Nothing provides a bit of ‘home comfort’ quite like food. However, sampling the cuisine, and maybe even learning to cook like a local, have to be some of the more enjoyable aspects of living in a new country.
As an expat, reminding yourself of home with dishes you are used to may help to alleviate the culture shock associated with relocating. However, don't miss out on the opportunity to try some of Egypt's culinary offerings.
If cornflakes just won’t cut it anymore, you could try an Egyptian breakfast such as ful medames. While the traditional recipe calls for up to 24 hours of soaking, there are speedier versions of this popular bean stew. Other ingredients include garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, boiled eggs and pita bread.
Another traditional meal is koshary, which consists of macaroni, rice, lentils, onions, garlic and spicy tomato sauce. It is often served by street vendors and is a good ‘anytime’ meal. If you come across mahshi hamām, this is grilled or roasted pigeon, stuffed with rice and herbs.
Although some of the larger western chains have made it to Egypt’s larger cities, you can still find traditional Egyptian fast food equivalents. Fiteer is similar to pizza, but made from flaky pastry, and stuffed rather than topped. Replacing hamburgers with ta'meyya, is another potential dietary transition; like falafel but made from fava beans, it is often served in bread and is a popular meal or snack.
Even healthier options also abound. Mahshi is a word used to describe vegetables such as peppers, aubergines/eggplant, courgettes/zucchini or cabbage, that are then stuffed with seasoned rice. Milookhiyya, meanwhile, is a green herb soup. For spice-lovers, mesa'a`ah is made of grilled aubergines, peppers, onions and jalapeños.
For those with a sweet tooth, baklava consists of layers of thin pastry, nuts and syrup. Other sweet offerings include spiced apple cakes, and basbousa, a dish made from semolina, syrup and nuts.
Various reports suggest that bread and wheat consumption in Egypt is higher than in any other nation, and bread has in fact been subsidised by the government for years. Types of bread you are likely to encounter include eesh baladi, and aish merahrah, a flatbread made from maize flour.
Tea is often taken black and with sugar, whilst coffee is made in a pot known as a kanakah. You will also find a wide variety of fresh juices, popular choices being mango juice and aseer asab, made from sugar cane. Egypt is a predominantly Muslim country, and although Islam does not allow the consumption of alcohol, that doesn’t mean it isn’t available to buy, with the exception being during the holy month of Ramadan, when it is not often sold, at least to Egyptians. Local beer brands are Stella (not to be confused with its French homonym) and Sakara, while one of the more commonly produced wines is Omar Khayyam.
Depending on what you are used to, you may find mealtimes to be slightly later in Egypt. The daytime meal may be between 3 and 4 pm, whilst evening meals are often eaten after 9 pm. As regards mealtime etiquette, the left hand is not used for eating. When being entertained, leaving a clean plate may be taken to mean that not enough food had been provided, although taking second helpings is complimentary. Staring at another’s plate of food when dining out could be considered rude and as inviting the ‘Evil Eye’, unless the other person then offers a taste of the food in question.