authentic Egyptian recipes
Stuffed Chicken with Lemon, Garlic and Herb Freekah The flavours of this stuffed chicken are unbelievably exciting. The freekah stuffing comes to life with the lemon, garlic and herbs, giving it a real freshness. It then absorbs incredible flavours from the chicken making it an …
Fettah is one of the signature dishes of Egypt.
Fettah is a rice dish that has bread at its base which is soaked in a really good, tasty stock. The rice is piled high over the bread and then drizzled with a wonderful rich garlicky tomato sauce.
The dish is then usually crowned with a really good stewed lamb, that has been cooked to perfection.
It’s also reported that the Lamb Fettah, cooked by his mother, was the favourite food of Omar Sharif (the original ‘Doctor Zhivago’ & also starred in ‘Laurence of Arabia’) .
Even without the meat topping, this is an incredibly tasty dish.
If you use vegetable stock cubes it is a great option for vegetarian.
The quantities used for this recipe are enough for 4 people.
The bread used for this needs to be very dry so break the pita bread into pieces and put them on a baking tray, place this in an oven on its lowest setting temperature for about 20 – 30 minutes to allow it to crisp up.
First heat the oil in a medium size pan over a medium heat.
Add the garlic, tomatoes, cumin, grated stock cube, salt and pepper.
Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat down to a gentle simmer.
Cook for about 10- 15 minutes stirring occasionally.
The sauce will become a rich red colour and reduce slightly. Add the lemon juice and butter and cook for 2 more minutes.
Stir in the chopped coriander just before serving.
Boil a kettle of water ready to use later.
Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the rice to the oil in the pan and keep stirring until the grains of rice turn first white and then begin to turn slightly golden.
Add the grated stock cube.
Then CAREFULLY add the boiling water – WARNING when the water hits the hot oil it will send up clouds of very hot steam so wear an oven glove.
Once the water is added give the rice a quick stir and then put the lid on the pan and reduce the heat down to the lowest setting it can go to and cook for 12 minutes. Then turn the heat off and allow the rice to cook in its own steam for about another 6 minutes.
Now all the components of your fettah are ready, so now it’s time to bring them all together on a large serving dish or tray.
First spread the broken pieces of crispy pitta bread over the bottom of your serving dish and pour the hot stock over it. Drench it thoroughly. Allow a few minutes for the stock to soak into the bread.
Next spoon the steaming hot rice over the pita bread and smooth it over to form a level surface.
Now drizzle the rich garlicy tomato sauce over the rice.
If you are making Lamb Fettah, then now is the time to crown your fettah with the fabulous stewed Lamb.
This dish has so many wonderful flavours and aromas to savour I’m sure you’ll love it.
Shatta Hot Pepper Sauce: Learn to make Shatta Hot Pepper Sauce and bring a bit of excitement to the table.
Spice things up. Learn how to blend your spices and get phenomenal results with your cooking.
Hawowshi Scandria are truly delicious. They have the appearance of a pasty in many ways – albeit a round pasty. But, it has to be said, they taste so much better!
They taste more like a gourmet burger. It makes my mouth water just thinking about how good they are.
When street vendors sell hawowshi scandria, their shops are filled with the very best smells. And queues of people wait patiently (and sometimes a little less patiently – after all this is Egypt lol) to have their orders filled.
Hawowshi was first created by a Cairo butcher back in 1971. He simply put minced meat into a pitta pocket and baked it and Hawowshi was invented. It was a very simple idea but it soon caught on and soon they were eating it throughout Egypt.
There are many different recipes for Hawowshi. This recipe may not be the simplest. It is however, in my opinion head and shoulders above others
Some recipes are simple, with the meat filling just packed into pita bread pockets before baking, These are the form of the original Hawowshi, and they’re great if you want something quick.
Soon after Hawowshi were created , the good people of Alexandria (Scandria) took this idea a stage further and actually baked the meat in a fresh bread dough, to make it even better. And Hawowshi Scandria was created.
As you probably already know, Alexandria is that fabulous city on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt. Founded in 331BC by Alexander the Great.
It’s probably best know for its famous landmark the Alexandria Lighthouse, sometimes known as the Pharos of Alexandria, which was over 100m high and was known as one of the Seven Great Wonders of the Ancient World.
Alexandria was also known for its Great Library. Built in about 250BC, it was known as the greatest in the world in ancient times. It’s reported have held up to 400,000 scrolls.
So as you can see, only the best is good enough for Alexandria.
