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Traditional food · Egypt
Koshary, a UNESCO heritage dish, ful and ta'ameya for breakfast, molokhiya, fatta and kahk for festivals, Alexandria’s kebda and Aswan’s karkadeh.
In the photo: Cidadela de Qaitbay, Alexandria
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
The cuisine
Egyptian food is born from the Nile Valley. Fava beans, lentils, rice, wheat, vegetables and herbs are the basis of dishes eaten from the Delta to the south of the country, at home, in simple restaurants and from street carts. Baladi bread, made with whole wheat, accompanies almost every meal, and the cuisine has many meatless recipes.
Many specialties are found nationwide. Koshary, made with rice, pasta, lentils and fried onion, was inscribed by UNESCO on the intangible cultural heritage list in 2025. Ful medames, slow-cooked fava beans, and ta'ameya, a fried fava-and-herb fritter, form the most common breakfast. Molokhiya, a green soup made from jute leaves, is for many Egyptians the quintessential home dish.
Festivals have their own flavors. At Eid al-Fitr, at the end of Ramadan, families prepare kahk, a buttery cookie dusted with powdered sugar. At Eid al-Adha, fatta — with toasted bread, rice, a garlic-and-vinegar sauce and cooked meat — is served; it is also associated with Coptic Easter. Hamam mahshi, pigeon stuffed with rice or green wheat, and feteer meshaltet, a many-layered pastry that can be sweet or savory, complete family tables.
Some specialties are regional. Alexandria gives its name to kebda iskandarani, fried liver with garlic and pepper served in a thin bread sandwich. In the Aswan region, in the south, karkadeh, a hibiscus drink served cold or hot, is the traditional welcome beverage of Nubian communities.
10 flavors
Layers of toasted bread moistened with broth, rice and a garlic, vinegar and tomato sauce, topped with cooked meat. It’s the Eid al-Adha dish in Egypt and also appears at Coptic Easter and other family celebrations.
A multi-layered puff pastry made with samna, the clarified butter, baked until golden and crisp. It’s eaten plain, with honey, molasses or ashta, or with savory fillings; traditionally baked in clay ovens.
Slow-cooked dried fava beans until tender, partly mashed and seasoned with oil, cumin, lemon and garlic. It’s the most common breakfast in Egypt, served with baladi bread in homes, small restaurants and street carts.
Young pigeon stuffed with rice or fireek (green wheat), with onion and giblets, cooked in broth and then roasted or grilled until the skin browns. A classic on Egyptian tables, it is usually served in pairs.
Round buttery cookie, dusted with powdered sugar, plain or filled with ajameya (honey and walnuts), dates, or pistachio. It’s the sweet of Eid al-Fitr, at the end of Ramadan, prepared at home or bought at bakeries and patisseries.
Rice, short pasta, lentils and chickpeas, topped with tomato sauce and crispy fried onions, served with garlic vinegar and a spicy sauce on the side. It is Egypt’s most popular everyday dish, sold in specialty shops and street carts, and was inscribed by UNESCO on the Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2025.
Thick green soup made from very finely chopped jute leaves, cooked in broth and seasoned with toasted garlic and coriander. Served with rice or bread, often with chicken or rabbit, it is for many Egyptians the quintessential home dish.
Fried patty made from ground dried fava beans and herbs, crunchy on the outside and soft inside. It’s the Egyptian version of falafel and, together with ful medames, forms Egypt’s most common breakfast, often served in a baladi bread sandwich.
Beef liver cut into thin strips and quickly fried with garlic and bell pepper, seasoned with cumin and lemon. It’s named after Alexandria and is served as a sandwich on the city’s thin bread, with tahini.
A dark-red drink made from dried hibiscus calyces steeped in water, with a tart flavor, sweetened and served cold or hot. In the Aswan region, among the Nubians, it is the welcome drink offered to arriving guests.
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Your questions
There isn’t a single one. Koshary, made with rice, pasta, lentils and fried onion, was inscribed by UNESCO on the intangible heritage list in 2025 and is the most popular everyday dish. Molokhiya, the jute-leaf soup, is also treated as a national dish by many Egyptians, and ful medames is the most common breakfast.
The most common breakfast is ful medames, slow-cooked and seasoned fava beans, and ta'ameya, the Egyptian falafel made from fava beans, served with baladi bread. Both are sold in small restaurants and street carts, on a plate or in a sandwich.
Yes. Koshary, ful medames and ta'ameya contain no meat, and Egyptian cuisine has many vegetarian recipes. Molokhiya, however, is often cooked in chicken or beef broth — ask before ordering if you need to avoid meat.
At Eid al-Fitr, at the end of Ramadan, the festival sweet is kahk, a cookie covered in powdered sugar. At Eid al-Adha, the dish is fatta — toasted bread, rice, garlic-and-vinegar sauce and meat — which also appears at Coptic Easter.
