Egyptian Cuisine - Ethnic Foods R Us

(Photo Attributed to Author: Dina Said)

Ah! The amazing, millennia-old culinary world of Egyptian cuisine! Such dishes as Ful Medames (mashed fava beans), Koshari (a mixture of rice, pasta, lentils, amongst other ingredients), comes to mind. Also the chopped and cooked bush okra with garlic and coriander sauce known as Molokheyya, and the fabulous Fetir Meshaltet.

Egyptian cuisine is of course similar in many ways to other Middle East cuisines. It features foods such as stuffed grape leaves, kabobs, falafel, baba ghannough, and rice-stuffed veggies, and the world-over beloved super-sweet dessert, baklava.

Many people consider the national dish of Egypt to be Koshari – a vegetarian meal that is a mixture of rice, lentils, and macaroni. Fried onions can be also added to Koshari. Egyptian cuisine was the first to produce Falafel – made from the fava bean – which quickly spread out all around as a favorite dish in Middle East, Mediterranean cuisines. And another very popular dish is Ful Medames.

Ancient Egyptians, historians claim, are known to have used plenty of garlic and onions in their daily dishes. Fresh garlic, mashed together with a variety of other herbs, was, and still is, used in a spicy tomato salad. This same garlic-herb mash is also used by stuffing it into baked or boiled or eggplants (aubergines). A popular green soup, called Molokheyya, has garlic, fried with coriander, added to it. Molokheyya is prepared from finely chopped jute leaves, and will sometimes include chicken or rabbit meat.

Ancient Egypt, 5,000 years old, at least, is where the history of Egyptian cuisine begins. Archaeological excavations reveal proof that the laborers working on the Great Pyramids of Giza were paid for their services with fresh onions and bread. As peasants who came from the Egyptian countryside, this was apparently their customary diet. The breads were made from emmer wheat.

But enough background and history. Below is what you really came here for, a list of classic, authentic, and traditional Egyptian Cuisine dishes. Click on the dish of your choice, and you will be taken to a print-friendly page with that recipe on it.

Enjoy your adventure into the millennia-old, traditionally rich, ethnic cultural world of …

Egyptian Cuisine!

Bamya (lamb or beef with okra in a tomato-based, spicy stew)

Fattoush Salad

Koshari (a sumptuous vegetarian dish of rice, macaroni, lentils, and a spicy tomato-vinegar sauce)

Molokhia (Egyptian spinach stew with rabbit meat)

Spicy Fried Prawns and Scallops