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GLOSSARY OF FOODS AND FOOD TERMS IN EGYPT

Asha: the evening meal.

Bamieh Bilahmeh: a stew of browned cubed lamb, garlic, and tomato sauce, completed with the addition of okra near the end of cooking time. Served with rice.

Bettai or Bettawa: classic Arab bread made of whole-wheat flour and leavening and baked in a large, flat fourteen-inch round. Eaten by breaking off pieces, and used to scoop up other foods. It is the mainstay of the Egyptian diet.

Bissara: lima bean and beef stew flavored with coriander and garlic. The cooked beans are purled and mounded on a platter with the meat pieces arranged on top. Served with rice.

Boughasha: crisp pastry rolls filled with nuts and raisins.

Bourri: a most popular fish – mullet. When salted it is called Fessikh.

Couscous: Middle Eastern favorite prepared by dribbling water over !lour and rubbing to form small granules. These are dried then steamed in a perforated pot over boiling water, or stew, or soup. Gentle stir-ring from time to time prevents lumps. In Egypt the Jellaheen make this with small amounts of meat and vegetable sauce. Mostly it is prepared as a dessert sweet, sprinkled with Samna, peanuts, currants, and sugar.

Dfina: beef stew flavored with garlic and onions and simmered with sorrel and white pea leaves (spring greens).

Erfah: dessert coffee brewed in the usual way but lightly flavored with cinnamon as well as sugar.

 

Erkesous: a non-alcoholic meal beverage similar to beer but flavored with anise.

Esh es Saraya: classic festive dessert of bread crumbs cooked in heavy syrup and flavored with honey and butter. When thickened, it is cooled in a thin layer on a plate, cut into wedges, and served with whipped cream.

Farawla: a syrup of strawberries and sugar served in a glass with ice water or mixed with other juices to make a beverage.

Farik or Fireek: similar to bulgur (boiled, dried, and cracked wholewheat), but prepared from green wheat. Often used with seasonings as a stuffing.

Fenugreek: sweet aromatic powder or seeds used in large amounts to flavor bread and certain dishes.

Fessikh: salted mullet.

Ful, Fool, or Ful Medamis: dried beans boiled and served with oil. Classic dish especially for breakfast or lunch.

Ful Nabit: dried beans are covered with water and allowed to sprout, then cooked. A variation of Ful.

Ful Sudani: peanuts

Halawah: confection of finely ground sesame seeds and nuts molded to a rich delicious paste and sold by the piece.

Kishk: dried paste made of soured milk, flour, and various seasonings (usually hot and spicy). Commonly mixed with water and cooked as a part of the fellaheen’s evening meal.

Kotelat: Egyptian-style meatballs made from ground beef and seasonings and cooked in water, oil, and saffron, served with egg-lemon sauce. Bread or rice usually accompany.

Maamoul: cone-shaped confection made from sweetened farina (cream of wheat), filled with nuts and perfumed with rose or orange water.

Meggadara: brown lentils and onions cooked with rice and served with yogurt and crunchy fried onions.

Millokhia or Moulighia: similar in appearance to spinach, a leafy green that yields a thick viscous liquid when cooked and used especially to prepare a classic soup of the same name, based on a stock of chicken or rabbit.

Mish: skim milk cheese, seasoned and allowed to ripen in earthenware jars for a year. The strong pun-gent taste is popular with all social classes and a small plate of sliced mish is a part of many meals.

Red Lentil Soup: a classic soup with the usual garlic and onion, and with coriander and cumin. Prepared without meat. Interestingly, red lentils cook up to a golden-yellow color.

Ruzz Dumyat: cooked minced giblets, butter, and pine nuts cooked with rice in a broth. The hot, fluffy, rich-flavored mixture is served with meat or other vegetables.

Samna: clarified butter.

Saniet Batatis: a baked casserole of meat and vegetables with the meat in the center and the vegetables arranged all around, seasoned with onions, garlic, and tomato juice.

Sayadia: a classic fish dish prepared by browning a blend of curry seasonings in oil then pouring over fillets or whole fish in a pan. Small amounts of water are added and the fish is cooked until tender and until the water boils away. The fish is served chilled with a garnish of fresh parsley and lemon wedges.

