebna salad. Served for breakfast.
Salad-Gebna	It is made from finely chopped vegetables and sour-salty cheese, which tastes similar to feta cheese. Similar to Greek salad. Served for breakfast.
Koshar	A spicy vegetable dish made from grains (lentils, beans, beans, etc.) with the addition of fried onions. All this is generously seasoned with hot sauce. Served for lunch.
Fish Tagin	This is an assortment of seafood that simmers in its own juice in pots. Served for lunch.
Gebna	A rather hearty flour dish that looks like fried cheese dumplings. For some, these are simple khachapuri made from dumplings or butter dough. Served for dinner.
Basturma	This is a meat snack that is made from pressed meat tenderloin and dried (dried) in the open air. The top is covered with a layer of spicy Chaman seasoning. It is usually served as a cold appetizer for dinner.
Kofta Kebab	This is a combination dish consisting of beef sausages and shish kebab, made from unmarinated meat, fried over an open fire. Served for dinner.
Kufta	A meat dish similar to meat cutlets that are cooked over an open fire. Served for lunch or dinner.
Pastrami	Beef delicacy. In Egypt, this dish can be either smoked or dried, but is always generously seasoned with hot spices. Served as a cold appetizer for lunch or dinner.
Chorba or kara-chorba	Shepherd's thick lentil stew with lemon juice. It can be either purely vegetarian or with the addition of meat. Serve hot for dinner.
Malahabidja or Muhalabiya	Spicy sweet milk dish made from rice with pistachio cereals. Served for dessert.
Shawarma (shawarma)	Meat dish. It is prepared from any meat that is well fried, then finely chopped and placed on a thin flatbread. Then add finely chopped herbs and spices and wrap it in a tube.
Ballady	Made from yeast dough. They are baked into flat cakes and used like bread. Egyptians serve it for breakfast and dip the flatbread in Tahini sauce.
Full Medamess	Very tasty Egyptian dish, where many Egyptians start their day. It is prepared from fava (legumes), which are cooked over low heat for a long time (all night). Season with garlic, lemon juice, herbs and olive oil.
Tarbes	Meat dish. This is a lamb or veal stomach stuffed with meat.
Mahalil	A vegetable dish of carrots, olives, shallots and lemon seasoned with hot pepper and salt.
Lamb in Egyptian style	The lamb shoulder is first fried over an open fire and then stewed in tomato sauce.
Egyptian beef	Beef meat is first kept in a spicy marinade for several hours, then fried over an open fire, and then baked in the oven.
Grilled fish	Roasted on a grill over an open fire. Before heat treatment, the fish is rubbed with herbs, spices and salt.
Shakshuk	A simple and very tasty dish. This is an omelette with meat and tomatoes.
Molokheya	Chicken puree soup with the addition of herbs, garlic and vegetables (potatoes, carrots, peppers, pumpkin, zucchini, tomatoes)
Kibda	A dish of lamb or beef liver, which is wrapped in a flatbread along with rice. They can add apples, lemons, oranges, and bananas for juiciness.
Kushari	Regular finely chopped pasta with lentils and onions.
Cairo chicken	The chicken carcass is first marinated, then boiled until cooked. Then coat it with honey and place it in a hot oven for exactly 1 minute. It turns out incredibly beautiful, tasty, aromatic with a crispy crust.
Baklava	A sweet made from puff pastry with a spicy nut filling.
Mahshi	An unusual dish of pigeon for Russians. Nevertheless, very tasty. The pigeon carcass is stuffed with rice and spices. Then it is baked on coals.
Umm Ali	A very tasty sweet “infection”, as it is difficult to tear yourself away from it. So those with a sweet tooth should not even try this. This sweet miracle is prepared from almonds, raisins, coconut flakes with pieces of puff pastry. All this is poured with hot milk and sugar, covered with whipped cream and baked in the oven until cooked.

Hibiscus tea is considered a traditional drink in Egypt.. They don't drink black tea there. And good black tea is quite difficult to find there. In general, the tea sold in Egypt is, pardon the expression, but real flavored urine. Therefore, it is not worth buying them here. There are plenty of the same goods in our stores, which, by the way, have recently stocked a lot of tea of fairly good quality.

