DISHES

The variety of Egyptian recipes is endless. They go back a very long way. As a result of subsequent colonization, foreign influence is somewhat present, specially from the Turkish cuisine (it is understandable after more than 300 years of Turkish presence in Egypt). The "Pashas" living in Cairo mainly employed the natives as help and cooks. Their kitchen doors opened to us with their culinary secrets and, hence, Turkish food became part of ours.

Recipes gathered here are those known to the common Egyptian, irrelevant of their origin. Their names in Arabic are the ones we all know and use. Ingredients used are very easily found in Middle East/Oriental specialty stores.

Basboosa - Semolina Cake with Honey and Lemon

Ingredients: Syrup 2           cups sugar 2           cups water 1           whole lemon 3           teaspoons honey Basboosa 3           cups semolina 1           cup flour 1 1/2           teaspoons baking powder 1           cup sugar 1           cup oil 1           cup milk Instructions: 1.     To make the syrup: Peel the lemon with a potato peeler to get flat strips of peel. 2.     Juice the lemon. 3.     Bring the sugar, water, and lemon juice to a boil. 4.     Throw in the rind of the lemon. 5.     Boil until the lemon rind is hard or the mixture is a runny syrup consistency. 6.     Add the honey. 7.     Set aside while you make the basboosa. 8.     Mix the semolina, flour, sugar, and baking powder. 9.     Add the oil and mix until all the batter is well blended. 10.     Grease a large cookie sheet tray (10 x 16 inches). 11.     Add the milk just before you are about to bake. 12.     Dot the mixture into the greased pan by spoonfuls. 13.     Level the mixture with your hand (dipped in milk). 14.     Shake the tray to level. 15.     Bake for 1/2 hour at 350 degrees. 16.     Cut into squares and return to the oven for 5-10 minutes. 17.     Pour the syrup over the basboosa immediately after you remove it from the oven the last time.

Egyptian Koshary

This meatless dish layers common grains, such as rice, lentils and pasta with a tomato-cinnamon flavored sauce. Ingredients: 2 cups cooked rice 2 cups cooked penne pasta 2 tablespoons white vinegar 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin , divided 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder 1 cup cooked lentils 1 can (15 ounces)  crushed tomatoes 1/2 cup water 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar 3/4 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon  Crushed Red Pepper 3 medium yellow squash, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 3 cups) 2 medium onions, thinly sliced (about 2 cups), optional* Instructions: 1. Combine rice and pasta; spoon in bottom of shallow serving platter. Keep warm. 2. Whisk together vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, and garlic powder in a medium bowl. Add cooked lentils and stir to combine. Spoon over rice and pasta. 3. Combine tomatoes, water, sugar, cinnamon, salt, remaining 1/2 teaspoon cumin and red pepper in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat about 5 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally. Stir in squash. Spoon tomato mixure over lentil layer. Partially stir tomato mixture into other layers, but do not completely combine all layers. If desired, prepare crisp-brown onions as directed below and add as a topping. *Cook onions in large skillet with 1 tablespoon oil over high heat, stirring frequently, until brown and slightly crispy, about 10 minutes.                                                      Shorbat Ads [lentil soup] * 2 cups red (yellow-orange colored) lentils * 7 cups water * 1 large onion chopped * 4 cloves of garlic, sliced or minced * ½ large carrot, shredded * 1 tablespoon flour * ¼ cup olive oil or butter * Salt & Pepper to taste * ½ teaspoon cumin * Juice of one lemon Place washed and picked over lentils, carrots and chopped onions in water and simmer covered for one hour. Mix oil, flour, salt and spices in a bowl. Add ¼ cup soup to mixture and stir well. Pour the mixture into the soup and let simmer until the lentils are well cooked and the soup is creamy. Add lemon juice and simmer 5 more minutes. If desired, garnish with lemon slices. Makes 6 servings. Fattah Fattah is a mixture of meat cubes embedded in rice and crusted pita pieces in soup. It  is a traditional meal that is enjoyed by all Egyptian and is considered the most famous dish in Egypt. Ingredients: (Serves Four) * One kg of meat cut in cubes. One may use any type of meat but lamb if preferred. * Two cups of short rice. * 2-3 loafs of pita bread * two small peeled onions * dash of pepper * mastic * cardamom * garlic * ghee * cumin * tomato paste * salt * vinegar Method: To prepare a perfect dish of Fattah you need to follow four steps. Preparing the meat Fill a pot with water and place two small peeled onions, pepper, mastic and a cardamom. When the water starts to boil drop in the pieces of meat and let them boil to a stew. Preparing the rice Wash the rice and let it sit in water for about 10 minutes then seive it well. Place two tablespoons of oil in a pot on medium heat. As soon as the oil starts to fry add the rice and half a tea spoon of salt. Stir the rice for 5 minutes. Add 2 glasses of the meat stew to the cooking rice. Let the rice cook (for 20 minutes) on the lowest heat until it absorbs all the stew and becomes tender. When the rice is all dried up remove it from the stove. Preparing the crisp pita bread Cut the pita bread into small squared pieces, then place those pieces into a pan. Apply oil or butter to the bread pieces. Place the pan filled with bread pieces in a preheated oven for ten or so minutes until it becomes golden and crisp. With the above three steps finished you have to place the ingredients in a deep bowl in layers before you can proceed on to the fourth step. Do not forget to pour some of the meat stew on each layer after placing it in the deep bowl. Make the lowest layer from bread top it with a thin layer of rice and pour some stew. Add the meat layer and pour some more stew on it. Place the final layer of rice and do not  pour soup on the top layer of rice so that it does not turn soggy. Preparing the dressing Now that you have placed the meat, the bread and the rice in layers in a deep bowl, you are ready for the final and most important step in making the Fattah dish. The dressing gives the secret taste to the whole dish. So you have to be extra careful when you prepare it. In a frying pan place one tablespoon of crushed garlic, one table spoon of ghee, half a teaspoon of cumin and 1\4 teaspoon of salt. Dissolve one tablespoon of tomato paste in two tablespoons of water in a cup. In a frying pan, use low heat and stir the garlic, ghee, cumin and salt until the mixture darkens. Then add to the darkened mixture the tomato paste you prepared. Stir the mixture for a minute then add 1 tablespoon of vinegar. Leave the mixture on low flame for 4-5 minutes. Pour the dressing on top of the Fattah. Musaka'a Stewed Eggplant Ingredient for Musaka'a * 1 kg brown round eggplant * 1/2 kg savory minced beef * 2 cups tomato juice * cooking oil * salt and pepper Ingredients for Savory Minced Meet (Lahma mu'assaga) * 1 kg beef * 2 onions, chopped very fine * cooking oil * salt and pepper Directions Mince the beef coarsely. Fry the onions until pale gold, then add beef and seasoning and cook until the juice is reabsorbed. Slice, peeled or unpeeled eggplant and spread on smooth surface. Sprinkle with salt, and allow to stand for at least one hour. Squeeze gently to drain moisture, pat dry, and deep fry the eggplant in sizzling oil. Then remove onto \absorbent paper. Line the bottom of a baking dish with half the eggplant slices, spread savory minced beef on top, and cover with the remaining half of the eggplant slices. With the tip of a knife, make several deep dents in the eggplants. Season tomato juice and pour over eggplant. Bake in center of moderate oven for about 30 minutes. In Lebanon and Syria, pine nuts are added to the savory minced beef.   .