Egyptian Recipes

When somebody mentions about Egyptian recipes, the first thing that comes to our mind is their spicy and mouth-watering dishes. Most of the Egyptian cuisines are a perfect blend of the Middle East and Mediterranean flavors. Egyptian diet consists of a variety of grains, fruits, vegetables, fish and meat. Like the ancient Egyptian foods, rice and bread continue to be the main staple food of the current day Egyptians. These are often served with other dishes. Beer is regarded as the basic drink of Egyptians.

The national dish of Egyptians is mashed fava beans or fūl mudammas, which is usually served in breakfast. In fact, fava beans (broad beans) are included almost in all the dishes. Other ingredients include leafy vegetables, peas, lettuce, cucumbers, leek, mushrooms and yoghurt. Usually, fresh vegetables are served with oil and vinegar. Popular meat includes pigeon, chicken, mutton, buffalo and camel. In majority of the dishes, either vegetarian or non-vegetarian, Egyptians use onion, garlic, spices and herbs. Let’s see some of the delicious Egyptian food recipes.

Foul Mudammas (Ful medames)
Foul Mudammas is one of the national dishes of Egypt. It is usually served with Egyptian bread and fried egg.

Ingredients
Dried fava beans: 3 cups
Chopped Onion: ½ cup
Chopped tomato: 1 cup
Minced garlic: 3 cloves
Olive oil: ¼ cup
Lemon juice: 3 teaspoons
Ground cumin seeds: 1 tablespoon
Red chili pepper: ¼ teaspoon
Minced parsley: ¼ cup

Preparation

• First, put the fava beans in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Simmer for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the beans become tender.
• Add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and salt to taste. Cover with a lid and keep on low flame for another 30 minutes. Drain the water and keep the cooked beans aside.
• In another large saucepan, sauté the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes and cook for another 5 minutes.
• Now, add the cooked beans, cumin, chili pepper and stir properly. Cook the mixture for about 10 minutes.
• Remove from the heat, slightly mash the beans and blend with lemon juice and parsley.
• Serve hot with pita bread.

Hummus
Hummus is a favorite dish of the Egyptians. It is made from chickpeas and is usually used as a dip with pita bread. Hummus is rich in protein and fiber and free of saturated fats and cholesterol. One can use hummus as a spread for sandwiches, toppings on broiled chicken and on baked potatoes.

Ingredients
Soaked chickpeas: 1½ cup
Vegetable broth/water: 5 cups
Bay leaf: 1
Roasted garlic: 6 cloves
Minced garlic: 1 clove
Olive oil: ¼ cup
Lemon juice: ¼ cup
Ground cumin: ½ teaspoon
Ground coriander: ½ teaspoon
Black pepper: ½ teaspoon
Minced parsley: ½ cup

Preparation

• Boil the soaked chickpeas in vegetable broth along with a bay leaf. One can use plain water if vegetable broth is not available. Cook for about 2 hours until the chickpeas become soft.
• Drain the beans and reserve the cooking liquid for later use. Now, add lemon juice, half a cup of the cooking liquid and puree in a food processor.
• Remove the mixture and stir with olive oil, minced garlic, roasted garlic, coriander, cumin and black pepper. Add salt to taste. Mix properly for about 5 minutes.
• Finally, garnish with the minced parsley. Now, your tasty hummus is ready.

Koshary
Koshary is one of the cheapest and healthiest meals of Egypt. For making this meal, you need to have rice, lentils, pasta and a tangy-tomato sauce.

Ingredients
Cooked rice: 2 cups
Cooked pasta: 2 cups
Cooked lentils: 1 cup
Crushed tomatoes: 15 ounces
Chopped onions: ½ cup
White vinegar: 2 tablespoons
Ground cumin: 1 teaspoon
Garlic powder: ½ teaspoon
Red pepper: ½ teaspoon
Ground cinnamon: ¾ teaspoon
Salt, sugar and water

Preparation

• Mix rice and pasta in a shallow pan. Cover with a lid and keep it warm.
• Combine vinegar, cumin and garlic powder. Whisk the mixture and add the cooked lentils.
• Now, add the mixture of cooked rice and pasta and mix thoroughly.
• For preparing sauce, combine tomatoes, vinegar, cinnamon and garlic powder in another saucepan and add a half-cup of water. Bring to boil and reduce the heat to a medium flame.
• Add sugar and salt to taste. Stir continuously and cook for about 10 minutes. To enrich the flavor of the sauce, one can garnish it with fried onion. Now, your tasty Koshary is ready for serving.

Moussaka
Moussaka is one of the traditional dishes of Egypt, which is cooked with eggplants. It is usually cooked with vegetables and meat. However, one can cook moussaka only with vegetables.

Ingredients
Eggplants (peel and cut): 1 kg
Minced meat: 250 gm
Chopped onion: ½ cup
Butter: 1 tablespoon
Tomato paste: 3 tablespoons
Sultanas (optional)
Salt, pepper, sugar and water

Preparation

• First, fry the cut eggplant rings until it becomes reddish brown.
• In a saucepan, put the butter, allow it to melt and add chopped onions. Fry till it turns reddish brown.
• Now, add the minced meat and cook for about 20 minutes on medium flame.
• Add tomato paste, sugar, salt, water, sultanas and pepper.
• Cook the mixture until it becomes a thick sauce.
• Take a tin pan and place a layer of eggplant. Put a layer of the sauce and place another layer of eggplant. Now, pour the remaining sauce and put it in oven at 180 degrees.
• Remove the tin after 15 minutes. Serve hot moussaka with rice or bread.

Egyptian Chocolate Cake
One can find various ways of baking chocolate cake. However, if you want to bake a tasty chocolate cake in a simple way, then you can definitely try baking Egyptian chocolate cake.

Ingredients
Flour: 2 cups
Sugar: 2 cups
Milk: 1 cup
Baking powder: 1 teaspoon
Baking soda: 2 teaspoons
Vanilla: 2 teaspoons
Vegetable oil: ½ cup
Cocoa powder: 3 teaspoons
Coffee powder: 2 tablespoons
Eggs: 2

Preparation

• Take all the ingredients in a big bowl and mix together.
• Pour batter into a greased cake pan.
• Bake at 350 degree F for about 35 minutes.
• Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool down.
• Garnish your cake with chocolate shavings and toasted almonds.

These are some of the simple and interesting Egyptian food recipes that you can really try at home.