Maschi

Speaking of vegan delights,

Maschi is an amazing Egyptian dish. Basically maschi is a general term that applies to 

a variety of lovely rice&spice stuffed vegetables including zucchini, aubergine (which are are available in slim small sizes in both purple and white in Egypt), peppers, cabbage (like miniature cabbage rolls, with less tomato sauce), and rolled grape leaves. They are delicious, fabulously addictive, and great to take "on the go" for picnics or other travel. (Indeed, my sister-in-law always tells me that you can always identify Egyptian families at airports, because the mothers are the ones chasing after their children waving them down with the maschi they are trying to get them to eat). Maschi sometimes has meat in it (so watch out if you are vegetarian/vegan), though mostly I've seen it prepared without.

Fasting

Egyptians, when you combine Muslims and Christians together, probably have the world record for most days of fasting per year. According to the Encyclopedia Coptica, Coptic Christians alone fast 210 days a year. Wow. Talk about self-discipline.

Around 60 of those days Copts live on a vegan diet, and for the rest they may eat fish but refrain from other meat or animal products and similar to Muslims also refrain from eating food from sunrise to sunset (see Marie Henein's great article for some excellent recipes and info on veganism in the Coptic Church). The Coptic Church sees fasting and asceticism in a positive spiritual light, as an emulation of the life of Jesus (Matt. 4:2), and also of Moses and Elijah (Exod. 40:28; 1 Kings 19:8), and a sublimation to the glory of God and an expression of love.

As with the Coptic Christians, Muslims in Egypt view fasting in a highly positive sense. Fasting during Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam. The time of fasting is not just about abstaining, but also about doing good deeds, increasing compassion and mercy for the suffering of others, developing self-control, and love of others and of God. "O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become Al-Muttaqun (the pious)."  [Soorah al-Baqarah (2):183] Muslims also fast outside of Ramadan as well, though it is not required of them unless they are making up for days lost during Ramadan (as in the case of travel for example, wherein they are exempt). Read this nice article on: "The fasting of Ramadan: A time for Thought, Action and Change!"

Barbecued sweet potatoes

One word: Fabulous.

Almond Milk (yummy vegan alternative to rice and soy milk)

For people who are lactose intolerant, vegan, or just enjoy a nice sweet drink, then smooth and creamy Almond milk will tantalize your taste buds. This healthy alternative to milk and other milk replacements (like soy and rice) is a great source of protein and is just plain delicious. Visit the Alf Hana blog for a recipe on how to make almond milk.

Kosherie

Kosherie is a staple of the Egyptian diet, and its wonderful. The word kosherie apparently means a mixture of many different things (a great symbol for Egypt really...). To make it, you need small round pasta, lentils, rice, chick peas, some burnt onions and garlicy spicy tomato sauce to throw on top. See this post more about Healthy and Delicious fast food in Egypt.

Kosherie often scooped into plastic cartons and served to go!

Kids leaning over a kosherie cart in Old Cairo

Tamarind, Carob, Hibiscus, Apricot mmmmmmmmmmmm yummy drinks

I love this. In Arabic Tamarind is Tamra Hindi.
In Egypt they boil the Tamarind and make a delicious and very refreshing drink with it. Other similar traditional oriental health drinks (?I think? depending on the amount of sugar!) those made from Carob, and also from apricots and hibiscus. You can buy them easy peasy (like I do) at the grocery store in cartons such as the below, or bottled, or make it the natural way yourself.

A man walking through the streets selling cups of Tamarind drink

Moloheya

Moloheya is one of those things that looks gross because of it can be slimy (trust me, if eating it cold is NOT good), BUT, if you have a GOOD dish of moloheya, then it is the most truly delicious and healthy greeness possible, bursting full of essential minerals and vitamins and packed with garlicky taste. It is cooked with meat and is a bit thicker than a soup, eaten with Egyptian bread and/or white rice. It's easy to prepare delicious vegan and vegetarian versions too. YUM!

My daughter's bowl.

Amazingly, ALL of the children I know in Egypt LOVE to eat moloheya. Even my daughter, who is about the pickiest eater on the planet. So its a great food for parents to prepare for their children to ensure they get enough of the daily vitamins and minerals they require.

