authentic Egyptian recipes
Home-made Lemonade Home-made lemonade is traditionally tart, whilst at the same time sweet. Such a lovely refreshing drink on a hot day, especially served with lots of ice. Most people love the fresh citrus tang. But I know some people have find it a little …
Watermelon Cooler Watermelon cooler; on a hot summers’ day this is the ideal drink. The twist of lime adds freshness to the beautifully sweet watermelon. When it’s watermelon season and they’re beautifully ripe and sweet, this is a delightful alternative for this great fruit. …
Date milkshake is beautifully thick and creamy.
It’s naturally sweet from the dates, so, there’s no need to add sugar. And there’s no additives, no artificial flavourings, no artificial colourants or E numbers. All round it’s the best milkshake you could have.
If you’re wanting a natural treat, that you can give the kids that they’re sure to love, you can’t get better.
Kids absolutely love it. Kids from 1 year old to 101 year old that is.
During the Holy month of Ramadan, Muslims Fast from sunrise to sunset. During this time they have nothing to eat or drink, they can’t smoke and they can’t have relationships with their spouse. At sunset it’s time to break the fast. It’s traditional to break the Fast with milk and dates. This recipe combines the two and so Date Milkshake is perfect for Iftar (breaking of the Fast).
For this recipe you need about 12 soft dates. These are available in all Arabic grocers and they’re also available in many supermarkets also nowadays.
If absolutely necessary, harder dates (the sort I remember being handed around at Christmas time in my childhood) can be used but it would be necessary to soak them for a few of hours first to soften them.
In Egypt during date season, you quite often get a glut of dates which become a little over-ripe and would spoil if they weren’t dealt with. These are excellent for freezing. Simply remove the stones first and bag them up. They are then perfect for this recipe and have the added bonus of being frozen. As a result the milkshake tastes like it has ice-cream added. Absolutely delicious.
* you could use a mixture of milk and water to make a lighter, shake, if you wished.
Making date milkshake couldn’t be simpler.
Remove the stones from the dates. Put them into a blender.
Add the milk. Blitz them until they are completely blended and thick and frothy.
Pour your delicious date milk shake into a large jug.
Store in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.
Topping your milkshakes with Whipped creamed may be a bit over indulgent, but kids absolutely love a bit of drama (even grown-up kids).
I hope you enjoy this recipe.
Lemon Yoghurt Drink This Lemon Yoghurt Drink is fantastic. I was introduced to it relatively recently, when we went to share an Iftar meal during Ramadan with friends. It’s really refreshing and silky smooth. They say….”When Life Gives You Lemons,… Make Lemonade.” Well I say …
Hibiscus drink This glorious Hibiscus drink – known in Egypt as Karkadé and pronounced kark-a-day is an amazing fruit cordial. It’s made from dried Hibiscus sepals ( part of the flower). Not only does it taste great but it looks truly beautiful too. Hibiscus drink …
Mango Yoghurt Drink is a deliciously, rich, silky smooth drink with the gloriously exotic taste of mangoes. The best drink ever when mangoes are in season.
When it’s hot outdoors a glassful of chilled mango yoghurt drink is a real treat that refreshes you and also replenishes you, giving a real boost to the system.
Unlike yoghurt drinks you’ll buy in the store, this yoghurt drink is all natural. No preservatives, no artificial colours or flavourings. No added sugar, the mango already brings all the sweetness needed, and it sweetens it perfectly.
I’m really surprised that there are still people out there that haven’t tasted a mango. I can’t imagine never having had that pleasure, and not knowing just how good they are.
I must take a minute and qualify that remark though. A beautiful ripe mango that has been ripened out in the summer sun is absolutely sublime and melts in your mouth and the sweet sticky juice dribbles down the side of your mouth, it’s so fantastically juicy.
A mango that is under-ripe can taste really quite aggressively sharp and be hard as a coconut.
And a mango that has been picked early for export and then left to ripen in a box can be just as bad. The sun hasn’t had the chance to develop the sugars or even the flavours generally, so they may be a little softer but they can just taste like cardboard.
So please,don’t be tempted to buy cheap mangoes. If you’re going to buy a mango, buy it from a good supplier not an ecconomy supermarket. And make sure its ripe. Yes, it will be more expensive, but it will be sooo worth it.