Shourba: rich stock meat soup finished with tangy egg-lemon sauce.

Simsim: sesame seeds.

Soubya: a mealtime beverage made from fermented rice.

Tahini: sesame seed oil used for cooking and flavoring and also for lighting and lubrication.

Tambrahandi: drink of date palm juice sometimes served with meals.

Tamiya: cooked mashed beans formed into small cakes and deep-fried then served as they are or, more usually, with spicy condiments.

Tanaka: Arabic name for the long-handled, narrow-necked, wide-bottom coffeepot used in Greece and Turkey where it is called an ibrik. Pulverized coffee, sugar, and water are added, allowed to bubble and boil up the desired number of times then poured ceremoniously into tiny demitasse cups. The exact amount of sugar, water, and coffee (as well as the type) and the number of times it is allowed to foam up produces an incredible number of variations. Sometimes spices are added.

 

Torley: casserole of ground meats and sliced vegetables arranged in layers. Flavorings and seasonings are tomato juice, onions, and salt and pepper.

MEALS, CUSTOMS AND FOODS COMMONLY USED IN EGYPT

The abundance of gracious words, multiple cups of coffee, and a proliferation of heaped dishes that are all so typical of the unfailing Arabian hospitality can he explained in one word – shaban, meaning total satisfaction. The shaban of the guest is the joy of the host and nothing is spared to achieve this. Age, place, or wealth mean nothing. The best of what is available is proffered to the guest, and in great quantity.

Guests are seldom surprised by unusual foods. Age-old traditions of food preparation, serving, and eating are well enshrined in Arab hospitality. City dwellers often prefer to take their meals in shaded courtyards during very hot weather. But whether indoors or out, the ritual is the same. Diners seat themselves informally on layered carpets while platters of food are placed on low wooden tables within easy reach. There are no individual plates, no cutlery Foods are traditionally eaten with the fingers of the right hand only or are deftly scooped up with broken pieces of flat Arabic bread (from that big fourteen-inch flat circle mentioned above). Just in case there are some sticky fingers, bowls or brass jars filled with scented water are passed by servants between courses.

The quantity and variety of foods is further enhanced by the tradition of combining foods according to each diners pleasure. Perhaps the eating is so enjoyable because there is always a different combination to taste.

Because the sheer quantity of foods offered is an important part of hospitality, some special dinners have as many as forty varied dishes, each one heaped and garnished in lavish display. Water or some form of light drink will be served with the meal. Sweet honey desserts might conclude a special meal, but fruits are the usual dessert. Small cups of Turkish-type black sweetened coffee and the smoking of the narghile or hookah (water pipe) may he an after-dinner pleasure for some.
Hospitality is consistent, but foodstuffs may vary considerably. The humble home of the Iellaheen, often shared by the family’s animals, may be able to offer only bread, mish, and sweetened tea. A few dishes based largely on legumes, and occasional soups or vegetables, would he the only addition to the daily fare. Conversely, urban homes may rival the sophistication of gourmets anywhere with the exotica of typical Middle East specialties.

Morning begins very’ early for the fellaheen with a light breakfast of ful, bread, olives, mish, and sweet tea. In some areas local fruits may be eaten in season accompanying the bread and tea. Urban breakfasts are identical but coffee substitutes for tea.

The (ellaheen’s lunch will be a repeat of the earlier meal while dinner may include a legume-based soup (e.g. thick lentil soup) or kishk cooked with water. Olives with fresh onions and bread will complete the meal, while cups of sweet tea will be sipped to satiety.

There is usually not a great variety of foods in the peasant’s meals but the staple legumes are pre-pared in many different ways and the adroit use of pungent and hot seasonings, along with the generous consumption of bread and tea, provides variety and satisfaction. Dried boiled legumes can he served as soup or stew, or drained and served as a “salad.” Sometimes mashed cooked legumes are heaped in a mound and served with small amounts of meats or vegetables. Or they may be deep-fried in patties called tamiya. Ful nabit is yet another main dish prepared from sprouted beans.
Urban lunches also favor dishes prepared from legumes that are often eaten in restaurants. Dinners in upper-class homes feature all courses on the table at once and diners casually select each course to their own taste: a soup (eaten with a spoon), a legume dish, stuffed vegetables, couscous with meats and hot sauce, a plentiful supply of breads, and finally, fruits, followed by coffee.

