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muyyet salata (WHISKEY)

This palate cleanser is typically served in street-food eateries to get you ready for your meal. Salad water, aka whiskey, is a punchy dressing made of vinegar, oil, lemon juice, dill, salt, garlic and chili powder, along with bits of fresh salad vegetables thrown in for a refreshing flavor.

KOSHARY

Egypt’s favorite meal (and national dish), Koshary is filling, delicious and extremely cheap, it also happens to be wonderfully vegan. This dish is made with macaroni, spaghetti, vermicelli, lentils, rice, whole hummus, and fried onions only to be topped off with tomato sauce and a special garlic vinegar dressing called “da’ah”. 

SOUGOK

Sougok is an Egyptian beef sausage that is typically fried with onions, tomatoes and green bell peppers. The beef is minced and pre-spiced while raw, and it then cooked freshly right before serving. It can be eaten as a side-dish or sandwich.

FUL (SLOW-COOKED FAVA BEANS)

Ful is a staple ingredient in Egyptian cuisine, and is the daily breakfast of the people. It is dried so it ca be enjoyed all year long, and then slow-cooked to perfection, after which it is seasoned to your preference and mashed, then served in or alongside Egyptian Baladi bread.

TAAMIYA (EGYPTIAN FALAFEL)

What makes Egyptian Taamiya different? The fact that it’s always made with fava beans rather than chickpeas. In a giant machine, the beans are thrown in with fresh herbs, aromatics like onions and leeks, and spices. Once ready, the batter is shaped into little patties and fried, then served fresh with a drizzle of tehina (sesame paste dressing).

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ARABIC COFFEE

(Please note that this stop is closed on Fridays. Turkish coffee is added to a later stop in this case.)

Tasting and looking more like a tea, and originating in the Arab Gulf region, Arabic coffee is made with a very lightly roasted bean that almost stays green, and its special ingredient is cardamom. Arabic coffee is never sweetened, although it can be enjoyed with a few dates or a dessert.

On an almost daily basis, Egyptians enjoy having vegetables stews with rice for lunch. The stews can be made with different types of vegetables like okra, snow peas, spinach, potatoes or white beans. The sauce is tomato-based and the spices are minimal, just salt, pepper and cardamom powder. The flavor is enhanced by adding chicken stock to the sauce and simmering it until the vegetable is softer and the flavors are combined.
Egyptian rice is almost always with vermicelli, and diners must specifically request plain rice if they don’t want to eat vermicelli with their rice. Chicken is the perfect companion for the above meal since it’s the most affordable option of protein and can be cooked simply.

Juice bars are a huge part of Egyptian culture due to the heat. The most popular juice is sugarcane juice, and this guarantees that every juice place visited would have a special sugarcane machine available as it must be freshly served. Other popular ones are tamarind, Sobia (coconut and vanilla drink), and tangerine. Egyptians usually stop for a quick pick-me-up while running an errand and then go on with their day.

baba ghanoug, bessarah, taamiya and fried eggplants

Baba Ghanoug is a creamy eggplant dip that packs a smokey flavor and lots of texture. It’s a fantastic side for molokhiya as well as falafel, and it’s made with tahini, spices, lemon, oil and eggplants that are roasted/smoked/fried. Fried eggplants are also a very popular side. When treated properly, eggplants lose their bitterness and are enhanced by acidic flavors that come from the tomato-da’ah (or salsa) served on top. The da’ah is made with garlic and peppers that are all crushed together with vinegar and lemon. Besara is also another testament of the important of ful in our diets, it’s a side dish made with a basic taamiya batter, but it is enhanced with more fresh greens rather than frying. It is then topped with fried onions for texture and flavor. Amati taamiya is a bite-sized version of taamiya made by mis-shaping taamiya patties by cutting them and throwing in the oil a bit too soon.

molokhiya & rice

Molokhiya gets its name from the word Molokiya (which means royalty), because in the 12th century it was banned from the public’s consumption and only members of the royal family could have it. It is made with jews mallow leaves (very similar to okra leaves, and sharing the same viscous texture), any stock, and a fragrant base of garlic and dried coriander. Molokhiya has to be cooked in a specific way and that’s what makes it a great dish to test a new bride’s cooking skills with. It is typically served with rice or bread.

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mokh (deep-fried cow brain)

A common street food enjoyed by the masses is deep fried cow-brains. The brain is battered and fried and then served as a side or in Egyptian Baladi bread. A squeeze of lemon and a drizzle of tehina are common ways to dress it.

middle eastern desserts

Kunafa, basbousa, zalabya and balah el sham are just a few of the incredible sweets available around the Middle East. They’ve been a staple in Egyptian cuisine for hundreds of years and are increasingly popular during Ramadan and special celebrations like the feast, weddings or during family visits. Middle Eastern sweets are usually almost always drenched in sugar syrup, butter/ghee and are extremely sticky and delicious. Kunafa is made with a special type of hair like dough, where as basbousa is made with semolina flour and sometimes flavored with orange or rose water.

Feteer is an Egyptian pastry made with flour, water and lots of ghee. The dough is elastic and neither salted or sweetened. After the dough is rested in the form of a ball, it is spread out and flattened to form a very thin layer. It can then be stuffed or left plain, and it goes into the oven to cook. The dough separates similarly to a croissant and becomes flakey and delicious. If left plain, feteer can then be topped with powdered sugar or sugarcane molasses, or be enjoyed with a side of salty cheese.