Egyptian cuisine

Egyptian cuisine relies heavily on vegetable dishes. Though food in Alexandria and the coasts of Egypt tends to use a great deal of fish and other seafood, for the most part Egyptian cuisine is based on foods that grow out of the ground, especially the rich soils of Nile valley. Meat has traditionally been very expensive, and a great deal of vegetarian dishes have developed to work around this absence.

Rice is the core of simple and nutritious Egyptian food. The well done rice is soft and little sticky, really delicious! Rice is usually served with pita bread. Anything that’s possible goes inside pita – fries, salad, meat, beans and more. The best bread can be bought from the street bread sellers or is cooked freshly in a open-air baking oven in some restaurants.

What do Egyptians eat?

Molokhia
a soup or sauce made from leaves of Molokhia plant (similar to spinach). Molokhia is served as a separate dish or with rice and chicken or rabbit.

Shawarma
slices of marinated lamb, stuffed into pita bread and served with tahina and salad.


Tahina
delicious sesame seed sauce is eaten with bread, rice, meat and more.

Kofta
a slightly spiced minced meat sausage.

Fatta
a dish of bread and rice served with meat and soup, sometimes molokhia. In traditions it used to be a celebration dish, but now is eaten commonly.

Pigeon
best when grilled and stuffed with vegetables and rice.

Foul and tamiyya
traditional Egyptian breakfast. Cooked fava beans which are served plain or with tomatoes, onion, spices, egg. To a side bite from tamiyya a deep fried mash of chick peas.

Fatir
Egyptian pancake or pizza which can be eaten with minced meat or sweet with nuts, honey, cream and more.

Basbousa
a semolina with syrup is a sweet cake which is sold in every pastry or bakery in Hurghada.