Hawowshi Scandria carries on this tradition. They’re simply sensational.
For me this is the ultimate recipe. The meat is seasoned to perfection and packs a punch. This wonderful meat filling is then encased in a wonderful, bread shell which absorbs the glorious flavours whilst the meat cooks. The flavours are fabulous.
I hope you’ll try them
The quantities in this recipe will make 8 Hawowshi Scandria
Put the warm (not too hot) milk into a bowl with the yeast and sugar. Give them a mix and put a cover over them for about 10 minutes to allow the yeast to activate. When the mixture starts to produce bubbles on the top, you’ll know that it’s ready to work its magic.
Put the flour into a large bowl, make a dip in the middle and pour in the yeast mix, half the warm water, the oil and the salt.
Lightly whisk the egg white and add that to the mix.
Starting from the centre, start mixing the wet ingredients and gradually start incorporating the flour until it is all mixed.
Gradually add the remaining water until you have a really, loose dough, but which still holds together.
Flour a work surface and fold the dough together until it forms a smooth ball.
Rub a little oil on to your hands and smooth this over the dough.
Place the dough into a large bowl, cover it with cling film and leave in a warm place for about 1 – 1 ½ hours until it rises and doubles in size.
Put all the ingredients for the filling into a large bowl and mix thoroughly.
Once the dough has doubled in size take it out of the bowl and put it on to a floured work surface, lightly punch the air out of it then knead again just for a minute to form a smooth ball again.
Put the oven on to pre-heat to 200 degrees C / 400 degrees F
Cut the dough in half . Then cut each half into 4 equal parts. You will then have 8 equally sized pieces of dough.
Divide the meat filling into 8 equal portions using much the same method you used to divide the dough.
Taking one ball of dough at a time. Push your thumb into the centre and start to form a cup shape (much as you did at school in art when you were taught to make pottery thumb pots with clay). Hollow out the centre until it’s big enough to comfortably take a portion of filling.
Put a portion of the filling into your dough cup . Then pull the dough back together over the top and seal it up.
Flatten the dough using your hands until it forms a circle approximately 20cm across.
Repeat this process until all the dough portions are filled and flattened.
When this is done place your stuffed doughs onto a baking tray. Space the breads apart slightly as they will get bigger.
Lightly whisk the egg yolk to use as an egg wash and brush it over your dough balls.
Cover your Hawowshi with a clean tea towel. Stand the baking trays on a work top in a warm place for about 20 – 25 minutes to rise again slightly.
Put your Hawowshi Scandria into your pre-heated oven and bake for about 25 minutes until they’re are golden brown.
I do hope you’ll try making these. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.
Falafel – Falafel are the most popular street food in Egypt. Learn to make these tasty, vegan-friendly nuggets & make your taste buds sing.
In Egypt, ful medames and falafel (or tamm’iya as they are called over there), is the most popular breakfast in the country without a doubt. It’s a great source of protein and very ecconomical. It’s the favourite food enjoyed by the masses.
Ful Medames is a hearty fava bean stew loaded with flavour from ground cumin and fresh herbs. It can be prepared in a number of ways. Here it is cooked with a rich tomato sauce, making it even more delicious.
In fact just about every street has several Ful and Falafel shops and stands. First thing in the morning they are overwhelmed with people queuing to get their tasty breakfast, ready to set them up for the day.
Served alongside the ful and falafel are spicy, fried aubergine and tomato as an accompaniment. Delicious tahini is there to drizzle over. And of course there are pickles on the side.
Although it is primarily served for breakfast, it is also great for lunch or even as an evening meal.
Ful is usually scooped up with flat bread but it could be stuffed into pita bread along with its friend falafel, a bit of salad and a drizzle of tahini. Any way you eat it is really tasty and also very filling.
In Egypt you would buy your Ful beans, freshly cooked from the stall in the street, in a little plastic bag.
In the UK you can buy cans of Ful beans from Arabic shops and even some supermarkets stock them now.
There are several different methods of preparing Ful. Each way only takes a couple of minutes to prepare.
Ful with tomato and onion or Ful with lemon and olive oil
I hope you found these recipes useful. Enjoy your ful medames.
I hope you’ll visit again soon to discover more authentic Egyptian recipes.
Let me know which way you prefer your ful medames & as always send in your photos.
Dukkah – Learn to make the perfect Egyptian Nut and Spice Blend that’s a truly moreish snack with flat bread and a little olive oil.
