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Papua New GuineaFlavors · Egypt
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.
Traditional sweet from Egypt
Also known as: Kahk el-Eid, Kahk al-Eid, Ka'ak el-Eid, كحك, كحك العيد
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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Kahk — Egypt
Kahk is a round, buttery, crumbly cookie dusted with powdered sugar. It can be plain or filled: the traditional filling is ajameya, a paste of honey and walnuts, and there are also kahk filled with dates or pistachio. The powdered sugar coating is a hallmark of Egyptian kahk.
It is the sweet of Eid al-Fitr, the festival that marks the end of Ramadan. In the days before the holiday, many families gather to prepare the dough and shape the cookies. Until the 1970s it was common to make kahk at home and take it to the neighborhood bakery to be baked; with domestic ovens many households began baking smaller batches, while bakeries and patisseries sell ready-made kahk. It is part of a set of holiday cookies that includes ghorayeba, petits fours, and simple biscuits.
The origin is debated. In historic Cairo, near the Bab Zuweila gate, Al-Kahkiyine Street preserves the tradition in its name: local tradition holds that Eid kahk was born there in the Middle Ages, and shops on the street sell cookie molds. Some link the custom to the Tulunids or the Fatimids, and some historians associate it with cookies from the time of the pharaohs; there is no record that allows choosing between these versions.
Kahk is not only Muslim nor only Egyptian. Egyptian Christians also bake it for Christmas and Easter, and most Arab countries have their own version of the cookie.
Egypt
Eid al-Fitr cookie throughout Egypt.
Wheat flour and butter, topped with powdered sugar. Fillings: ajameya (honey and walnuts), dates, walnuts, or pistachio; new fillings appear every year.
On the days of Eid al-Fitr, at home and when visiting relatives and friends, alongside the other holiday cookies.
Eid al-Fitr, at the end of Ramadan; among Christians, Christmas and Easter.
Your questions
At Eid al-Fitr, the festival that marks the end of Ramadan. Egyptian Christians also prepare kahk at Christmas and Easter.
It is the traditional kahk filling, a paste of honey and walnuts. There are also kahk with dates, pistachio, or without filling.
Al-Kahkiyine Street is in historic Cairo, near the Bab Zuweila gate. According to tradition, Eid kahk originated there in the Middle Ages.
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.
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.
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.