If you like steaks that are not fully cooked (any meat or fish dish), then you will not find this in Egypt. Traditionally, all meat dishes are pre-marinated and then fried over an open fire until fully cooked.

Egyptian cuisine is replete with hot, spicy dishes, which Egyptians immediately swallow and wash down with herbal tea. This is a difficult thing for tourists to do, because we have a habit that allows us to experience all the “charm” of such dishes in our own skin. We begin to chew intensively when we should be swallowing quickly. Out of habit, a certain fear of unknown dishes develops, especially among those who are not accustomed to spicy food.

Pigeon dishes may also seem very unusual for a Russian tourist. In Egypt they are bred specifically for such purposes. Although, their meat tastes little different from the same hazel grouse. Compared to chicken, it is a little drier. In general, it is quite diverse, but if you are not used to it, it can cause a number of ambiguous impressions.

Have a pleasant and beneficial holiday everyone!

A comfortable hotel, a beach on the Red Sea and all inclusive - this is not all of Egypt. Somewhere there, outside the walls of the hotel, in the Arabian desert, waves of sand roll, and pyramids argue with time, and the eternal Nile flows.

And somewhere there they cook simple falafel, eat warm flatbreads with hummus and drink refreshing hibiscus tea.

Getting to know 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 tell you about the most common dishes of Egyptian cuisine and what you can offer your child from them.

Kitchen features

National food in Egypt is a strange mixture of different culinary traditions. Here you can find dishes typical of the entire Middle East, a clear influence of Mediterranean cuisine, and very special food that is prepared only in this country.

Egyptian cuisine has several characteristic features.

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. Mostly lamb, goat meat, rabbit meat, poultry are used for cooking, less often beef and never pork.
Abundance of fish and seafood dishes.
Frequent use of vegetables- fresh, boiled, stewed. Eggplants probably come first in Egypt, but salads from fresh vegetables and vegetable soups are prepared very often here.
Small selection of cereals. Locals They eat rice, bulgur and couscous; other cereals are almost never found.
Generous use of spices y. Most of them are familiar - black and red pepper, cloves, coriander, cumin, cumin, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla. But there are also special ones that are almost never found in European cuisine. This is primarily mastic - light golden pieces of resin that are added to meat to impart a gamey flavor. Another amazing spice is mahleb, ground kernels from wild cherry seeds.

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 Egypt's national dishes. Imagine the taste of unfamiliar food from the descriptions, and then during lunch in an Egyptian restaurant, remember whether this is how you imagined the taste of “ful medames” or “kushari”.

Snacks

It is customary to start a meal in Egypt with appetizers. This tradition requires only one comment: the appetizers are so tasty that you can fill up on them before the main course is served.

Full medames- bean puree seasoned with garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. Ful medames can be simply spread on bread or eaten with an omelet, boiled eggs, or fresh vegetables.

This dish has many variations: if you come across the name “Fuliya bi l Khodra” 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 improves its taste. Therefore, you can take gibna domiati with you as a reminder of your vacation or as a tasty gift.

Dukkah- a mixture of chopped nuts and aromatic herbs (most often coriander, sesame, cumin, mint and thyme) with the addition of salt. This dish can hardly be called just a snack, since dukkah 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 dukkah and put it in your mouth. Aish baladi flatbread or soft Egyptian semet bread are suitable for such a snack.

Baba ganoush- a baked eggplant dish popular in many Arab countries. Eggplant puree is seasoned with olive oil, and sesame paste (tahina) is often added. Also, sesame paste is often placed on the table as an independent dish and hommus(chickpea puree).

Soups

Dishes called shorba or shorbet are soups. Most often they are cooked in meat or fish broth, seasoned with vegetables, legumes, and eggs. Seasonings that are unusual for soup are used, for example, cardamom.

Shorba khudar bi l mavasir- vegetable soup with meat broth.
Shorba ful nabet- bean sprout soup seasoned with lemon juice.
Shorba ads asfar- lentil puree soup.
Sahina bi l beid wa el ruz- rice soup with egg.
Lisan asfur- pasta soup with 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 are the key to keeping you full for a long time.

