Egyptian cuisine is very unusual and multifaceted. She absorbed the traditions of several eastern states at once. Therefore, it contains dishes very similar to those prepared by Greek, Syrian, Lebanese and Turkish housewives. In today's publication, the most popular recipes of national dishes of Egypt are considered.
Key Features
Residents of this sunny country enjoy pomegranates, quinces, almonds, walnuts, dates and peas. In large quantities, they eat aish bread, which is an analogue of Greek pita bread.
As for meat, it appears on the tables of the Egyptians only on holidays or market days. An exception is made only to the bird. They use it several times a week. The main dish of local housewives is a dove stuffed with rice. In addition, chopped meatballs and skewered meat are prepared here.
The indigenous people are very enthusiastic about vegetables and cereals. Egypt is especially famous for dishes of rice, corn, wheat, potatoes, lentils and beans. Loved by locals and desserts. One of the most popular treats here is cookies and semolina pie. Cold viscous ice cream and sweets made on the basis of honey, nuts and butter are no less in demand. Of the drinks, the Egyptians prefer teas and fruit juices.
Sambusaki
This national dish of Egypt is a chickpea pie. It is especially popular with market traders, as this is the only thing they have time to eat during the working day. To prepare sambusaki you will need:
- 50 g of pressed yeast;
- 500 g of wheat flour;
- 250 ml of olive oil;
- 200 g chickpeas;
- 2 large onions;
- 1.5 tbsp. l zirs;
- salt, black pepper and sunflower oil (for deep fat).
The chickpeas are soaked in cold water and left for at least ten hours. Then it is poured into a pan with salted boiling water and boiled for forty minutes. Almost finished chickpeas are crushed to a puree state and transferred to a deep bowl. Fried onions, salt and spices are added there.
Now it's time to do the test. To prepare it, yeast is bred in a glass of broth left over from chickpeas. The resulting solution is supplemented with ÂĽ cups of flour and thoroughly stirred. All this is covered with a film and left for fifteen minutes. The rising dough is poured into a bowl with the rest of the flour and salt. Almost finished dough is mixed with olive oil and left to rise. After about an hour, it is divided into twenty identical balls. Each of them is rolled into a cake, stuffed with chickpea puree, decorated in the form of a pie and deep-fried.
Egyptian Eggplant
This piquant, moderately spicy treat is equally appropriate for a family dinner and a festive table. To cook one of the most interesting national dishes of Egypt, you will need:
- 10 ripe eggplants;
- 7 cloves of garlic;
- 100 g of parsley;
- 200 ml of olive oil;
- sweet bell pepper;
- chili pod;
- 5 tbsp. l lemon juice ;.
- 1 tbsp. l 6% vinegar, curry and coriander;
- ½ tsp. cumin and ground chili;
- salt.
Washed and dried blue ones are greased with olive oil, spread on a baking sheet and baked for about 25 minutes at 200 ° C. Then they are slightly cooled and freed from the stalks. Sliced ​​places must be sprinkled with salt.
While the eggplant is infused, you can do the filling. For its preparation, pieces of sweet pepper, crushed garlic, chopped chili and chopped parsley are combined in a deep bowl. All this is added, supplemented with seasonings, lemon juice, vinegar and 50 ml of olive oil.
The cooled fruits are cut on the sides and begin with the resulting vegetable mass. Stuffed eggplant is placed in a container, poured with olive oil and kept in the refrigerator for five days.
Busbus
Sweet lovers will surely enjoy this popular Egyptian dish. A photo of the busbus will be posted a little lower, but for now, let's find out what it consists of. To prepare a real Egyptian manna you will need:
- a cup of fine flour;
- a glass of semolina;
- a cup of sugar;
- a glass of yogurt (no additives);
- a cup of deodorized vegetable oil;
- a bag of vanillin;
- ½ tbsp l baking powder;
- 20 almond kernels.
To make an impregnation for the Egyptian manna, you will have to additionally prepare:
- ½ cup of drinking water;
- 2 tbsp. l lemon juice;
- ½ cup sugar.
Begin the process by mixing the dough. To do this, all the above ingredients are combined in one container and treated thoroughly with a mixer. The resulting, slightly liquid mass is poured into a greased form and baked at 180 ° C for about 40 minutes. The finished pie is soaked in syrup, boiled from water, sugar and lemon juice, decorated with almonds and cut into rectangular pieces.
Seafood soup
This delicious first course is served in many restaurants in Egypt. The recipe for Sifood soup is extremely simple, so it can be reproduced without problems at home. For this you will need:
- 1.5 liters of water;
- 200 g of fresh shrimp;
- 200 g of crabs;
- 200 g of marine white fish;
- 100 g squid;
- 100 g carrots;
- small onion;
- salt, heavy cream, melted butter, herbs and spices.
Onions and carrots are sautéed in a greased pan, and then immersed in a pot of boiling water. Ten minutes later, pieces of fish, shrimp, crab and squid are sent there. All this is salted, and then supplemented with seasonings and cream. Ready soup is decorated with greens and poured into deep portioned plates.
