Recipes
of Egypt
Egyptian
Lentil Soup
2 cups red lentils
2 quarts vegetable stock
1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
1 medium tomato, quartered
1 medium carrot, sliced
2 teaspoons garlic, coarsely chopped
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon onion, finely chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
black pepper, freshly ground
lemon, cut into wedges
Wash
the lentils in a large sieve or colander set under cold running
water, until the draining water runs clear.
In a large, heavy saucepan, bring the stock to a boil over
high heat. Add the lentils, onion, tomato, carrot and garlic,
reduce the heat to low, and simmer, partially covered, until
lentils are tender (about 45 minutes).
Meanwhile, in a small skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil
over moderate heat. Sauté the onions until they are
soft and deeply browned. Remove from heat. Puree the soup
and return to the saucepan. Stir constantly over low heat
for 3 or 4 minutes to heat through. Stir in the cumin, and
salt and pepper.
To serve, ladle the soup into a heated tureen, sprinkle lightly
with the reserved browned onions and serve the lemon wedges
separately.
Kushari
(Lentils, rice, and macaroni mixture)
Kushari
is often referred to as “Egyptian chili”, and
is a specialty of street vendors in Cairo.
Ingredients:
2 cups cooked rice
2 cups cooked pasta (such as macaroni or penne)
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 teaspoon ground Cumin, divided
½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 cup cooked lentils
1 can (15 ounces) crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed pepper
2 medium onions, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
Instructions:
1. Combine rice and pasta; spoon into bottom of shallow serving
platter. Keep warm.
2. Whisk together vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, and garlic
powder in a medium bowl. Add cooked lentils and stir to combine.
Spoon over rice and pasta.
3. Combine tomatoes, water, sugar, cinnamon, salt, remaining
1/2 teaspoon cumin and red pepper in a medium saucepan. Cook
over medium heat about 5 minutes or until heated through,
stirring occasionally. Spoon tomato mixure over lentil layer.
Partially stir tomato mixture into other layers, but do not
completely combine all layers.
4. Sauté onions in 1 tbsp oil over high heat until
browned and starting to crisp. Scatter over top of the kushari
and serve. Baba
Ghanooge 1 large
eggplant
2 cloves garlic
2 Tbs tahini
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbs lemon juice
1/2 cup yogurt
3 Tbs olive oil
several whole olives Heat oven
to 400 degrees. Place whole eggplant on a baking sheet and
bake until outer shell is crisp and blackened and inside is
soft and mushy. A fork should pass easily through the eggplant
when done (about 1 hour). Let the eggplant cool, then remove
and discard black skin and green cap. Spoon the insides into
a food processor or a blender. Add garlic, tahini, salt, lemon
juice and yogurt. Puree until creamy. Spoon into a serving
dish and garnish with olive oil and whole olives. Serve cold
or warm with sliced Pita bread and/or vegetables for dipping. 
Lemonade
6 Cups Water
3 lemons, quartered
6 tablespoons honey (or to taste)
1 teaspoon orange blossom water (Mazahar). Simmer
water with quartered lemons for 20 minutes. Strain and stir
in honey and orange blossom water. Serve cold.
Apricot
Rice Pudding
¼ cup brown rice, raw
2 tbsp cornstarch
3/8 cup water
2 cans apricots, drained
2 cups milk
3/8 cup sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp almond extract
Blend
rice until it becomes a fine powder. Mix with cornstarch and
water in a small bowl and set aside. Blend apricots until
smooth. Mix with milk, sugar and rice mixture in a medium
saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.
Cook and stir for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla
and almond extracts and allow to cool. Chill in fridge and
serve cold. Fuul Fuul
is a common Egyptian breakfast food. It is often served with
a hard boiled egg. 1 can
fava beans
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/8 cup lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, crushed Mix all
ingredients together well, until fava beans start to get crushed.
Serve with a hard-boiled egg, if desired, or toast to scoop
it up with. Masaka 1 tbsp
olive oil
4-6 cloves garlic, crushed
1 large eggplant
1 large green pepper
1 can tomato paste
2 tbsp vinegar Sauté
the garlic in a large saucepan until dry. Add the tomato paste
and vinegar and cook over low heat for about 15 minutes. Keep
it stirred. Peel the
eggplant and cut into rounds, lice the green pepper and then
brush with olive oil and grill both vegetables until soft
and eggplant is browned. Add the eggplant and pepper to the
tomato mixture and serve hot or cold with pita bread. For more
fabulous Egyptian recipes including drinks, sweets and main
dishes, check out Tour
Egypt’s extensive collection of recipes. 
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