Mulukia- 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, the tough stems of which are used to make ropes and burlap. Mulukiya is usually served with rice or Egyptian bread.

Falafel- deep-fried chickpea puree cutlets. 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 makes a great snack.

Fatir (fetir)- thin pies with sweet or savory filling. The dough for fatir is made into puff pastry, and the filling is prepared from cheese, minced meat, onion and egg, or from cottage cheese, raisins, or jam.

Meat and poultry dishes

Meat is not eaten every day in Egypt. These are rather festive dishes that are prepared in honor of significant events. Daily dishes include kofta cutlets, which are made from a mixture of ground beef and lamb. But you can see other names on restaurant menus.

Tarbes- cutlets made from minced beef or lamb, wrapped in lamb fat and baked over coals. Under the same name you can be offered stuffed lamb stomach (gourmets will appreciate this).

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 delicate curd cheese, is added to the sauce.

Butt mechamar- roast goose. The dish seems to be common, but in Egypt it is prepared with the addition of mastic and cardamom, which gives goose meat an unexpected gamey aroma. Warak aynab - Egyptian dolma. It is made from minced rice and meat wrapped in grape leaves.

Fish dishes

Egypt is rich in fish and seafood. The Red and Mediterranean Seas, the Nile, and Lake Nasser provide a rich catch. All this deliciousness is prepared only in specialized fish restaurants.

Pay attention to the cooking method: fish, shrimp, shellfish are fried over coals (mashui) or deep-fried (makli), less often - baked in the oven.

Let us mention just one unusual dish. Ruz bi fwake el bahr- rice with seafood prepared according to a special recipe. It contains fish fillet, squid, shrimp, as well as walnuts and peanuts.

Egyptian desserts

Sweet dishes of Egypt are a test for gourmands. The abundance of desserts that are unlike each other makes you salivate, and there is only one way out: try them all.

Halva- everyone's favorite sweet. In Egypt, halva is made from sesame seeds and chopped pistachios, almonds or pine nuts are added to it. Halva is one of the few products that can be stored well even in hot climates.

We are accustomed to perceive halva as an independent dessert, but the Egyptians use it to prepare another sweet dish - salakan. To do this, halva is mixed with honey and whipped cream.

Kunafa- a dish reminiscent of a casserole made from very thin pasta. In fact, this is not pasta, but kadaif dough, dried into thin threads. The filling for kunafa is made from nuts and whipped cream.

Basbousa- semolina pie. Golden squares of basbousa are decorated with nuts.

Ka"kat- a soft and fluffy squiggle bagel, sprinkled with sesame seeds. It smells special because mahleb - ground wild cherry kernels - is added to the dough. Their aroma is a little reminiscent of almonds and is good at deceiving the taste buds: the bagel seems sweet, although there is almost no sugar in the dough.

Umm Ali- a dessert made from puff pastry filled with coconut, raisins and almonds. The products are placed in a mold, poured with hot milk and baked. This sweetness is often compared to tiramisu.

Hegazeya- a pie filled with semolina and nuts. It smells incredibly 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 are in one way or another reminiscent of familiar food. But not all: this country also cooks very unusual dishes.

Fesik (fisikh)- a dish of salted fermented mullet or sardine. You can try fesik not at any time, but only on the spring festival 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 coals. Pigeons for culinary purposes are bred in poultry farms.

Colocasia soup- a dish that is prepared for the feast of Epiphany. The tubers of the tropical plant colocasia (taro), which have an islandy taste, are eaten. For the broth, colocasia is boiled together with meat. Then the broth is seasoned with coriander, chopped garlic and lemon juice, and the boiled tubers are mashed and served as a side dish.

Fatta- spicy food for big holidays and special occasions. It consists of rice and fried bread, layered and topped with beef broth, garlic, herbs and vinegar. Fatta is served with boiled beef and eggs.

Roz bil shaarea- 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, the child will not remain hungry in any case, 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 food 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 trying the food before giving it to your child. The spiciest dish is fatta, which is also seasoned with vinegar. We do not recommend giving your child colocasia soup. Even common falafel may be too spicy to end up on a children's table.