Snack foods abound on city streets and even along roadsides, and again the favorites reflect the Egyptian love of legumes: ful medamis, simmered seasoned beans served with olive oil and lemon juice; tamiya, fried bean patties served with spicy-hot sauces; kushari, pasta, rice, and lentils topped with spicy tomato sauce and flecks of crisp browned onions. Vendors of sweet confections vie with those selling fresh fruits, toasted nuts, and crispy seeds. Coffeehouses locate themselves conveniently too. And at any time of the day, sweetened cola and other carbonated drinks, as well as fruit mixtures, are avail-able to slake the thirst.

Foods Commonly Used

Although there is a marked difference between the foods of the upper classes and the fellaheen, the general Egyptian fare is vegetarian. Even the wealthy serve meat only once or twice a week, while the poorest taste meat only on special occasions. Bread is the staple of all classes, from the leavened wheat breads of the upper class to the fellaheen’s staple of unleavened corn breads flavored with fenugreek (similar in taste to anise). Meat, fish, legumes, and dairy products are a part of urban diets; skim milk cheese and legumes are the most important protein foods for the fellaheen, who supplement their diet with onions, tomatoes, and wild greens as well as very small amounts of local fruit. The wealthy consume fruits and vegetables according to taste. Tea is the rural drink, coffee is the urban drink, and all groups consume sweetened carbonated drinks.

DOMESTIC LIFE AND SPECIAL OCCASIONS IN EGYPT

The Egyptian’s lifestyle and domestic facilities are sharply defined by class and gender. Modern ideas and technology have made great inroads in the educational, economic, and agricultural spheres, but the roles of male and female have changed little from ancient times. Upper-class women enjoy higher education and the help of servants but seldom accompany their husbands to restaurants or coffee-houses. Class is synonymous with wealth: servants, appliances, and the hand labor of many Muslim wives in a household (Muslim law allows a man four wives) indicate a family’s status. Fellaheen conditions parallel those of many in subsistence economies, where most perishable foods are neither preserved nor stored but are consumed locally and seasonally as they are available. For this reason starvation may result when crops are poor.

SPECIAL OCCASIONS

Since the majority of Egyptians are of Arabic origin (the Ayyubid, Muslim sect), Muslim feast days and fast days rule the Egyptian calendar. The small group of Egyptian Christians (about one and a half million) dating their lineage to the ancients celebrate Christian festivals. Proportionately smaller groups include Protestants, Orthodox Christians, and Jews.

Feast days for the .fellaheen are marked whenever possible with the inclusion of meat, which is usually ritually slaughtered with ceremony fitting the occasion. The meat itself may be chicken, lamb, water buffalo (although rarely because the animal is more valued for work and for milk), and occasionally even a “very old camel – so tough it must be stewed for days before it can be eaten …” Since wheat breads are considered of the finest quality, the inclusion of even some wheat flour into the daily bread is considered a treat for many fellaheen.

For many, however, special feast days are marked not only by visits from friends and relatives, but also by long days of preparation of the specialty dishes. These include feta, a classic holiday dish of layered bread, rice, and meats all moistened with rich garlic-flavored broth; esh es saraya, the rich sweet made from bread crumbs, honey, and butter, and served with ishta (whipped cream); heaping platters of mehshi, seasonal vegetables (e.g. eggplants, zucchini, peppers) stuffed with savory rice and meat mixtures; and variations of garnished sweetened couscous. The most dramatic dish of all, worthy of any festive occasion, is ferakh bel borghul. This is prepared by stuffing chickens with farik, or rice, then poaching them to tenderness and browning them to crispness and finally cooking them inside a boned turkey or lamb. With great ceremony the chickens are extracted as the awesome piece de resistance, then carved in small pieces for the diners.

