Food

The influence of Greek, Persian, and Turkish cuisine (and French influence in Alexandria) flavors much of Egyptian fare. Since Egyptian food often wreaks havoc with unhabituated digestive systems, it is mistakenly reputed to be strongly spiced. Actually, it can be rather bland. Plentiful helpings of Egyptian food are available for LE2 or less, but avoid the cheapest street vendors; uninitiated stomachs are bound to protest vehemently within a few hours.

Egyptians meals are generally large and hot, and are eaten with flat loaves of bread. Kabab consists of meat roasted on a skewer with salad, dip, and pita bread. Kufta is a spiced ground meat wrapped around a skewer and roasted. Chicken is much cheaper and more widely eaten than beef or mutton. But because meat of any sort is a luxury most Egyptians cannot afford regularly, the most common food is fuul (brown or black beans served mashed or whole with oil, salt, lemon juice, and sometimes an egg or small pieces of meat; pronounced “FOOL") and kushari (a mixture of macaroni, rice, lentils, and tomato sauce). For an exclusively Egyptian dish, try molokhaya, a thick, spicy, green stew made from a flat leaf (lew’s Mallow) cooked either by itself or with pieces of chicken, Iamb, or rabbit.