WKoshary, kushari or koshari is Egypt's national dish and a widely popular street food. An Egyptian dish that originated during the mid-19th century, the dish combines Italian and Arab culinary elements. Koshary is made of rice, macaroni, and lentils mixed together, topped with a spiced tomato sauce and garlic vinegar and garnished with chickpeas and crispy fried onions. It is often served with sprinklings of garlic juice; garlic vinegar and hot sauce are optional.
WArab cuisine is the cuisine of the Arabs, defined as the various regional cuisines spanning the Arab world, from the Maghreb to the Fertile Crescent and the Arabian Peninsula. These cuisines are centuries old and reflect the culture of trading in spices, herbs, and foods. The regions have many similarities, but also unique traditions. They have also been influenced by climate, cultivation, and mutual commerce.
WAssidat Zgougou is a Tunisian dessert often prepared to celebrate the Mūled. It was originally made out of Aleppo pine, flour, milk, cream and nuts, that one variant of the dish is now known as "εasida Tunisia".
WBaghrir or beghrir (البغرير) is a pancake consumed in the Maghreb region. They are small, spongy and made with semolina or flour; when cooked correctly, they are riddled with tiny holes. The most common way to eat baghrir in Algeria and Morocco is by dipping them in a honey-butter mixture, but they can also be cut into wedges and served with jam. It is common to add raisins to the pancake as well. Baghrir are popular for breakfast, as a snack and for iftar during Ramadan.
WBasbousa is a sweet, syrup-soaked semolina cake that originated in Egypt, although it is also popular in other countries. The semolina batter is baked in a sheet pan, then sweetened with orange flower water, rose water or simple syrup, and typically cut into diamond (lozenge) shapes or squares. It is found in most former areas of the Ottoman Empire, and is featured in Middle Eastern cuisines, Greek cuisine, Azerbaijani cuisine, Turkish cuisine, Ethiopian cuisine and many others.
WBoza, also bosa, bozo is a fermented beverage popularly made in parts of North Africa, Central and Western Asia, Caucasus and Southeast Europe. It is a malt drink made by fermenting various grains: maize (corn) and wheat in Turkey, wheat or millet in Bulgaria, Romania, North Macedonia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina and barley in Ancient Egypt. It has a thick consistency, a low alcohol content, and a slightly acidic sweet flavor.
WChakhchoukha or chekhechoukha is a dish of Algerian cuisine, eaten often on festive celebrations, especially popular in the Aurès region. The dish consists of small pieces of rougag mixed with marqa, a stew.
WCouscous is a North African dish of small steamed granules of rolled durum wheat semolina that is traditionally served with a stew spooned on top. Pearl millet, sorghum, Bulgur and other cereals can be cooked in a similar way in other regions and the resulting dishes are also sometimes called couscous.
WEgyptian cheese has a long history, and continues to be an important part of the Egyptian diet. There is evidence of cheese-making over 5,000 years ago in the time of the First Dynasty of Egypt. In the Middle Ages the city of Damietta was famous for its soft, white cheese. Cheese was also imported, and the common hard yellow cheese, rumi takes its name from the Arabic word for "Roman". Although many rural people still make their own cheese, notably the fermented mish, mass-produced cheeses are becoming more common. Cheese is often served with breakfast, and is included in several traditional dishes, and even in some desserts.
WEgyptian cuisine makes heavy use of legumes, vegetables and fruit from Egypt's rich Nile Valley and Delta. Examples of Egyptian dishes include rice-stuffed vegetables and grape leaves, hummus, falafel, shawarma, kebab and kofta. ful medames, mashed fava beans; kushari, lentils and pasta; and molokhiya, bush okra stew. Pita bread, known locally as eish baladi is a staple of Egyptian cuisine, and cheesemaking in Egypt dates back to the First Dynasty of Egypt, with domty being the most popular type of cheese consumed today.
WFreekeh or farik is a cereal food made from green durum wheat that is roasted and rubbed to create its flavour. It is an ancient dish derived from Levantine and North African cuisines, remaining popular in many countries of the eastern Mediterranean Basin where durum wheat originated.