Meat dishes may seem greasy. Although fat is well absorbed in the dry climate of Egypt, your child should not indulge in 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- This is cane juice. The very sweet green drink is considered an integral part of Egyptian cuisine. For sale, cane juice is usually mixed with the juice of other fruits. Important: juice cannot be stored; drink it immediately after purchase.

Do not order drinks with ice in Egypt. The 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 hot weather, it is more pleasant to drink hibiscus chilled.

Shay 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 boiled with the addition of cardamom. Ziyada is sweet coffee, spada is bitter, and mazbuta is medium-sweet coffee.

Where to try

IN tourist cities There are many restaurants where you can try traditional Egyptian dishes. The food is deliciously prepared and beautifully served in gourmet restaurants (national music is often played there). In the so-called Bedouin cafes, the menu is small and the presentation is simple, but everything is very tasty.

There are also fast food restaurants in Egypt that serve traditional dishes. Some establishments specialize in selling falafel: hot cutlets with fresh vegetable salad are sold in a soft flatbread.

Other cafes sell exclusively ful - it is also wrapped in a flatbread. Fatir pies are sold in a cafe called fatathri.

Egyptian cuisine is rarely found in hotel restaurants. Often they are adapted, average, cooked without special spices. There is an advantage to this: a child who does not like change will not be spoiled by an abundance of unfamiliar dishes.

We wish you pleasant gastronomic discoveries! And once you've developed an interest in other attractions in Egypt, check out Kidpassage's collection of family-friendly activities. There are excursion options for every taste.

Egypt is a country that has preserved the spirit for several millennia great civilization. You have not been to Egypt if all the fleeting days of your vacation were spent on the beach and did not leave the hotel. However, not only the pyramids allow you to touch history.

Food sellers in Egypt. Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/islandspice/

Once in the land of the pharaohs you should definitely enjoy local cuisine, because National food- this is a mirror of the country. Over the past millennia, neighboring states have provided big influence on the formation of modern gastronomic culture in Egypt. Among them are Libya, Syria, and others.

Main dishes

Basically all Egyptian food is made from beans and vegetables. Meat is rare. The most popular and widely available dish is kushari.

Pasta lovers, rejoice - this is an interesting dish for you. Kushari is a mixture of pasta, vermicelli (spaghetti), rice, and tomato sauce. Sometimes chickpeas and lentils are added. Pasta, lentils, rice and chickpeas are boiled, vermicelli is fried in a frying pan in oil. All this is mixed, fried onions, spices and tomato sauce are added. It turns out to be a very interesting combination.

Egyptian dish - Kushari. Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hashashin/

To a Russian person, accustomed to eating all these ingredients separately, kushari will seem very specific. But the Egyptians love him.

Ful is another common national dish in Egypt. It is prepared from fruits of the legume family. Mainly beans. Beans, butter, lemon juice and spices are the ingredients of a classic ful. There are many interpretations: Fuliya Bil Khodra, Ful Bil Tamatem wa el Felfel, Ful Bil Zebda, Ful Bil Zet Bil Laymun, Ful Midamis. As a rule, it is consumed for breakfast.

Egyptian dish - Ful Midames. Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/26239494@N04/

Seafood lovers can rejoice too! The Red Sea, which washes the shores of Egypt, has a diverse flora and fauna. Lake Nasser in Upper Egypt is rich in fish, as is the Nile River. However, hotels rarely serve fish dishes. It is possible to truly enjoy shrimp, squid and assorted fish only in specialized restaurants. Everyone cooks fish possible ways- baked, fried, stewed.

Fish restaurant in Egypt. Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kexi/

I would like to mention the fish platter. The magnificent smell of the rich broth and the tender flesh of the seafood will not leave you indifferent. Often the fish is grilled with tomatoes and sweet peppers.

There is a delicacy in Egypt that is unusual for Russian people. It is called Mahshi.

Egyptian dish - Mahshi (stuffed pigeon). Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/blizzardzz/

This is a pigeon carcass stuffed with rice, baked on coals. The most delicious part is considered to be the pigeon's head. These birds are bred in Egypt specifically for making Mahshi.

