authentic Egyptian recipes
Egyptian Coffee with Cardamom Egyptian coffee is a wonderful dark, full flavoured coffee. It’s very concentrated, similar to an espresso. And just like espresso it’s served in a very small glass or cup – demi-tasse size. Egyptian coffee is very finely ground and usually has …
Crimson Salad The glorious colours of this salad are so vibrant. Obviously the predominant colour is crimson, as the name suggests is the dark crimson red. This is brought by the ripe, red bell peppers. It’s then accentuated by the deeper raspberry or almost purple …
Almond Crescents, to me, are a quintessential Arabic biscuit that goes perfectly with a glass of sweet, mint tea. These exemplary bite size morsels are really easy to make and the result never fails to delight, they simply melt in your mouth.
They are perfect to offer when visitors call at times such as Eid. Similarly, they’re a great gift to take when you are the visitor.
Makes about 40 Almond Crescents
To make vanilla scented icing sugar split a vanilla pod and place it in an airtight container with your icing sugar and leave it over-night or up to 6 months.
*The vanilla pod can be re-used
Pre-heat your oven to 180° C
Line 2 baking trays with greaseproof paper.
In a large bowl beat the butter until it becomes light and fluffy.
Add the sugar and beat again until they mix combines thoroughly and again becomes nice and fluffy.
Add the nuts, salt and almond essence and mix thoroughly.
Gradually sift in the flour – Add 2 cups initially and then add the rest a couple of tablespoons at a time until the mixture comes together and forms a soft dough.
* Make sure to scrape down the sides so that everything mixes thoroughly
Break off a small piece of dough about the size of a walnut, roll it into a sausage with pointed ends and then form it into a crescent shape. Then place it on the lined baking tray.
Repeat this process until all your dough has been used up.
Place the crescents onto the greaseproof paper on the baking trays and put them into your pre-heated oven.
Bake for approximately 15 minutes.
As soon as they have finished baking, these need to be rolled in icing sugar, whilst they’re still warm .
Once your Almond Crescents have cooled they’ll be ready to serve.
These beautiful biscuits can be kept for a couple of days in an airtight container.
They can also be cooked in advance, in larger quantities, for celebrations such as Eid, and frozen.
Almond crescents are such lovely little biscuits and so easy to make. I do hope you’ll try making some. Let me know how you get on.
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Harissa Paste Harissa paste is fantastic for adding a hit of flavour and heat to your food. Harissa paste never fails to make your food sing. Whether you use it as a marinade for recipes such as harissa chicken or you use it as a …
Chicken livers are incredibly tasty and are so tender they almost melt in your mouth. Only taking a couple of minutes to cook, they are a great choice for a quick meal and they’re amazingly easy to prepare.
There are many options for serving Chicken Livers. They’re great as a snack eaten with flat bread. Alternatively they can be served as a meal accompanied by rice and perhaps a salad. At the same time they are a great choice served as a side dish as part of a mezze.
If you’re not sure where to buy them, you generally find them in plastic pots in the Frozen section at the supermarket.
It’s also worth mentioning that they are much more affordable than most meats.
Heat the oil in a frying pan. Add the onions and fry them over a medium heat until they begin to brown.
Add the chicken livers and garlic and fry for just a few minutes until the livers begin to brown. Turn the livers a few times to ensure they are cooked on both sides.
Add the lemon juice and butter. Cook for just 1 minute more and then take the pan off the heat.
Season with salt and pepper. Add the chopped herbs and your chicken livers are ready to serve.
This is such a quick and easy recipe, yet full of flavour.
There’s such flexibility in how they can be served. You can eat them with flat bread to eat as a snack, for lunch or supper.
Chicken Livers are also great as a side plate as part of a mezze. They can also good with rice and vegetables or salad and eaten as a main meal.
I do hope you’ll try them.
Let us know how you get on – we love hearing from you.
Strawberry and Rose Jam. Learn to make this beautiful conserve. The essence of idyllic summers in a jar. Perfect with Scones and clotted cream
Pita bread – Aish abyad pita bread In Egypt, the bread is best likened to pita bread. The main difference is that it’s round. Bread is an incredibly important staple in Egypt. If you’d like to find out more see my article ‘Bread in Egypt’. …
Creamy Banana Milkshake is a wonderful, rich, whipped drink that seems really indulgent and yet it’s remarkably healthy.
The beauty of making your own banana milkshake is that, unlike shop bought milkshakes or milkshake powders, this recipe has no artificial additives or preservatives or E numbers. The whole thing is natural and tastes exceptional.
For a food to be that good for you and also taste luscious sounds like magic to me. Everyone loves it, kids especially. And it only has the 2 ingredients. What could be simpler.
* It’s also a great way to use up ripe bananas, because they are the sweetest. If they’re not fully ripe you may need to add a little sugar or honey.
Everyone knows the benefits of milk for its calcium, protein and other nutrients. The only other ingredient in this banana milkshake is bananas.
Bananas have many health benefits too. They’re one of your 5-a-day. Bananas are high in antioxidants which help rid the body of Free Radicals which can cause diseases such as cancer, diabetes and Alzeimers. They’re also high in Potassium which we need to help nerve function, muscle contraction and to maintain a healthy heart.
Put the bananas into a blender with the milk along with the ice cubes if you’ve chosen to add them. Blitz your banana milkshake thoroughly, until they are perfectly smooth and frothy.
Taste the mix to make sure you don’t need to add any extra sugar or honey – if you’ve used really ripe bananas you should be fine.
Transfer your beautiful creamy milkshake to a jug and serve immediately.
Your milkshake needs to be drunk as soon as possible after blitzing. It should be drunk the same day.
Chicken in breadcrumbs – Chicken bennay This Chicken in Breadcrumbs recipe leaves KFC standing in the shadows. If you want to make chicken that gets everyone excited and wanting to have it again and again, then this is a great recipe for you. The chicken …
