Egypt

🇪🇬Egypt

Ahwa (Egyptian Coffee)

قهوة

Finely ground coffee brewed in a small cezve, often with cardamom, served in tiny cups as Egypt's everyday social coffee.

🇪🇬Egypt

Aish Baladi

عيش بلدي

Egypt's round whole-wheat baladi bread, fermented and baked hot so it puffs into a pocket for beans, cheese and stews.

🇱🇧Lebanon

Aish el Saraya

عيش السرايا

Toasted bread soaked in sugar syrup, layered under ashta or cream and finished with pistachios — a syrup-soaked Egyptian dessert.

🇪🇬Egypt

Aseer Asab (Sugarcane Juice)

عصير قصب

A Egyptian fresh sugarcane juice pressed at street stalls, a summer and refreshing classic

🇱🇧Lebanon

Baklava

بقلاوة

Layers of paper-thin phyllo brushed with butter and filled with chopped walnuts or pistachios, baked crisp then drenched in lemon- or rose-scented sugar syrup. One square, cut diamond-small, is the shared Ottoman dessert of the whole eastern Mediterranean.

🇪🇬Egypt

Bamia

بامية

A Egyptian okra stew with beef or lamb in tomato and garlic sauce, a daily and home classic

🇪🇬Egypt

Basbousa

بسبوسة

A Egyptian semolina cake soaked in sugar syrup, topped with almonds or coconut, a daily and sweet shop classic

🇪🇬Egypt

Bedengan Mekhalel

باذنجان مخلل

Egyptian pickled eggplant, whole or sliced, cured in brine with garlic, dill, and spices.

🇪🇬Egypt

Besara

بسارة

A Egyptian green fava bean dip with herbs, garlic, and spices, served with bread, a rural and daily classic

🇦🇪United Arab Emirates

Dolmades

Ντολμάδες

Greek stuffed grape leaves with rice, herbs, and olive oil, rolled into small parcels. A meze and Clean Monday staple, tangy and herby, served cold with lemon, a national dish.

🇪🇬Damietta, Egypt

Domiati Cheese

جبنة دمياطي

Egypt's most famous white cheese, made from buffalo milk, soft, salty, and slightly crumbly.

🇪🇬Egypt

Duqqa

دقة

An Egyptian condiment of ground nuts, sesame, coriander, cumin, and salt, eaten with bread and olive oil.

🇪🇬Egypt

Eish Fino

A soft Libyan Italian-style bread roll split for tuna, egg, harissa, or other street-sandwich fillings.

🇪🇬Egypt

Eish Merahrah

عيش مرحرح

An Egyptian flatbread made from fenugreek- and maize-enriched dough, dark and coarse.

🇪🇬Egypt

Erk Sous (Licorice)

عرق سوس

Erk Sous is an Egyptian and Syrian Ramadan drink made from sweetened licorice root and served chilled.

🇪🇬Egypt

Falafel

פלאפל

Soaked raw chickpeas ground with herbs, cumin and coriander and deep-fried in balls, packed into pita with salad, tahini, pickles and hot sauce.

🇪🇬South Sinai, Egypt

Farasheeh

فراشيح

A Southern Sinai Bedouin flatbread similar to eish baladi, baked in a dome oven until blistered and chewy.

🇪🇬Egypt

Feseekh

فسيخ

A Egyptian fermented salted fish, a Sham el-Nessim spring festival classic

🇪🇬Egypt

Fiteer Meshaltet

فطير مشلتت

Egypt's layered flaky pastry with ghee, eaten sweet with honey or savory with cheese or meat, a festive and daily classic

🇪🇬Alexandria, Egypt

Foul Eskandarani

فول إسكندراني

Alexandrian fava beans: creamy stewed fava beans topped with garlic, lemon, cumin, and tomato.

🇸🇩Sudan

Ful Medames

فول مدمس

Dried fava beans simmered soft and crushed at the table with lemon, garlic, cumin and olive oil, eaten with raw onion and bread.

🇱🇧Lebanon

Green Wheat

فريكة

Wheat harvested green, set alight so the chaff burns off, then dried and cracked, giving a smoky, chewy grain.

🇪🇬Egypt

Halabessa

حلابة

Hot chickpeas served in a spiced broth with cumin, lemon and chilli, a winter street-cup snack in Egypt.

🇱🇧Homs, Lebanon

Halawet el Jibn

حلاوة الجبن

Soft cheese dough rolled around ashta, cut into small pieces and drenched in orange-blossom syrup with pistachios; an Egyptian form of the Levantine sweet.

🇪🇬Egypt

Halawet el Moulid

حلاوة المولد

A Egyptian Mawlid festival sweets of sesame, nuts, and sugar dolls, a festive and traditional classic

🇪🇬Egypt

Hamam Mahshi

حمام محشي

Egyptian stuffed pigeon: pigeons stuffed with seasoned freekeh or rice and roasted until the skin is crisp.

🇪🇬Egypt

Hawawshi

حواوشي

Baladi bread packed with seasoned minced meat, onion, peppers and herbs, then baked or griddled until the bread crisps around the juices.

🇪🇬Egypt

Helba (Fenugreek)

حلبة

A Egyptian hot fenugreek drink with sugar or honey, a winter and medicinal classic

🇦🇪United Arab Emirates

Hummus

حمص

Chickpeas boiled soft and beaten with tahini, lemon and garlic into a smooth paste, swirled with olive oil — the shared Levantine staple claimed by every coast of the eastern Mediterranean, eaten with pita at any hour.

🇸🇩Sudan

Karkade (Hibiscus Tea)

كركديه

Egypt's beloved hibiscus tea, served hot or cold with sugar, a national and hospitality icon

🇪🇬Alexandria, Egypt

Kebda Eskandarani

كبدة إسكندراني

Alexandrian beef liver: thin slices of liver flash-sautéed with peppers, chiles, garlic, and spices, served in a sandwich.

🇪🇬Egypt

Keshk

كشك

An Egyptian fermented dairy product of dried yogurt and cracked wheat, used in soups and stews.

🇪🇬Egypt

Kharoub (Carob)

خروب

A Egyptian cold carob pod drink with sugar, a daily and traditional classic

🇪🇬Egypt

Kofta

كفتة

A Egyptian grilled minced meat with onions, parsley, and spices, shaped onto skewers, served with rice or bread, a daily and grill classic

🇪🇬Egypt

Konafa

كنافة

A Egyptian shredded pastry with cream, cheese, or nuts, soaked in syrup, a Ramadan and daily classic

🇪🇬Egypt

Koshari

كشري

Egypt's national dish: layers of rice, brown lentils, chickpeas, and pasta topped with spiced tomato sauce, crispy fried onions, and a sharp garlic-vinegar dressing