Sweets of Egypt

Sweet tooth, hold on! Egypt is famous for all kinds of sweets and pastries. One of the most delicious desserts is called Umm Ali: almonds, raisins, grated coconut, and pieces of puff pastry are mixed together. The whole mixture is poured with hot milk and sugar, covered with whipped cream and baked in the oven. I personally associate the name of this dessert with the phrase “Eat your mind.” And believe me, it is so.

Egyptian dessert - Umm Ali. Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/saaleha/

Egyptians also bake very tasty pancakes with various fillings. Cakes are prepared in different ways: boiled in milk, soaked in honey, and orange water (water infused with orange flowers) is added to the dough.

Egyptian pastries at the bazaar. Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacatholique/

Honey and nuts are used to make almost all sweets. Honey is added to the dough, poured over buns, and coated on cakes. It all looks very appetizing.

And if you want something less sweet, try Malakhabija (or muhallabia) - milk rice with nuts and butter.

An Egyptian dish is Mahalabija milk pudding (muhalabiya). Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/70354794@N00/

But don’t overdo it with desserts, because as Leonardo da Vinci said: “You have to pay bitterly for sweets.”

Beverages

They drink tea in Egypt. However, you may not find black tea there. Herbal teas and hibiscus are in fashion. This is a well-known slightly sour red drink made from rose petals. It is drunk both hot and cold. During excursions, tourists are treated to this tonic drink, as it perfectly quenches thirst.

Tea in Egypt. Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/coldwhisper/

The only thing that upsets me is the size of the glass cup (about 7 cm in height). To quench your thirst you will have to drink at least two.

Unfortunately, the very delicacies that were prepared for the pharaohs’ meals have not survived to this day. Although who knows, perhaps it is now that Egyptian cooks have reached perfection. I suggest you check it out for yourself!

Egyptian cuisine is not very diverse. It is not as complex as French or Italian cuisines, and also not as heavy as some of the cuisines Persian Gulf. It also does not rely on great amount spices Egyptian cuisine is very simple, and this simplicity makes it very tasty.

In addition to its own culinary traditions, Egyptian cuisine has incorporated features neighboring countries: Greece, Turkey, Libya, Lebanon, Syria.

Characteristic Products

Food of plant origin

Most Egyptian dishes have been based on vegetables and legumes for many millennia. Mainly because vegetables are much cheaper than meat. The most popular vegetables in Egypt, besides beans: cauliflower, potatoes, eggplants, zucchini, okra, sweet and hot peppers, onions, as well as the little-known rhizomes of the tropical cocassia plant.

In addition to vegetables, a wide variety of greens are widely used in Egyptian cuisine: from the familiar parsley, dill, cilantro, mint, green onions, leeks, thyme, celery, sorrel to exotic molokhia leaves ( molokhiya), which is also called Egyptian spinach for its high content of vitamins and minerals.

Meat and fish

Thanks to his geographical location, Egyptian cuisine is rich in fish, shrimp, and 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 in restaurants.

The meat of large animals is practically not used in Egyptian everyday cuisine; only on major holidays such as a wedding, the birth of a son, or the purchase of a house in Egypt, a sheep is slaughtered. In ancient Egypt, the cow was considered a sacred animal, which is why there are no beef dishes in Egyptian cuisine. The situation is similar with pork, the consumption 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 milk is less popular here. There is also a type of milk that is exotic for us - camel milk, very thick and fatty, more reminiscent of thick cream.

Cheeses also occupy a significant place in Egyptian cuisine. The most popular Egyptian cheese is Domyati, named after the Egyptian city of Dumyat. 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's milk, but there are also options from goat, sheep or camel milk; here, unlike similar European cheeses, salt 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, and bay leaf. All types of pepper are very popular: 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 a mandatory attribute of all meals. The main types of bread are flatbreads: Aish baladi, made from coarse wheat flour, and Aish Shamsi, made from white flour.

Hawashi is a bread flatbread stuffed with meat.

Shami bread is a traditional Egyptian flatbread served with molokhiya soup.

Soups

Soups in Egyptian cuisine are prepared using both vegetable broths and poultry, fish or meat broths. Puree soups made from various vegetables are quite popular: tomato, lentil.

