Some Egyptian Dishes

Courtesy my moving to Egypt, (For more info, click on this link) here are some Egyptian Recipes :

Although some dishes are similar to Middle East Cuisine, Egypt is famous for its typical, local specialities such as "Foul" (Egyptian dry beans), "Molokhia" (a soup made of molokhia leaves and chicken), or "Mahshi" (an assortment of different vegetables usually stuffed with rice and minced meat). You can try some of the following recipes :

Drinks Hibiscus (Karkade)
- 1 cup hibiscus petals
- 2 cups sugar

- Remove any stems and leaves from the dried hibiscus petals.
- Soak the petals in cold water for 1-2 hours.
- Boil the soaked petals in the same water.
- Strain water from petals immediately.
- Keep straining until the petals loose their reddish color.
- Discard the strained petals.
- Sweeten with sugar while hot.
- Can be served hot or cold.

Soups : Green Soup (Molokhia)
- 1 pound fresh molokhia leaves (or frozen and thawed)
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- black pepper, to taste
- several garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp salt
- juice of one lemon
- cardamom or cinnamon, to taste
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
- 5 pound chicken
- cooked rice

- Bring the chicken stock to a near boil.
- Chop the molokhia leaves as finely as possible (frozen molokhia is usually cleaned and chopped).
- Add the molokhia, stirring well.
- Stir in the bay leaf, onion and black pepper.
- Reduce heat and leave to simmer for about twenty minutes.
- Meanwhile, grind the garlic, ground coriander and the salt together into a paste and fry in oil until browned (the mixture is known as Ta'liya).
- Add the Ta'liya to the simmering molokhia with any remaining ingredients and stir well.
- Continue simmering for a few minutes and stir occasionally.
- Serve immediately with boiled rice and boiled chicken.


Creamy Risotto with onions (Keshk)
- 1 cup of yoghurt
- ½ cup of flour
- 1 cup of milk
- 2 tsp of cornflour
- 6 cups of chicken stock
- pinch of salt
- 1 onion, peeled
- 1 tsp of butter

- Mix the salt with the yoghurt and then stir in the flour.
- Let the mixture sit for thirty minutes.
- Add milk and corn, stirring constantly.
- Then, add the chicken stock.
- Cook on a low heat, stirring constantly, until the sauce is very thick.
- Fry onion on a low heat heat until browned.
- Sprinkle onion over the Kesh.
- Serve hot or cold.

Beans Egyptian Dry Beans (Foul)

- 1 can dried, small, fava beans
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- salt & pepper, to taste
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 4 hard-boiled eggs, shelled
- coriander leaves

- Soak fava beans in cold water overnight.
- Drain fava beans the following day.
- Cook in water on a medium heat for 45 minutes.
- Strain beans then mix with olive oil, salt, pepper, ground coriander, cumin, lemon juice and garlic.
- Serve beans in ramekins and put hard-boiled egg in middle of each one.
- Decorate with coriander leaves.

Vegetables Stuffed cabbage with rice (Mahshy)

- 1 cabbage
- 2 tbsp butter or oil
- 2 onions, chopped
- 1kg tomatoes, chopped
- chopped parsley
- 4 cups short-grain rice
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 cup chicken or beef broth

- Preheat oven (200°C/400°F).
- Trim outer leaves from cabbage.
- Wash and pat dry.
- Prick leaves with fork.
- Sprinkle with salt.
- Fry the onion in butter or oil.
- Sauté the onion with the diced tomatoes and parsley.
- Stir in the short-grain rice.
- Stuff the cabbage leaves with the mixed rice.
- Place in a deep oven dish or casserole.
- Pour the broth over the stuffed leaves.
- Cover with foil and bake in preheated oven until rice is done.

Bread : Pitta Bread stuffed with figs and dates
- A Pre-fasting savory ( Eish Bel Balah wel teen)

- 1 cup seedless dates, chopped
- 1 cup chopped dried figs
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1.1/2 tsps baking soda
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- Preheat oven (200°C/400°F).
- Mix the dates, figs and butter together with the baking soda.
- Add to boiling water and stir constantly for 15 minutes.
- Beat the eggs and sugar together.
- Add the salt and baking powder.
- Beat in the all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour.
- Stir in walnuts with date and figue mixture.
- Pour mixture into greased baking tin.
- Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour.
- Serve warm.

Dessert : Baklava (Baklawa)

- 2 cups walnuts, finely chopped
- 2 cups melted butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup melted butter, to brush on dough
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 3 tbsp orange blossom water (mazahar)
- 1 packet phyllo dough (1lb)
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup water
- 2 tbsp lemon juice

- Preheat oven (200°C/400°F).
- Beat the sugar and butter together.
- Add walnuts, cinnamon and 1 tbsp orange blossom water.
- Grease a baking tin.
- Brush each layer of phyllo dough with the melted butter.
- Put several layers of phyllo dough in the baking tin. (use about half of the packet)
- Pour all of the walnut mixture over the layers of phyllo dough.
- Continue adding the rest of the phyllo dough in layers.
- Don't forget to brush each one with butter.
- Pour any remaining butter over the last layer of phyllo dough.
- Cut the phyllo dough into little squares.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes, lower heat and cook for another 30 to 45 minutes.
- While the Baklwa is baking, prepare the syrup.
- Heat the water with the sugar and stir until sugar dissolves.
- Stir in lemon juice and bring to the boil.
- Remove from heat and stir in the rest of the orange blossom water.
- Leave to cool.

Stuffed Pigeons (Hamam Mahshy)

- 4 pigeons (1 lb each)
- pigeon giblets, chopped
- onion, chopped
- butter
- salt
- pepper
- cornmeal
- mint
- cooked rice

- Preheat oven (200°C/400°F).
- Heat the butter and add the onion, salt, pepper and giblets.
- Then, toss the giblets in cornmeal and mint until golden brown.
- Clean the pigeons and rub them inside and out with salt and pepper.
- Stuff each pigeon with the giblets and the previously cooked rice.
- Place the pigeons in a casserole.
- Add enough hot water to cover the bottom of the casserole.
- Pour the remaining butter over the pigeons.
- Roast in preheated oven for 50 minutes.
- Add additional water when needed.
- Put some of the pigeon stock in a saucepan with the remaining cornmeal.
- Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes.
- Serve with the roast pigeons.


Grilled minced chicken rolls (Koftet Ferakh)
Left over chicken or a whole boiled chicken

- Knead the chicken well to make a smooth mixture.
- Form the chicken mixture into small balls.
- Flatten into circles.
- Put the meat in the fridge for 15 minutes.
- Fry or roast.