Juice Shops

The fresh juices in Egypt are faaa-bu-lous!

For any inductee to Egyptian juice stands, there is one which is very delicious and a must-try is a drink called Fahfahina, which features a blend of seasonal fruit (but usually something like banana and strawberries, mango juice, guava juice, melon, apples, maybe pomegranate seeds, even some crushed nuts and icecream)

My personal favorite is Asab juice (sugar cane). (This guy has captured an awesome photo of it here: Shawnbaldwin.com) They literally take the whole sugar cane stalk and push it into a big juicer that churns out this green yummy sugary and refreshing drink.

Amazing fruits and vegetables year-round

I grew up in Canada. Then I moved to rainy Europe. I can really say, that I don't think I ever really tasted a tomato until I went to Egypt (for more reasons on why North American tomatoes are so bland read this nice article on how "industrial farming has destroyed the tasty tomato". Compared to Egyptian tomatoes, all other tomatoes taste like water, really. In the past, I used to be dazed by people who could just eat a full tomato like an apple, but after living in Egypt I can start to understand why.

Egyptian Bread

Egyptian bread tastes so good once you start eating it is really hard to stop.

It is super delicious with hummus, baba ganouj, cheese, pickled lemons, and even nutella.

It is also fascinating to watch them make the bread in the outdoor stone fired ovens. Another fabulous thing is to see delivery men riding on bicycles in the busy streets of Cairo, balancing large wooden racks on their heads as they ride with loaves upon loaves of bread stacked on top.

source: dailytravelphotos.com

Fabulous Stuffed Eggplant

Fabulous eggplant features prominently in a lot of Egyptian meals. These lovely hors d'oeuvres are made from these small thin plum eggplants sliced down the middle, stewed in vinegar (somehow - don't ask me details of the mysterious art of cooking) and stuffed with pungent garlic, hot green pepper, olive oil maybe tomatoes as well and some other mystery spices the chef who made this particular plate magically added.
Bon appetit!

Termis (Lupinis)

Just love eating these little salty guys. In Egypt they call these legumes Termis. I've read about them elsewhere as being called Lupinis. And have found some scientific papers referring to them as Lupinus Termis.

Whatever you want to call them. I love them. The first time I ate them was not in Egypt actually, but in Jordan, but they are as popular here in Egypt as they were there. Fabulous. High in protein (see my post on veganism in Middle East) and high in calcium and phosphorus. Overall, a great healthy snack food.

A man sitting under a wide umbrella in front of a mosque,
selling cups of Termis (with lemon) and peanuts

Selling paper tubes of Termis in front of another mosque

Going Vegan

It is really easy to eat vegan in Egypt. There are so many fresh baked goods made without dairy. Delicious falafel and foul sandwiches. And delicious tasting sun-kissed vegetables and fruit all year round.

Check out this great blog for Vegans in Egypt with tons of great recipes...
http://alfhana.wordpress.com/
And this nice article with info on veganism in the Coptic Church
Or join the facebook group of the Vegetarian/Vegan Society in Egypt
or another FB groups Vegetarians in Egypt

my favourite: Alexandrian fool sandwich

Healthy and Delicious Fast Food

An Egyptian restaurant selling
"foul" and falafel sandwiches

Egyptian fast food is unbelievably fabulous. I still am utterly amazed when Egyptians or other expats go to McDonald's or other American chains here (which are all quite popular), and spend about 10 times as much as they would for Egyptian fast food, on food that is infinitely less healthy and infinitely less tasty.

Egyptian fast food has a whole variety of yummy helpings - from Kebab sandwiches for meat lovers (that come second only to Turkish Döner kebabs) to a wide selection of vegetarian and even vegan delights (watch out for my upcoming post on why its great to be a vegan in Egypt).

One of my favorite Egyptian fast food restaurant experiences was eating in a restaurant called "The Gash" (which means, I believe, the donkey) where we actually had to move our tables and chairs as we were eating in the middle of the street when some cars came up behind us. Talk about fabulous food on the go... ;)

Preparing falafel (in Egyptian, called "Tahmeya")