FOOD FROM EGYPT

DAIRY PRODUCTS
Fresh fluid milk is rarely used except occasionally in cooking. Some goat’s milk is used but cow and buffalo milk are preferred. In the cities milk is sold from door to door and is always boiled before using. A variety of milk products are available in cities — pasteurized milk, condensed milk, butter, and cheeses. Yogurt, but primarily mish, is the rural staple. Mish (seasoned with red peppers and fenugreek) is considered peasant food, but is also much enjoyed by upper classes. A dried paste of soured milk blended with flour and seasonings, such as red peppers, is called kishk and is commonly cooked with water and eaten as the evening meal at rural tables with corn bread, onions, and sweet tea.

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
Fruits are generally produced in small quantities and enjoyed mainly by the upper classes. In rural areas, seasonal fruits such as guavas, figs, and dates are used. Though quantity is limited, there is a wide range of tropical and subtropical fruits produced with peaches, pears, citrus fruits, and apricots being the most important. In addition, there are crops of apples, loquats, cherries, nectarines, plums, and quinces. Egypt ranks high in world production of dates, and there are also large crops of citrus fruits. (Portoqal are oranges, and limes are called leimoon.) Smaller crops of olives, bananas, pomegranates, grapes, and mangoes are also grown.

Onions and leeks are the most popular vegetable crops, dating from ancient times, and used year round by all classes. Tomatoes are plentiful but eaten cooked rather than fresh. Other vegetables are consumed in very limited amounts in rural diets and only used seasonally on urban tables. Okra, potato, eggplant, cauliflower, cabbage, and spinach are other staple crops.

In cooler months, wild and cultivated leafy vegetables are eaten by all, but special favorites in the spring are the tender seeds and leaves of chickpeas and broad beans. Millokhia (spelled in various ways), is a green similar to spinach but with the gelatinous qualities of okra, and is especially popular in a classic soup of the same name which is based on chicken stock flavored with tomato paste, garlic, coriander, and pepper.

Occasionally radishes, carrots, lettuce, purslane, cucumbers, and even tomatoes are eaten raw as a side dish. Where storage is available some vegetables may be pickled in brine or vinegar during season: carrots, turnips, radishes, tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet peppers. Okra and millokhia are the only two that may be stored and preserved in a dried state for later use in soups, sauces, and slow-cooked casserole-type dishes.

MEATS AND ALTERNATES
Meats are not a frequent part of the Egyptian diet. When they are used, meats and fish are most often well seasoned and eaten mostly as part of a dish with legumes or cereal grains. Muslims not only do not eat pork but also prefer meats that have been ritually slaughtered (halal). Beef, lamb, kid, commercially raised rabbits, and even camel may be used by them as well. Traditionally, chickens are allowed to forage, which makes their meat stringy and tough and their egg production low. Most popular of all fowl are pigeons. Since young squabs are a special delicacy, pigeon nesting is encouraged everywhere.

Legumes are universally popular. Two classic Egyptian dishes: ful (slow-simmered beans) and tamiya (fried bean patties), are a popular dish at home and frequently purchased from vendors or eaten in restaurants. Lentils, chickpeas, broad beans, horse beans, vechling or the prass peas, and moki or lima beans are all used in soups and thick or thin stews. Sometimes they are mixed with meats or vegetables, and always they are well seasoned.

Because of its perishability, fish is used where caught. Bouri is a form of mullet fish most used: fessikh is salted bouri. Small amounts of almonds, pistachios, and pecans are grown. They are used mainly as snacks or in rich desserts and pastries. Pine nuts may be used in some meat/vegetable dishes, or sometimes served with rice.

BREADS AND GRAINS
Corn, wheat, barley, rice, sorghum, and millet are the cereal crops produced in Egypt. Baladi is the wheat indigenous to the land, while lindi is a variety from India that has better baking qualities.
Bread is the most important staple for all classes and the poorer the family, the greater the ratio of bread consumed to other foods. Wheat breads are considered the finest, and bettai or bettawa is the classic Arabian bread leavened with yeast and baked in a fourteen-inch flat circle. The fellaheen make their breads from corn, millet, or sorghum (depending upon area) and spice it liberally with fenugreek. On special feast days they may add wheat to their usual breads to make them more festive.

Rural delta communities use corn as the staple, with only occasional use of wheat and rice. Rural southern Egyptians make breads from millet or sorghum with some wheat flour added. In common to all breads of rural areas is the sweet and fragrant taste of fenugreek.

