authentic Egyptian recipes
Lamb with Black-Eyed Beans. Lamb with black-eyed beans is a wonderfully hearty meal. It’s one of my favourite ways to have lamb. The meat is slow cooked so it’s perfectly tender. The rich tomato sauce is packed with flavour from the herbs and spices and …
Lentil Soup – shorbet adz 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 …
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.
Well I say “If Life gives you lemons, make Lemon Yoghurt Drink.” Home-made Lemonade is lovely, but Lemon Yoghurt Drink is even more glorious.
The flavour is wonderful and fresh. At the same time it’s so creamy and a real pleasure. The beautiful fresh lemon scent reminded me of the Amalfi Coast with all its fantastic lemon groves.
The glorious citrus, bitter sweet flavour reminded me of the lemon curd my Gran used to make, it was the best ever and I loved it. And if I’m being totally honest, it also reminds me of those wonderful Gu Lemon Cheesecake desserts – truly indulgent!
Its surprising that what may at first seem as just yet another drink, invokes all these wonderful memories. I’ve never really thought of it as a comfort food before, but I guess in a way it is, simply because through its scents and its flavours, it transports you back to times gone by, times that were good and hold fond memories.
The amount of sugar in the recipe can be adjusted to your own personal taste. Similarly it could be replaced by honey.
Squeeze the lemons very thoroughly – you need as much of the fleshy part of the lemon as possible.
Make sure to get rid of any pips that may have been caught up whilst squeezing.
Put the lemon juice, zest, sugar and yoghurt into a blender and blitz thoroughly, until it becomes frothy & smooth.
Transfer the yoghurt mix to a jug, add the water and lemon slices and mix thoroughly.
Taste and adjust the sweetness if necessary.
Refrigerate until you’re ready to serve.
Serve your beautiful Lemon Yoghurt Drink with plenty of ice.
Okra with Beef Okra with beef is a popular dish in Egypt; a wonderful combination of tender beef and baby okra. In Egypt, Okra is known as bamya and it’s a very popular vegetable. In England it’s also sometimes known as ‘Ladies’ Fingers’. Stewing beef …
Beef with red peppers and Cannelini:
Slow cooked to produce beautifully tender beef in a deliciously rich sauce. Spiced to perfection – always a winner!
This Spiced Slow-Cooked Lamb is cooked over a low heat for about 3 hours resulting in ultimate tenderisation and flavour.
This recipe is perfect for Lamb Shanks, Half Leg of Lamb ( the thicker end) or boned lamb.
The spices used to season this glorious dish provide a heady aroma and the most wonderful flavours.
Try this recipe, your taste buds will love you for it!
At the end of its cooking time your lamb is so perfectly tender and the flavours are just out of this world.
In Egypt meat is cut into large chunks 2” x 2” x 1”. And each person is just given 2 or 3 pieces of meat. If you prefer your meat cut smaller, as is the norm for English food, that’s fine, the meat will still cook much the same. If you prefer you could alternatively use lamb shanks for this recipe.
This is a great recipe to be cooked in a Slow Cooker.
Serves 4
2 lamb shanks, ½ a leg of lamb (the thicker end), or 1kg lamb
Blend all the spices from the spice mix together in a small bowl.
Rub half of the spice mix on to the lamb – allow the flavours to infuse for 1 hour if you can
Put a large pan over a high flame to heat up.
Add 2 tbsp oil and when that heats up.
The lamb needs to be seared (browned and sealed) all over. So, first make sure the pan is almost smoking hot, then place the lamb in and leave it in one place (without stirring it) for a couple of minutes before turning it.
*Tip if the meat is seared it will turn easily, if it’s not quite ready it will appear to be stuck to the bottom of the pan, in which case leave it for a minute or so before trying to turn it again.
If you have chosen to cook lamb pieces, work in batches and place about 6 pieces of the lamb into the hot oil at a time. When the lamb is browned put those pieces to one side and repeat the process until all the meat is browned. Add a little more oil if necessary.
When the lamb is browned all over put it to one side.
Reduce the heat under the pan then add the onions and gently fry them until they become soft and golden.
Add the rest of the spice mix and the garlic and continue cooking for another minute until the oils in the spices are released and the garlic becomes fragrant.
Now add the chopped tomatoes, juice and zest of the lemons, the stock cubes, grated carrot, chilli and the chopped coriander stalks.
Return the lamb to the pan along with the bone. Add enough hot water to cover the meat.
Increase the heat for the pan and bring it to the boil.
Then reduce the heat to as low as it will go and allow the lamb to simmer for about 2 – 3 hours, checking occasionally that there is enough liquid in the pan and that it hasn’t dried out.
Stir the pan about every hour. Check your seasoning at the same time – the spices develop as they simmer. Adjust as necessary.
When it’s ready the meat on the lamb shanks and the 1/2 leg of lamb should be so tender that it literally can fall off the bone. The lamb pieces will be ready when the meat is tender and can be cut easily with a spoon.
Allow the meat to cook slightly before serving – the flavours are much richer when it’s not piping hot.
Add the chopped coriander leaves just a few minutes before serving.
This recipe is perfect to use for Lamb Fettah, a favourite in Egypt for Eid.
It’s also great to have over Potato Layer Bake or with Egyptian Rice with Shariya. In fact there are so many possibilities. Which ever way you choose to have delicious Spiced Slow-Cooked Lamb, I’m sure you’ll love it.
To get some of the recipes I’ve mentioned click the links below.
As Spiced Slow-Cooked Lamb has such a long cooking time, I frequently cook three or even four times the quantities (in a very large pot) of braised lamb and divide it up and freeze the portions.
When you’re busy it’s excellent to have as back up. Just take it out of the freezer in the morning and it’s ready to heat up in the evening. Cook up a pot of rice and you’re ready to go.
So many times I’ve been grateful for this time saver.
You’ll also save on fuel bills!
I do hope you give this recipe a go I’m sure you’ll love it.
Let me know how you get on with the recipe, I love hearing from you. And keep those photos coming in – they’re great.