Recipes A small collection of recipes of various degrees of egyptianess. Perhaps you can use them in your own celebrations somehow? :) Let me know! More recipes can be found here, thanks to Djedet. :) Egyptian Bread Ingredients: 2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour 2 Cups Barley Flour 1/2 tsp Salt 2 Cups Warm Water To make: Mix flours and salt together. Add water till it makes a firm dough. Knead for at least 10 to 15 minutes. Shape into 6" round loaves. Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes. Note: This bread is hard and chewy, but that is the way the Egyptians ate it! If you like you can add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice when adding the water. Lemon juice softens the gluten and will help make the bread softer. Fig Balls Ingredients: 1 Cup Almonds 1/2 Cup Walnuts 6 Fresh Figs 1 tsp. Cardamom 1/4 Cup warm water 1/4 Honey To make: Grind or finely chop the almonds and walnuts, reserving 1/2 of the ground almonds for later. Coarsely chop the figs, discarding the stem end. Put figs, 1/2 the almonds, walnuts, cardamom and water into a blender. Blend together, adding a bit more water if too sticky. With greased hands, roll the mixture into small balls. Roll the balls in the honey then roll in the reserved ground almonds. Note: If dough is too wet to roll into balls, let it sit for a half hour or more until tacky enough to roll in the remaining almonds. Date Cakes Ingredients: 1 Cup Flour 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar 1 tsp. baking powder 1/4 Cup Butter or Margerine 1 egg 1 tsp. Vanilla 1/4 Cup Milk 1/2 Cup Chopped Dates 1/2 Cup Chopped Nuts To make: Mix dry ingredients thoroughly. With a pastry blended or fork, mix in the butter until fine and crumbly. Beat egg, vanilla and milk together. Add to dry ingredients and mix slowly and just till dry ingredients are wet. Then, fold in the dates and nuts. Spread into a greased 8" x 8" baking dish and bake at 350° for 20 to 25 minutes. Cut while warm into squares. Optional: Dust squares with powdered sugar. Egyptian Spinach Soup Ingredients: 1 small whole chicken 3 quarts water 1 T. salt 2 chopped onions 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 T. peppercorns 2 cloves garlic, chopped 1 T. olive oil 6 ounces fresh spinach (wild spinach if it is available) 1 t. black pepper 2 t. ground coriander In a large stockpot, place cleaned whole chicken, water, salt, onions, minced garlic and peppercorns and cover while bringing to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour. Pull chicken off bone and dice, discarding bones. Discard peppercorns. Slice spinach into thin strips and add to soup. Drizzle olive oil over chopped garlic and bake in a dish at 350 F for 10 minutes until golden brown. Transfer baked garlic to small bowl and mix in pepper, and coriander to make a paste. Stir this into soup and continue to cook for additional 30 minutes. Serve with flat bread. Makes 12 servings Egyptian Grilled Beef Skewers Ingredients: 1 pound boneless beef steak, trimmed and cut into cubes 1/2 c. olive oil 2 T. ground cumin 1 T. ground coriander 1 onion, chopped 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 t. cayenne pepper 1 t. salt 1 t. pepper Prepare marinade by combining olive oil, cumin, coriander, onion, garlic, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper in dish. Place cubed meat in marinade and chill overnight. Drain marinade and skewer beef cubes. Grill over BBQ coals or under the oven broiler until tender. Serve with flat bread. Makes 4 servings. Egyptian Beans Ingredients: 1 pound dried beans water as needed 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/4 c. olive oil 1 fresh lemon 1 bunch fresh parsley or coriander, chopped 1 t. salt 1 t. black pepper 1 t. cayenne pepper 1 t. cumin powder 6 hard-boiled eggs Cover beans with water and soak overnight. Drain off the water and place the beans in a stockpot. Cover with fresh water. Cover and cook for 2 hours until tender. Transfer into bowl and drizzle over olive oil, squeezed juice of one lemon, and add minced garlic, chopped parsley or coriander, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and cumin powder. Stir well. Peel and slice hard boiled eggs and cut in half. Serve beans in dish with hard-boiled egg halves in the middle. Makes 6 servings.