authentic Egyptian recipes
Best Egyptian Chicken Noodle Soup This is simply the best chicken noodle soup. The stock is so tasty and the addition of the zing of citrus from the lemon juice just elevates the flavour to the next level. Although this is called Chicken Noodle Soup …
Nightingales Tongue Soup Is one of Egypts favourite soups. In Egypt its know as Lissen Al Asfor. It’s really easy to make and can be prepared in just minutes – give it a go!
Lentil soup is one of those comfort foods that’s so soothing. It provides a real sense of well-being and just makes you feel happier. It sees you through cold weather, ill health and grotty times and has the magical ability to make the world a better place.
This is a real family favourite and has been one recipe that’s been used possibly more often than any other: great for starters, lunches and suppers.
It’s such a hearty warm meal that keeps you going and is so tasty. All you need is a chunk of good bread and it brings a big smile to your face.
Put the lentils into a bowl. Cover them with boiling water and allow them to stand for 5 minutes. Drain away the cloudy water and repeat this process until the water runs clear. Getting rid of this cloudy water at this point means you won’t need to keep scraping frothy substances off the top of your soup later in the cooking process. Also, if not removed this that can cause gassiness and we wouldn’t want any of that would we?
Now put the washed lentils into a pan. Cover them with fresh water and bring them to the boil. Once they reach boil point, reduce the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes until the lentils are cooked and soft. Then remove the pan from the heat and set to one side.
Put the oil into a large saucepan and warm it over a medium flame.
Add the chopped onions and fry them in the oil until they begin to brown.
Add the garlic and cook for a further minute.
Add the grated carrots, cumin, black pepper, chilli (if you chose to include it) and the stock.
Also add the chopped coriander stalks, only the stalks – save the leaves for later.
Bring the mix to the boil again and then reduce the heat down to a gentle simmer for about 20 minutes.
Add the cooked lentils to the soup and simmer for about another 15 minutes.
Add half of the coriander leaves and cook for a further 5 minutes.
You can now either serve the soup as a rustic chunky soup or blitz it down with a stick blender to make a much smoother blend.
Add the remainder of the coriander leaves just before serving.
Ladle into large soup bowls and enjoy with lots of warm bread.
I hope you enjoy this soup as much as I do.
Let me know how you prefer it – chunky or smooth? – with the boost of chilli or without?
I hope you’ll be back soon.
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 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 …
Strawberry and Rose Jam is a beautiful conserve. If you close your eyeswhilst eating it, it’s truly magical. It’s reminiscent of Turkish Delight, whilst at the same time being the essence of what idyllic summers are supposed to be, in a jar.
I make this wonderful jam in Egypt when the strawberry season (which is in January) overwhelms you with vast quantities of this delicious, fragrant fruit. Over there, all fruit and vegetables are ripened in the fields, in the full sun, so the strawberries are simply bursting with flavour and smell glorious.
My parents’ first visit to Egypt was during such a season and my dad couldn’t wait to make some strawberry jam. His jam was unbelievable; the flavour was out of this world and it was just the most wonderful deep, ruby red colour.
The next version was Strawberry and Rose Jam with the addition of rose water. It was truly fantastic; filling your senses with the best that summer had to offer. It’s a beautiful jam, truly magical. It has the essence of all of what summers are supposed to be.
In Aromatherapy the scent of rose petals is considered excellent for balancing, mind, heart and emotions. It’s known to boost serotonin. And this can reduce feelings of depression and anxiety and in turn increase feelings of joy and happiness.
This may explain why it is such a joy to eat this beautiful conserve. As I said, it is the essence of idyllic summers in a jar.
I must say here that, it is really important to choose a good quality rosewater. Otherwise you could end up with jam that smells like soap, so be warned. Good rosewater is a bit more expensive but it’s worth it.
Adding the vanilla bean is possibly totally unnecessary BUT it just takes it to another level and makes it totally spellbinding. Absolutely gorgeous.
This jam is just as wonderful with your croissants in the morning, as it is dolloped into a bowl of creamy Greek yogurt. And to be honest there’s nothing better on homemade scones which are still warm from the oven with lashings of clotted cream. Or even as the filling for a very special Victoria Sponge.
Before you begin put a couple of china saucers or plates into the freezer to use for testing the jam later.
Put the strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice in a large saucepan and heat it over a medium heat.
Bring to the boil, stirring frequently, skimming away any foam that forms on the top.
Reduce the heat down to a gentle simmer.
Add the rose water and the vanilla.
Stirring frequently, continue to cook the jam for about another 20-30 minutes until it starts to thicken and jell.
To test if jam is done, take one of the saucers you put in the freezer before you started cooking and put a large teaspoonful of jam on it.
Put the saucer with the jam on it back into the freezer to chill for a couple of minutes to get the jam down to room temperature. Push the jam with your finger. If the surface crinkles up, and you can draw a line through the middle of it with your finger and the jam stays separated, rather than the jam running together again, then it is done.
Ladle the jam into sterilized jars.
I do hope you’ll try this wonderful jam it really is so good, like I said all the flavours of idyllic summers in a pot.
Let me know how you get on with it.
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’. …