Rice, burgul, and couscous form the main ingreclients of many festive dishes and are often used as stuffings (well seasoned) for meats, poultry, including pigeons, and vegetables. Burgul is a nutritious wholegrain prepared from boiled, dried, and cracked wheat. It can be purchased from fine to coarse and has many uses. Cooked it can be used in many ways as rice; uncooked it is used by soaking first, then it may he combined with chopped vegetables and dressed with oil and seasonings. (See Lebanese; Syrian.) Another very similar grain dish is farik or fireek, which is made from green wheat.
Couscous is the favored dish all over North Africa, especially in Morocco. (See Moroccan.) Rural Egyptian families prepare it because it is economical and satisfying. Other Egyptians may make it as a sweet treat or dessert to be eaten with sugar and flecked with peanuts. Classic couscous is served with stewed meat and vegetables and a sidedish of very hot-seasoned sauce.

As if proof were needed that not a crumb of bread is wasted, witness esh es saraya, “Egyptian palace bread”: made with bread crumbs stirred into a heavy syrup then poured out to cool. When cut into triangles and served with whipped cream, the rich honey and butter from the syrup and the smooth delight of the cream fit the name.

FATS
Fool sudani (peanuts) and simsim (sesame seeds) rank as the important crops used especially for oil production. Cottonseed is the source for most of the vegetable oil consumed in Egypt. Butter is usually used in the form of samna or masli – clarified butter.

SWEETS AND SNACKS
Large quantities of sugar are consumed in the very sweet desserts and confections, the well-sweetened tea and coffee, and the many carbonated beverages that are enjoyed. The pastry of the Mediterranean – phyllo – makes its sweet appearance in pastry shops in the familiar array of honey or syrup-drenched sweets. Exquisite sugared confections are sometimes specially created for desserts, but only in well-to-do homes. Sugar-coated nuts and sweets like halwah, which is a confection made from ground nuts, sesame seeds, and sugar, are snacked on whenever possible.

SEASONINGS
The aromas wafting from the bazaars of Cairo and Alexandria form a rich, heady blend of henna, sandalwood, myrrh, camphor, opium, and hashish. The rich scents wafting from Egyptian cookery may include coriander, mint, cumin, cinnamon, and the rich warmth of buttery honey syrups. Regardless of class, two favorite seasonings used are fenugreek and sesame, both as seeds and oil. While all of these lend their flavors to various dishes and breads, the most-used blend is garlic and onions with tomato paste or tomato juice. Egyptians love the sharp pungency of garlic and onions. Conversely, they also love very sweet drinks and desserts. Delicate pastries and fruit desserts are frequently enhanced with nuts, butter, honey, and often rosewater or orange flower water.

BEVERAGES
Sweetened coffee is the mainstay of the urban Egyptian, while sweetened tea is the frequent refresher of the rural family. Both beverages are enjoyed after meals and often as a “pick-up,” or served just to express hospitality. Water is traditionally served with meals.

Soft drinks, carbonated beverages, and drinks made with prepared fruit syrups and plain water are used frequently. Meal beverages also include the following: erkesous, nonalcoholic beer flavored with anisette; tambrahandi, made from date palm juice; shaier, made from barley; soubya drink, made from fermented rice; lubki, a drink similar to ginger ale.

FOOD AND CULTURE IN EGYPT

Sphinx, pyramids, pharaohs, and mummies all evoke vivid images of ancient Egypt. But so should a sip of cool frothy beer or a bite of warm crusty bread, because both are credited to the inventive genius of ancient Egyptians: an unnamed brewer and an equally obscure baker. Perhaps it is from the land of Egypt that the expression “the sands of time” originates. It would be entirely appropriate. The study of Egyptology and the science of archeology have discovered keys to the ancient civilization under layers of dry sand. It is one thing to read about the histories of ancient peoples, it is another to view actual implements, original writings, artifacts, clothing, and even dried foods that were part of everyday life thousands of years ago. Credit must be given to the exceptionally dry climate of Upper Egypt (Southern) and the ease with which excavations may be made in sand.

