Food in Modern Egypt - Egyptian food and recipes

Spicy and delicious, Egypt cuisine is a rich and varied blend of Mediterranean and Middle East flavors. Ful mudammas, or mashed fava beans, is regarded by most Egyptians as the national dish, and bread, called eish masri or eish baladi, accompanies most meals.

Ancient Egyptians are known to have used a lot of garlic and onion in their everyday dishes. In modern Egypt, fresh mashed garlic with other herbs is used as an speciality of Egyptian cuisine in spicy tomato salad and also stuffed in boiled or baked eggplant. Garlic fried with coriander is added to mulukhiyya, a popular green soup made from finely chopped leaves. Fried onions are added to koushari, a dish consisting of brown lentils, macaroni, rice, chickpeas and a spicy tomato sauce.

Other popular Egypt cuisine dishes include kebab and kofta, usually made of lamb meat, chops & minced meat on skewers grilled on charcoal. Egyptians are famous for stuffing spicy rice in vegetables like green pepper, eggplants, courgettes and tomatoes to make mahshi, rolled in grapevine leaves (mahshi warraq enab) or in cabbage leaves (mahshi koronb).

Shawerma is a popular sandwich of shreded meat or chicken, usually rolled in pita bread with tahini sauce.

Although Ramadan is a month of fasting in Egypt, it is when Egyptians pay special attention to preparing a great variety of dishes, since the whole family would gather on the breakfast table just after sunset. There are several special desserts almost exclusive to Ramadan such as konafa and atayef. In this month, many Egyptians will make a special table for the poor or passerby, usually in a tent in the street, called Ma'edat Al Rahman which translates literally as Table of God, the Gracious and Merciful.

Christians of Egypt, mainly Copts, observe fasting periods according to the Liturgical Calendar that practically extend to more than two-thirds of the year. The diet is mainly vegetarian. During this fasting, Copts will usually eat vegetables fried in oil as they avoid meat, chicken and dairy products, including butter.

Gebna Makleyah (Oven-Fried Cheese)
Bamia (Sweet and Sour Okra)
Khoshaf
Spinach with Garlic

Where can you find real Egypt cuisine?
- In Alexandria: Mohammed Ahmed, Kadura, Zephyrion
- In Cairo: Felfella, Andréa's, Alfi Bey, Samakmak.
- In Luxor: Muhammad Cafeteria, Peace Abuzeid.
- In Aswan: Al-Masry.
- In Sharm El-Sheik: Fish Restaurant.

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