I was skeptical about whether or not I would like Egyptian food. I can be picky, but I’m always willing to sample new things. To my surprise, I did not come across any food that I did not enjoy in Egypt! I toured Egypt with Bucket List Travel, and our guide made sure we got to eat traditional food for every meal. Listed below are 12 foods you need to eat when you visit Egypt.
A lot of these foods have 2, 3, or even 4 variations of spelling. I just stuck with what version seemed to be the most popular.
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Tameya (Egyptian Falafel)
In most of the world, falafel is made with ground chickpeas. The Egyptians do things differently; They use dried fava beans as the base for their falafel. This makes the falafel be a bright green color. Before the falafel is fried up, they are rolled in sesame seeds. The result? A browned crispy exterior with a fluffy green interior. I ate Egyptian falafel every chance I got while I was there, but my favorite was a falafel slider at Le Méridien Pyramids Hotel & Spa.
Ful Mudamas (Fava Beans)
More fava! Usually just referred to as ful, this side dish of fava beans cooked in olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic is commonly eaten at breakfast. You can’t go wrong if you start your day with ful … and it will quickly make you full. See what I did there?
Pigeon
Eating stuffed pigeon was waaaaayyyy outside my comfort zone, but when in Egypt! Stuffed pigeon is a dish that is commonly featured in restaurants across the country. I ordered it at Abou Shakra, a nice restaurant in Cairo with pyramid views. It was greasier than I thought it would be, but other than that tasted mostly like chicken. Pigeons hardly have any meat on them, which is probably why restaurants stuff them with a heaping amount of rice.
Read about how Abou Shakra is a good place to watch the pyramid light show in my post Making The Most Out Of Your Trip To Cairo, Egypt.
Aish Baladi (Egyptian Flatbread)
Aish Baladi is a traditional Egyptian flatbread that translates to “bread of life”. In ancient Egypt, it was cooked in ovens that were sculpted with the red mud from the Nile River. To this day, it is still offered with every meal in Egyptian homes and restaurants. Dips such as hummus, baba ghanoush, and tzatziki are commonly served with the bread.
Turkish Coffee
This is obviously a Turkish thing, but Egyptians drink their fair share of Turkish coffee too! The technique of making the coffee is detailed and involves a specialized long handled small copper pot called a “cezve”. I saw the drink on several cafe menus throughout my tour, but my experience trying Turkish coffee was unique. When I was in Coptic Cairo, I walked into a tiny antique shop filled to the brim with treasures. The owner was inside, making himself a cup of Turkish coffee over a small burner. As I perused around the shop, he tapped me on the shoulder and offered the coffee to me with a warm smile. I was touched by his kindness and gladly accepted. The coffee was very hot, thick, and strong – just as it should be!
Tajine
Every restaurant I went into in Egypt had at least one tajine on the menu. Named after the clay pot the meal is cooked and served in, a tajine is a slow cooked stew flavored with savory spices. Most of the tajines I came across in Egypt were cooked with some sort of meat, but I had a delicious okra tajine my last night in Cairo. Okra is one of my favorite vegetables to eat during our hot Georgia summers, so eating the tajine reminded me of home.
Karkade (Hibiscus Tea)
Hibiscus tea was offered to us everywhere we went in Egypt. When we visited a carpet school in Saqqara, we were offered hibiscus tea. When we boarded our Nile cruise ship, we were given hibiscus tea. When I had my hands filled with hand carved alabaster statues while shopping in Luxor, a store clerk brought me a little glass of hibiscus tea. Hot or cold, it’s literally everywhere in Egypt, and it’s so good! The tea was never overly sweetened, which allowed for the hibiscus to shine through beautifully. It’s a nice refreshing beverage to have after a long day of exploring, and it has quite a few health benefits, such as preventing hypertension and aiding in digestion.
Basbousa
This curious cake is made from semolina batter and is usually topped with a subtle simple syrup such as lemon, orange blossom, or rosewater. It is unlike American cakes, because the texture is similar to that of couscous. I really liked it because it’s not heavy like American desserts tend to be, and it isn’t overly sweet.
Kebab and Kofta
Kofta is basically the Arabic word for meatballs. I had it at a restaurant in the little village of El Ezba (in Giza). The kofta was skewered like kebabs and made of beef and lamb. Our kofta and kebabs were brought out to the table on tiny grills with cooked vegetables. I also enjoyed kofta meatballs in Cairo at a restaurant called Andrea. My meal just came with a little sample of it, but I will definitely order it as my main course the next time I visit. Lamb isn’t something you can order every day in rural Georgia (where I’m from), so I really enjoyed eating it in Egypt.
Om Ali
I saw Om Ali on a Food Network show right before my trip, and knew I had to try it. I got the chance one night on our cruise (which coincidentally is where the host of the food show I was watching sampled it). The dessert is made of puff pastry, nuts, and milk. It isn’t exactly the most visually appealing dish, but it tastes good. For my fellow Southerners: It has the same consistency and coloring as your grandmother’s banana pudding. For everyone else in the world: That means it’s goopy and beige like bread pudding.
Dates
Egypt produces more dates than any other country in the world. Dating back 5000 years, the date palm is one of the oldest tree crops in the Middle East. The sticky sweet fruit has since remained an important food source for the region. When I was in Egypt, I saw dates offered at breakfast, as a dessert, and as a snack. My friend, Megan, brought back home a huge bag of dried dates from a spice market we visited, and we snacked on them at work while reminiscing about our amazing trip. I wish I would have bought a bag for myself!
Koshary
Widely considered to be Egypt’s national dish, koshary consists of lentils, pasta, chickpeas, and rice tossed in a tomato based sauce. You then have the option of adding garlic vinegar and crunchy fried onions (which you should definitely do). Each restaurant’s recipe for koshary tastes slightly different, and the koshary at Abou Tarek reigns supreme. I mean, if it’s considered the best koshary in the Middle East, I think it’s fair to assume it’s the best koshary in the world. It was definitely my favorite thing I had during my trip. Keep an eye out for the friendly mastermind behind Abou Tarek, who is always willing to do his signature pose for the cameras!
