Search
Brazil
Argentina
Bolivia
Chile
Colombia
Ecuador
Guyana
French Guiana
Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
Paraguay
Peru
Suriname
Uruguay
Venezuela
Germany
Austria
Belgium
Croatia
Denmark
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Finland
France
Greece
the Netherlands
Hungary
Ireland
Iceland
Italy
Luxembourg
Norway
Poland
Portugal
the United Kingdom
the Czech Republic
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Canada
the United States
Mexico
the Dominican RepublicTurkey
South AfricaEgypt
Australia
Fiji
New Zealand
Papua New GuineaFlavors · Egypt
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.
Traditional dish from Egypt
Also known as: Feteer, Fiteer, Fateer meshaltet, Fetir meshaltet, فطير مشلتت
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
Click a photo to enlarge it.
Feteer meshaltet — Egypt
Feteer meshaltet is a wheat dough worked into many thin layers, interleaved with samna, the clarified butter widely used in the Nile Valley and the Delta. In the oven the layers separate and form a puff pastry, golden and crisp on the outside and soft inside.
Egypt’s official tourism sources recommend feteer baked in traditional clay ovens and note it can be eaten sweet or savory. The simplest form is plain feteer, served with honey, molasses or ashta, a thick cream, or with mish, a strong‑flavored fermented cheese.
There is also stuffed feteer. Savory fillings include minced meat, cheese, vegetables, eggs and pastrami; sweet fillings include cream and sugar. Because of its variety of toppings, it’s sometimes compared to an Egyptian pizza.
Feteer is tied to houses of the Nile Valley and the Delta, where samna is part of everyday cooking, and it can be found nationwide, at home and in specialty shops.
Egypt
A samna puff pastry from the Nile Valley and the Delta, eaten throughout Egypt.
Wheat flour and samna (clarified butter). To serve: honey, molasses, ashta or mish cheese; or fillings of meat, cheese, vegetables or eggs.
Hot, cut into pieces to share. Plain is served with honey, molasses or ashta, or with mish cheese; the stuffed version is a complete meal.
Year‑round.
Your questions
It can be both. Plain, it’s eaten with honey, molasses, cream or cheese; when stuffed, it contains meat, cheese, vegetables or eggs, or sweet fillings.
It’s the clarified butter used in the cooking of the Nile Valley and the Delta. It’s what separates the thin layers of feteer and gives it a buttery flavor.
With honey, molasses or ashta, a thick cream, or with mish, a strong‑flavored fermented cheese.
Flavors of Egypt
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.
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.