Kushari
This dish of Egyptian cuisine made from beans, pasta, vegetables and tomato-garlic sauce has a rather pungent taste and is very popular among the local population. To prepare it, you will need:
- 50 g of vermicelli;
- 200 g of pasta;
- ½ cup chickpea;
- ½ cup rice;
- ½ cup lentils;
- 4 juicy tomatoes;
- 2 onions;
- 4 cloves of garlic;
- ½ tsp. zira, salt, black and red pepper;
- water and sunflower oil.
Vermicelli is poured into a greased pan and sautéed until golden brown. Then add rice and some cold water to it. All this is brought to a boil and simmered over low heat. After complete evaporation of the liquid, the contents of the pan are distributed in an even layer in the form at the bottom of which there are already cooked pasta. All this is covered with heat-treated lentils and cooked chickpeas, and then pour hot sauce made from twisted and boiled tomatoes, crushed garlic and spices. The finished dish is sprinkled with fried onions and served on the table.
Rice with chicken
Lovers of hearty food are advised to pay attention to another nutritious national dish of Egyptian cuisine . It is an extremely successful combination of cereals, vegetables and poultry meat. To cook it, you will need:
- 200 g of rice;
- clove of garlic;
- a small carrot;
- medium onion;
- chilled chicken fillet;
- salt, water, sunflower oil and ground pepper.
Pre-peeled and chopped onions passer in a heated greased pan. As soon as he changes color, they add grated carrots to him and continue cooking. After some time, slices of fillet, salt and pepper are added to the fried vegetables. After eight minutes, all this is supplemented with rice, a little water, salt and pepper. Cook rice with chicken in a sealed bowl over low heat. Shortly before turning off the stove, chopped garlic is poured into the general container.
Shakshuka
Fans of fast breakfasts will surely find this recipe for a simple and delicious Egyptian cuisine useful. A photo of the fried egg itself will be presented below, but for now we’ll find out which components are included in its composition. To prepare it you will need:
- 2 meaty tomatoes;
- 4 eggs;
- 1 tbsp. l tomato paste;
- onion head;
- bell pepper;
- salt, water, seasonings, herbs and olive oil (preferably cold pressed).
The chopped onions are sautéed in a greased pan, and then supplemented with slices of tomatoes and chopped pepper. After some time, tomato paste and a little water are added to the softened vegetables. They stew it all for about ten minutes, and then it is salted and sprinkled with seasonings. In the resulting mass, four depressions are made and each egg is broken into each of them. As soon as they are ready, shakshuku is crushed with chopped herbs and served with a fresh baguette.
Cairo Chicken
Poultry is one of the integral components of many national dishes in Egypt. To roast a Cairo-style chicken, you will need:
- 60 g of honey;
- 1 kg of chicken;
- 50 ml of sunflower oil;
- 10 g ground ginger;
- salt and black pepper.
Washed chicken is cut into portions and stacked in an enameled container. Honey, pepper, salt and ground ginger are also sent there. All mix well and insist for two hours. At the end of the designated time, the pickled pieces are placed on a greased grill and grilled over charcoal. Such chicken is served warm with a salad of fresh seasonal vegetables.
Kufta
This recipe for Egyptian cuisine will certainly be appreciated by lovers of unusual meat dishes. To play it you need:
- 700 g of boneless veal of the 1st category;
- 20 g parsley;
- 80 g of onions;
- 10 g flour;
- salt, caraway seeds and sunflower oil.
The pre-washed and stripped veal is cut into small pieces and twisted through a meat grinder along with onions and parsley. The resulting mass is supplemented with salt, caraway seeds and flour, and then thoroughly mixed. From the prepared meat, neat fingers are formed with a length of about eight or ten centimeters and fry them in warmed sunflower oil. They are served with any vegetable side dish, savory sauces or fresh bread.
Om Ali
Real sweet tooth will surely pay attention to the recipe of national cuisine of Egypt discussed below. A dish with such an unusual name is a dessert made from puff pastry, dried fruits, nuts and a sweet milk mixture. To prepare it, you will need:
- 3.5 cups of nuts;
- 1.5 cups of sugar;
- 400 g of purchased puff pastry;
- a glass of raisins;
- a cup of coconut;
- 4 cups of milk;
- ½ cup cream.
Put the dough in a greased baking sheet and bake until tender. As soon as it is browned, it is cooled and cut into large pieces. Then it is distributed along the bottom of a deep form and sprinkled with a mixture of chopped nuts, steamed raisins and coconut. All this is poured with milk boiled with half the sugar available, greased with whipped sweet cream and baked for about 10 minutes at 180 ° C.
Soup with semolina and eggplant
This is one of the most popular first courses of national cuisine of Egypt. It is ideal for adults and for children’s menus, which means they can feed their entire hungry family. To cook such a soup, you will need:
- 2 tbsp. l semolina;
- large eggplant;
- large onion;
- lemon;
- a bunch of parsley and dill;
- salt, sunflower oil, water and pepper.
Chopped onions are browned in an oiled pan, and then supplemented with sliced ​​eggplant. After ten minutes, vegetables are poured into 1.5 liters of water and brought to a boil. Then, semolina is poured into a common vessel with a thin stream. All this is added, pepper, mixed and boiled until cooked. Shortly before turning off the burner, sprinkle the soup with chopped herbs. Before serving, it must be seasoned with lemon juice.