most famous foods and drinks in Egyptian cuisine by CNN

Egyptian cuisine has many delicious foods and drinks. Who among us has not heard of the delicious koshary or crunchy falafel, which is also known as falafel.

 The culinary traditions in Egypt extend back to more than 5,000 years, that is, since the time of the Pharaohs.

 During the centuries that followed, the local food, in terms of ingredients and methods of preparation, imposed its control over all the people who roamed throughout Egypt, from the Greeks, the Romans, the Arabs, the Ottomans, the French and the British.

 Dina Al-Dhaif, author of the book "The Taste of Egypt: Home Cooking from the Middle East", says that most foods from Egyptian cuisine are similar to those found in Middle Eastern countries.

 But what distinguishes Egyptian cuisine is the way these dishes are prepared with different ingredients and flavors.

 From tamiya to koshary, the following are 13 types of the most famous foods and drinks in Egyptian cuisine.

Tameya dish (falafel)

 Although falafel is found throughout the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, a number of gourmets have indicated that the most delicious falafel is found in Egypt, especially those brought in restaurants and street stalls in Cairo.

 Fried circles, made with fava beans in Egypt, and chickpeas elsewhere in the region, likely originated in ancient Egypt.

Koshari Dish

The Koshari dish is one of the most popular dishes in Egypt. It is a mixture rich in carbohydrates. It contains pasta, rice and lentils, topped with tomato sauce, fried onions, and anything else the chef prefers to add. It is considered a vegetarian dish if it is prepared using vegetable oil.

molokhia dish

 The hot molokhia dish derives its distinctive color from chopped and cooked molokhia leaves with meat or seafood broth, and a variety of spices are added to it, including coriander and garlic. Molokhia is usually served with white rice.

shakshuka dish

 The delicious breakfast dish is famous in Alexandria, and it consists of eggs cooked with tomato sauce with the addition of pepper and garlic, and it is preferable to eat it inside a cafe overlooking the waterfront or inside the balcony of a hotel overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.

Fattah Dish

 Fattah is a Nubian favorite, often served on special family occasions as well as on Islamic and Christian holidays, but it can now be found on restaurant menus all over Upper Egypt.

The main ingredients of this dish include rice, beef, and fried bread, with tomato sauce and meat broth added to it.

Watermelon dish with white cheese

Egyptian cuisine includes a variety of cheeses, a tradition dating back to the Pharaonic era.The cold watermelon cheese platter is one of my favorite summertime snacks.

Liver dish

 Grilled liver, whether chicken liver or beef liver, is served in many different ways in Egypt, as a main ingredient in sandwiches or on its own as a side or main dish.

You can try the Alexandrian liver dish, which contains many spices, and is served with tahini or chickpeas, and pickles, in baladi bread as a possible side dish.

Mahshi

 The stuffing consists of minced meat or rice seasoned with various spices, often cooked in meat or chicken broth, and lemon juice is added to it.

 There are several types of stuffing, such as stuffed eggplant, stuffed sweet peppers, stuffed zucchini, stuffed tomatoes, stuffed grape leaves, and stuffed cabbage.

Baba Ghanoush Dish

 The traditional dish, known as "Baba Ghanouj", consists of roasted eggplant mashed with parsley, cumin and lemon juice, as well as salt and pepper.

fish dish

 Considering the fact that Egypt lies between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, you will find seafood prepared in all kinds of different ways in many of Egypt's coastal cities, and among the most popular fish dishes in restaurants is the wrata.

kunafa Dish

Egypt boasts an amazing array of sweet desserts and snacks.  However, konafa is perhaps the most popular dessert.

 It consists of thin dough threads stuffed with cream cheese and is often covered with nuts and sugar syrup.

Egyptian cup of tea

 There is no place in Egypt that does not serve tea.The tea is served with an abundant amount of sugar, and there are two main types, the first type is golden Koshary tea in the north, often served with mint, and the second type is Saidi al-Hebr tea, meaning heavy, in the south, in addition to a wide range of herbal teas.

Egyptian juices

 In a country on the edge of the desert, it is important to drink fluids that keep the body hydrated.  Over the millennia, Egypt has created a wide range of fruit and flower drinks to accomplish this task, among them

tamarind, carob, doum, and hibiscus.