Considered to be the direct living descendants of the ancient Egyptians are a group of present-day Egyptian Christians known as Copts. They clung to their faith even though in the 600s C.E. almost all Egyptians embraced Islam under the powerful influence of the Ayyubids, who established Egypt as the political and cultural center of the Islamic world. Although the overwhelming population of Egypt is Arabic, other groups, including Bedouins, Turks, Greeks, Syrians, French, Italians, and British, remain in Egypt as historical footprints of past conquests and foreign dominations.

Those influences have for the most part blended into general Egyptian culture but some threads are evident in the country’s food styles. Excavations have yielded foods and writings about the foods that graced ancient Egyptian tables: leeks, onions, and okra; the large flat round yeast breads that are a staple of the Middle East even today; cakes rich with honey and dates; fool or ful – slow-simmered beans; and tamiya, seasoned mashed bean patties, deep-fried. Even though thousands of years old, each is a part of Egyptian gastronomy today.

The processed burgul, used in many dishes, is likely of Syrian origin, but Greek and Turkish influence is evident in the following: meushti, stuffed vegetables; shourba, egg yolks laced with lemon juice and whisked into clear soup stock; and the many varieties of honey-drenched and nut-studded pastries made with phyllo dough. A popular classic Bedouin dish of lamb and rice, called mansat, is also much enjoyed on Egyptian tables. It is served over layers of carefully baked wholewheat sheets called shrak. Couscous is a Moroccan staple used in Egypt more as a dessert than an entree.

History credits both Arab civilization and the spread of Islam with bringing coffee to the tables of the world as a stimulant, refresher, and symbol of hospitality. Thought to have originated in Upper Ethiopia and Egypt, from an area called Kaffa, the Arabs first brewed coffee for use as an energizer and stimulant. Gradually the Greek and Roman Bacchic culture (so called because Bacchus was the god of wine and wine was their favorite beverage) was uprooted together with their vineyards as the Arab world spread its influence, and coffee came to be known as “the wine of Islam.” It was not until the 1500s that coffee lost its exclusivity as its fame and aroma spread over Europe and, for many people, coffeehouses became their second homes. Coffee’s importance never waned in Egypt. So important is the role of this beverage that people commonly have the name of their favorite coffeehouse inscribed on their business cards.

But of prime importance in Egypt and the Middle East is the oldest liquid of all – water. Egypt has been described as “a long fertile valley surrounded by desert.” Only to the extent that water can be encouraged for irrigation can food be provided. Newer systems of canals and dams are helping to increase agricultural output and lessen the country’s age-old dependency on the Nile Rivers annual flooding. More than 60 percent of the population is engaged in agriculture with the principal crop of cotton yielding not only high-quality fiber but also cottonseed oil used in cooking.

Berseem, the Egyptian clover, is used as a rotation crop for fodder to feed cattle, sheep, goats, and chickens as well as pigs, though pork is consumed only by the Copt community as the Muslims do not use it. The milk produced by these animals is used for yogurt and many types of cheeses. The gentle gamoosa (water buffalo) provides milk and is a dependable beast of burden and may even live with humble families as the winter heating unit. Donkeys are the preferred beasts of burden.

While upper-class Egyptians converse in Arabic, French, and English and enjoy a cosmopolitan lifestyle, the fellaheen (peasants) continue a way of life that has not changed in centuries. Working in fields with their gamoosa, they tend crops, vineyards, and orchards, and care for their animals and poultry but seldom eat what they produce. Meat, poultry, and eggs, as well as most vegetables and fruits, are sold. The fellaheen’s staples are bread, onions, legumes, and copious drinks of very sweet tea. Their main protein source other than grains and legumes is mish, a white skim milk cheese stored in earthen-ware jars to ripen.

No one has torn down sphinx or pyramids in order to erect skyscrapers in Egypt. But today, modern skyscrapers, towering balconied condominiums, and bustling suburban streets hum with activity with-in sight of the ancient windswept pyramids of the pharaohs. Yet, Egypt remains, as always, a land and a people quietly aware of their ancient roots but absorbed in their daily tasks, all carried out with typical Mediterranean disdain for time, bustle, or punctuality. There must always be time for a sip and a chat.