Shorba - a thick lentil soup inherited by the Egyptians as a heritage Ottoman Empire. Egyptian cuisine has its own peculiarities of its preparation. Interestingly, the word Shorba in Egypt now refers to soups in general.

Mlokhia is a soup made from 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 Mavasir - stew with vegetables in meat broth.

Ful Nabet - soup made from sprouted beans.

Shorba Khudar Bil Mawasir - egg soup with rice.

Main courses

Koshari (also called Kushari or Kosheri) is a traditional and very popular dish in Egypt made from lentils, rice and pasta, seasoned with vinegar and tomato sauce.

Foul is a legume dish that Egyptians eat mainly for breakfast. The classic version is made from beans with olive oil, lemon and spices. It's called Ful Medames. But there are many different variations of it with all sorts of additives: sprouted beans with herbs - Fulia Bil Khodra, beans stewed with tomatoes and hot peppers - Ful Bil Tamatem wa el Felfel, beans stewed with butter - Ful Bil Zebda, stewed with butter and lemon beans - Ful Bi l Zet Bi l Laymun.

Fatta is a traditional Egyptian dish, originally from Arab cuisine (“fatta” means crumbs in Arabic). This is a very satisfying dish in which rice is placed on a flatbread, 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 weddings, and for the birth of the first child.

Shakshuka - eggs baked on a bed of fried tomatoes.

Hamine - eggs boiled with onion skins and cut in half. Served with salt, pepper and a slice of lemon.

Mahshi is another traditional and favorite dish among Egyptians. It is vegetables stuffed with rice. A variety of vegetables are used: from zucchini, eggplant, potatoes to cabbage and grape leaves.

Pigeon stuffed with rice and baked on coals is also one of the varieties of Mahshi. This is a separate dish worth mentioning. Each Egyptian housewife has her own recipe for cooking pigeon. The head is considered the most delicious part of the dish.

Fytyr is a traditional Egyptian pie, something like a cross between pizza and pancakes. They are prepared with a wide variety of fillings, ranging from cheese and vegetables to sugar and honey.

Kofta - meatballs.

Shawarma is made from lamb or chicken.

Salads and snacks

Taamiya is similar to falafel, usually served in sandwiches with tomatoes and pickles.

Munkachina is a salad of oranges, onions and olives, dressed with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Mekhalel is the Egyptian version of canned vegetables.

Hummus is a chickpea puree that is usually eaten as a snack with flatbread or pita bread.

Dukkah is a mixture of nuts with herbs and spices that can serve as an independent snack or as an addition to the main dish.

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, baked under hot milk with sugar and whipped cream.

Mehalabiya is a tender milky rice pudding with honey, butter and nuts.

Sweet Gullesh is a dessert made from stretched phyllo dough with custard. Similar to baklava, but a little less sweet.

Hegazeya is a pie made from yeast dough filled with sweet semolina, ground nuts and cinnamon.

Fytyr is a puff pastry pie with custard.

Beverages

Hibiscus tea - business card Egypt, here they drink it 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 can reduce blood pressure, and when hot it can increase it.

Bedouin herbal tea, which is brewed from lemongrass growing there, is also popular, as is 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. The result is a thick, viscous, very strong drink that is drunk with water. Another popular option is Arabic, when coffee is brewed in a Turk.

Special mention should be made of date milk (Khushaf), a favorite delicacy among Egyptians. Dried dates are poured with boiling buffalo milk and infused for 2-3 hours. This makes a delicious sweet milkshake.

Alcohol

Strong alcohol is practically not consumed in Egypt, with the exception of tourist areas. This is due to the fact that the country's population 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. They are made from strong drinks - 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 in the morning; it works as an energy drink, energizing and toning the body. In addition, this drink contains many vitamins and minerals, contains no sugar at all, and at the same time...

Mlokhia is a traditional Egyptian soup made from the leaves of the molokhia plant and chicken. The root of molokhia is called molokh (mlokh) and translated means king. Accordingly, molokhiya is translated as “royal”. In ancient Egypt, this dish was very popular among kings. Therefore, molokhia was prepared for major holidays. It is usually served with traditional Egyptian flatbreads...

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