Egyptian Cuisine: Top 10 Mouth-watering Dishes

Egyptian cuisine is a delicious blend of elements relating to neighbouring countries, cultures, ancient civilizations, and modern tastes. Egyptian food ranges from hearty meals and delicious desserts to fragrant spices and offers a rich and enticing culinary experience.

Egyptian cuisine is known for using seasonal, locally sourced foods such as fresh herbs, cucumbers, tomatoes, and legumes.

These ingredients give palatable flavours and vivid colours to many classic Egyptian recipes. With an Egyptian Airlines booking, you get an opportunity to explore and try some of the famous Egyptian dishes you long to taste.

Ancient Egyptians placed high importance on having a healthy, balanced diet, and their culinary traditions are still evident in modern Egyptian cooking. Some famous Egyptian dishes to try on your trip to this region are:

Koshari

Being a national meal, koshari is a favourite among the people in Egypt. It is renowned for its distinctive flavour and texture. A combination of rice, pasta, and lentils make this full and hearty dish. This type of Egyptian cuisine usually involves cooking the ingredients separately before mixing them.

Typically, the dish is served with crunchy fried onions and a delicious tomato sauce on top. Other than being a famous street food, koshari displays the distinctive culinary traditions of Egypt.

Ful Medames

This ancient Egyptian morning dish traditionally consists of mashing cooked fava beans with cumin and served with chopped fresh parsley, olive oil, and lemon juice. It is similar to refried beans from Mexico with an Egyptian twist.

The Egyptian method of preparing beans involves boiling them, mashing them, and adding olive oil and salt for flavour. The beans are slow-cooked for a whole night to produce a rich, creamy puree. Upon serving, some people decide to top with more fat or clarified butter, tomatoes, onions, parsley, chilli peppers, and lemon juice.

Kebab

A favourite Egyptian dish is lamb pieces cooked over a flame (kebab) and seasoned minced meat shaped like a sausage and cooked on a skewer (kofta). It is usually served with a piece of flatbread and a simple salad of chopped tomatoes and cucumbers.

Tamiya

A popular street dish in Egypt, Tamiya is prepared with mashed fava beans with parsley (chickpeas are used elsewhere throughout the Mediterranean). It is also known as falafel worldwide. Instead of being formed like spherical balls, it is shaped into flat discs and is usually served as a sandwich with salad.

Shawarma

A delicious lamb or chicken dish from Egypt is shawarma, which is a big cone of pressed meat that is turned upright in front of a flaming grill. While the meat cooks, it is peeled off and combined with onion, chopped tomato, and parsley on a griddle. Afterwards, it is rolled into a huge flatbread disc and covered in foil for transportation.

Falafel

The Egyptian dietary guide would not be complete without falafel. It’s among the most well-known classic Egyptian foods, along with koshari and ful medames. Unlike other parts of the Middle East where chickpeas are used, the Egyptian form of falafel is made with ground and dried fava beans. Egyptian falafel is cooked with additional herbs, which gives it a greener interior in addition to making it lighter and moist. Many lovers of the dish maintain that this Egyptian falafel continues to be the greatest in the world.

Hawawshi

A typical dish in Egypt is called hawawshi, which is a pita-like bread stuffed with meat, onion, and pepper. Perhaps the most well-known use of hawawshi is as a mainstay of comforting, homemade Egyptian food.

Hamam Mahshi

A classic Egyptian dish called hamam mahshi is made with stuffed squab or baby domestic pigeon. The squab is prepared by stuffing it with a mixture of rice, giblets, onions, almonds, spices, and freekeh (cracked wheat). The bird is placed on a bed of cracked wheat after being grilled or barbecued on a spit. Although hamam mahshi is often offered on special occasions in Egypt, it should not be too difficult to locate on menus of Egyptian restaurants these days.

Sayadiyah Fish

A dish that is prepared in coastal towns like Alexandria, Port Said, and Suez is made with white fish, such as bluefish or sea bass, cooked in tomato sauce, onions, spices, and yellow rice. After that, it is baked in a casserole. It is a traditional Egyptian dish that should be relished slowly.

Baklava

Similar to kunafa, baklava is a popular dessert in the Mediterranean, prepared with multiple layers of phyllo dough. Although baklava takes on several regional variations, its essence is a crisp and flaky dessert consisting of phyllo dough sheets piled in a pan with chopped nuts (usually hazelnuts, walnuts, and pistachios), butter, and spices. Before baking, the dish is sliced into diamonds or rectangles and then topped with a plain syrup flavoured with orange blossom water, rose water, or honey.

Experience the finest service and immerse yourself in Egypt’s rich history and culture with Egypt Airlines. Use Egypt Airlines booking tools to book a direct flight to Egypt, where you can enjoy the greatest cuisine, most amazing scenery, and opulent lodging that this ancient country has to offer.

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Egyptian Cuisine: Top 10 Mouth-watering Dishes