Egyptian Cuisine

Food fit for a Pharaoh

The varied cultural influences not only shaped Egypt's architecture and history, but its cuisine as well. Creatively modifying the best dining of Greece, Turkey, Lebanon and a few other places, Egyptian food blends the freshness of local produce with the spice of Africa. Egyptians love grilled meat served shish kabob-style, especially lamb and chicken, but steer clear of beef. They also enjoy large salads, particularly tomato, coriander, mint, hot green peppers and onions, sauced in garlic oil. While it's delicious, you may want to pop in a mint after dinner.

• Bread - Bread comes in various forms in Egypt, mainly a pita-style flatbread called aysh shami (white flour) or aysh baladi (whole wheat). Egyptians usually stuff the pita bread with a variety of items and eat it like a sandwich. If you're a bread fan, try aysh shams, bread left to rise in the sun, and aysh, long bread that resembles a baguette.
• Beans - Egyptians love their beans simple and quick. Served boiled, mixed with vegetables, mashed and topped off with onions, tomatoes and spices, or stuffed into pita bread, anyway imaginable, beans make their presence known on Egyptian tables.
• Molokhiyya - This green leafy vegetable, native to the region, makes a great soup. It is mixed with chicken, lamb or rabbit, or served plain, with rice or bread and sometimes as a side dish for soup.
• Ruzz - A complete meal made from rice mixed with nuts, onions, vegetables and small portions of meat.
• Gibna - This local cheese tastes similar to feta in one version, called gibna beida, and is hard and sharp in the gibna rumy incarnation. Other cheeses exist in the country, but we recommend these choice cheeses for sandwiches and salads.
• Fruits & Nuts - The abundance of fresh fruit in the African country astounds the casual traveler. Season dictates the types available, so in winter look for bananas, dates and various kinds of oranges such as pink oranges. Summer serves up melons, peaches, plums, grapes and tin shawki, a cactus fruit. Along with fresh fruit, Egyptians love their nuts. Hazelnuts, almonds and pistachios taste great at any time, and you'll easily find them at any local vendor in the street.