WFul medames, or simply fūl, is a stew of cooked fava beans served with olive oil, cumin, and optionally with chopped parsley, garlic, onion, lemon juice, chili pepper, and other vegetable, herb, and spice ingredients. Ful medames are traditionally made in and served out of a large metal jug. It is notably a staple food in Egypt and is considered a national dish, especially in the northern cities of Cairo and Gizah Ful medames is also a common part of the cuisines of many Arab, Middle Eastern, and North African cuisines.
WJalebi, also known as jilapi, jilebi, jilipi, zulbia, jerry, mushabak, or zalabia, is a popular Indian sweet snack. It is made by deep-frying maida flour batter in pretzel or circular shapes, which are then soaked in sugar syrup.
WM'semen or msemen, is a traditional flatbread originally from the Maghreb, common to Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. It is usually served with honey or a cup of aromatic morning mint tea or coffee. M'semen can also be stuffed with meat (khlea) or onion and tomatoes.
WMaghrebi mint tea, also known as Moroccan mint tea, is a green tea prepared with spearmint leaves and sugar. Spread from Morocco, it is traditional to the Greater Maghreb region. Its consumption has spread throughout North Africa, parts of the Sahel, France, Arab world, and Middle East. It is most closely associated with Morocco and in Spanish is known simply as "Moorish tea", té moruno. A similar drink is prepared in Spain but is typically served chilled as iced tea in the summer, instead of hot year-round.
WMatbukha is a Maghrebi dish of cooked tomatoes and roasted bell peppers seasoned with garlic and chili pepper. The name of the dish originates from Arabic and means "cooked" in Arabic. It is served as an appetizer, often as part of a meze table. Matbukha is popular across the Maghreb and in Israel, to where it was brought by Jewish immigrants from Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya.
WIn the Magrebi cuisine, Méchoui is a whole sheep or a lamb spit-roasted on a barbecue. The word comes from the Arabic word šawa, which means "grilled, roasted". This dish is very popular in North Africa.
WMofletta is a Maghrebi Jewish pancake traditionally eaten during the Mimouna celebration, the day after Passover.
WMouna, also known as Mona is an Algerian Jewish sweet bread of Sephardi origin, similar to challah, kubaneh or brioche, that is traditionally consumed for the Jewish holidays of Mimouna and Shabbat, which is commonly found today in France, and Israel, and has a sweet taste enriched with oil and eggs and often contains anise, sesame, orange, or other citrus.
WMrouzia is one of the most important dishes of Moroccan cuisine. It is a sweet and salty meat tajine, combining a ras el hanout blend of spices with honey, cinnamon and almonds. It is also prepared in Tunisia, but in a different manner. An author mentions the name in Algeria, but for a different dish.
WMuhallebi is a milk pudding commonly made with rice, sugar, milk and either rice flour, starch or semolina, popular as a dessert in the Middle East. The dessert is called Muhallebi in Turkey, but the Egyptian variant is called Mahalabia. Where as in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, it is called Malabi.
WPastilla is a North African meat or seafood pie made with warqa dough (ورقة), which is similar to filo. It is a specialty of Morocco and Algeria. It has more recently been spread by emigrants to France, Israel, and North America.
WRas el hanout or rass el hanout is a spice mix found in varying forms in Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco. The name in Arabic means "head of the shop" and implies a mixture of the best spices the seller has to offer. Ras el hanout is used in many savory dishes, sometimes rubbed on meat or fish, or stirred into couscous, pasta or rice.
WA tajine or tagine is a Berber dish, named after the earthenware pot in which it is cooked. It is also called maraq or marqa.
WWestern Saharan cuisine comprises the cuisine of Western Sahara, a disputed territory in the Maghreb region of North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the extreme northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The Western Saharan cuisine has several influences, as the population of that area (Sahrawi), in their most part are of Arabic and Berber origin. The Saharawi cuisine is also influenced by Spanish cuisine owing to Spanish colonisation.