If you’re not sure how to know when a mango is ripe, let me explain. First you should know that there are different types of mango, just like there are different types of apple. Some are ripe when they turn a lovely gold with a reddish glow. Others are dark green and will always stay that colour even when fully ripe. So colour isn’t necessarily the best guide for you.
You can squeeze one gently to judge ripeness. A ripe mango is similar to a peach in so much as the flesh will become softer as it ripens. Another really good sign that a mango is ripe is that it may have a sweet fruity fragrance and this generally indicates that the flesh is going to be really tasty too.
So, if you’ve never tasted a mango let me try to describe what you might expect it to taste like. The flesh has the bite similar to a cantaloupe melon or a papaya. A ripe mango is beautifully sweet. It has the taste I’ve heard described as the cross between a peach and a pineapple. Other people have said that they are like a sweet citrus, crossed with a cantaloupe or sweet honey dew melon. They’re also very fragrant, smelling quite tropical.
I know those descriptions seem to cover quite a broad spectrum but they have quite an individual flavour which is tricky to pinpoint. I would definitely recommend trying one and not leaving it a day longer, you don’t know what you’ve been missing.
Peel the mango and remove the stone. Roughly chop the flesh.
Put the mango flesh or pulp into a blender with the yoghurt and blitz thoroughly.
Fill a large jug 1/4 full with ice.
Pour your blitzed mango yoghurt into the jug over the ice. Add the water and mix thoroughly.
Refrigerate until you are ready to serve.
Serve with plenty of ice
*This mix is also great to make ice lollies, in which case you don’t need to add the water
pickled turnip with beetroot Pickled turnip is a favourite side dish on any table in Egypt. Pickles are served with just about every meal over there; breakfast, lunch and dinner. They’re also wonderful popped into a kebab or a falafel sandwich, much as you would …
Goat stew – If you’ve never tried goat before, this is the recipe to try. Incredibly tasty- beautifully tender meat in a delicious rich sauce.
Chicken Egyptian Style ensures the meat is always moist and flavoursome, and the skin is beautifully buttery and crisp. It can therefore be likened to the French classics Duck Confit and Chicken Confit.
This process infuses the flavours of the herbs and spices of the stock into the meat whilst it’s being poached.
The chicken is then cooked in butter, rendering the skin wonderfully crispy, golden and even more flavoursome.
When chicken is cooked this way you have the added bonus of the fabulous stock which is produced in the cooking process. All Egyptian cooks find this stock invaluable for the cooking of Ma’ashi (stuffed vegetables), Lissen Al Asfour(soup), Egyptian rice and many other dishes
The chicken can be poached whole or as portions. You’ll need 1 or 2 portions per person depending on the appetites of your dining companions.
Place the chicken in a large pan and cover with cold water.
Add all the additional ingredients to the pan and give it a quick stir.
Put the pan to heat over a medium to high heat.
When the water comes to the boil turn the heat down to a very gentle simmer and cook the chicken for about a further hour.
Take care not to over cook the chicken, you don’t want it to reach the point where it falls off the bone. Remember it still has further cooking.
Take the chicken out of the stock. Save the stock to be used for other recipes later (it can be frozen if you choose).
* Before you use the stock remember to remove the bay leaves and cloves.
Make sure to drain it thoroughly ( otherwise it will spit when liquid hits the hot fat).
Fry gently in the butter, until the skin is crispy and golden brown.
I must admit that I do break with tradition here. Rather than frying the chicken, I prefer to lay it out on a baking tray and baste it well with the butter and then put it under a hot grill for about 10 minutes to brown up the skin and crisp it up. My reason for this is, the fact that regardless of how well I drain the chicken I always find that the fat spits too much, plus it’s quicker. Grilling works beautifully and achieves the same goal.
This chicken is great served with rice and salad.
If you’re expecting guests and you feel a little more adventurous, I could suggest the following menu, which is a popular combination in Egypt for entertaining:-
I do hope you’ve found this recipe helpful. Let me know how you get on with it.
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Potatoes in Batter: Soft and fluffy on the inside with a gorgeous crispy batter on the outside. Especially popular with Kids.