Egyptian cuisine. How Egyptians cook

The story of Egyptian cuisine should begin with a mention of an astonishing river – the Nile. It carries its life-giving waters through the whole of Egypt, from South to North, and along its banks lies fertile black soil. This fertile soil and the warm climate allow people to harvest several crops a year (depending on the type of agricultural cultivation). This means that fresh vegetables and fruit are available all year round. Therefore, here the kitchen is not simply a place for cooking – no! The kitchen is a place of magic, a place where the most ordinary ingredients are transformed into exquisite dishes. Eating merely to satisfy hunger? That is not about Egypt. Here they cook by decorating food with dozens of shades of flavour, and then they certainly treat their loved ones.

Every morning begins with a substantial breakfast. Surprisingly, almost everyone, almost always, will have roughly the same set. And that is, of ocourse, fresh bread, ful (a puree of legumes, to which it is best to add a little black pepper, a pinch of cumin, oil and salt; you may also chop in tomatoes or pepper, but that is a matter of taste), taameya (the same legumes fried in oil. Served only freshly cooked and preferably sprinkled with sesame, an omelette or fried eggs or simply boiled eggs or all of this together, aubergines (they may be fried with garlic or lightly marinated with carrot and herbs), a tomato and cucumber salad, soft white cheese, just cheese, sausage, pickled vegetables, olives and potatoes (French fries or crisps).

Then someone from the family will certainly go to the market to buy fresh produce for the main dishes. It should be noted that in Egyptian cuisine there is truly no place for stereotypes. Every Egyptian knows a great deal about cooking, knows recipes and knows how to choose the right vegetables and fruit. Men feel perfectly at ease at market stalls, bargaining for form’s sake. Social status changes nothing. A steel plant owner and a taxi driver alike can easily discuss the finer points of cooking rice. And what can we say about women!

Main dishes

Soups are eaten and prepared much more often in restaurants. Especially fish soups, which you will only encounter there. These are, rather, seafood variations in creamy sauce with the obligatory addition of celery. Without small Egyptian lemons, soups are not served at all. In winter, when it gets cold, they prepare lentil cream soup. It is considered especially nutritious at this time of year. The point, of course, is in its base: a rich broth, vegetables, pepper, garlic and a couple of the tastiest winter tomatoes.

Without tomatoes, it is impossible to imagine Egyptian national cuisine. Almost all main dishes include a tomato component. Stuffed courgettes, aubergines, peppers, vine leaves or cabbage leaves are made with the addition of salsa. Bamya, green peas, green beans, and sabanikh, having been lightly sautéed in samna (a type of clarified butter), are added to meat broth, and then… then again comes the spicy salsa.

And now to molokhiyya – the queen of Egyptian cuisine! It is this dish that people miss so much when they leave the country that they start growing it on their balconies. A packet of dried molokhiyya will certainly be taken to friends abroad. This seemingly simple dish is the most important secret of every homemaker.

Molokhiyya is a common herbaceous plant with small, soft leaves. The recipe is very simple. The washed and shade-dried leaves are finely chopped and added to hot broth, with spices, of course. That is all. But the details and subtleties – they go off the scale. At which moment, what, how much and how to add? And what should be said at that moment? They say that without love it turns out completely bland and tasteless. Indeed, all the secrets of Egyptian national cuisine are hidden in the preparation of molokhiyya.

Here they cook primarily from what grows on their native land. They zealously preserve the traditions of their grandmothers and grandfathers. They cook skilfully and creatively, and above all – with love! There is always room at a table for a guest. There is, however, one danger in Egypt. One must be careful with one’s words and avoid saying inadvertently, “I think I’m getting hungry.” You will be fed in such a way that you will remember it for a long time!