Food history

 

In Egypt, the basic diet consists of grains such as beans, chickpeas and lentils. A very common dish is the fool - a stew made of grain bean seasoned with sesame paste and lemon juice.


Breads are usually flat and round, like Arabic. However, they are ideal to be tasted together with many types of pasta and sauces typical of the Egyptian cuisine.

Tahini is a paste made of sesame, which is as delightful as the Ghanoug Baba, a mixture of tahini, garlic and eggplant.

Small dishes with cream and fool, can be served as side dishes. Sometimes Bikle (a portion of assorted vegetables, seasoned and preserved) can also accompany a good meal.

In Egypt, the breakfast is the most important meal of the day, although some hotels have joined the foreign custom of considering the dinner as the main meal.

An Egyptian meal consists of a standard main course, with various sauces and salads in addition to the traditional side dishes.

Kebabs is a popular dish made from mutton or chicken, cut into pieces, marinated and grilled.

There are 2 types of desserts in Egypt:
1) mass and sweet puddings or 
2) fresh fruit. 
The specialties are sweet: Mohallabeyya (base cream, rice flour, scented with rosewater and pistachios), Om'ali (thin sheets of cooked pasta bathed in milk and mixed with very sweet coconut and pistachio) and Konafa ( a kind of pasta pistachio, hazelnuts and walnuts, wrapped in noodles and honey).