Growing up I never realized that the food adorning our dining room table was any different than say, my neighbors’ down the street (or hill, rather). For breakfast we had ful — mashed fava beans flavored with cumin, garlic, chili powder, olive oil, and lemon — just as often (or perhaps even more) than gravy and biscuits, scrambled eggs, or pancakes. We also always had an amazing stock of pita bread in the freezer because one cannot eat ful without pita bread (obviously!). I often delved into dishes of rice, salad, and kofta (think meatball, except longer and with more flavor… mainly onion) for dinner some nights … and soup beans and cornbread other nights. Normal.

Egyptian food is just another aspect of living in Egypt that I’ve been pretty accustomed to for most of my life. It makes the transition from America to Egypt a bit easier for me than my non-Egyptian counterparts. But it’s not something I think of often — tasting “exotic” Egyptian foods — because, well it’s not exotic to me.

My new roommate moved in last week. She’s from London and has never been to Egypt before nor does she know much, if anything, about Egyptian food. So here’s the “Cliffs Notes” version that I gave her on food in Egypt:

The dish I mentioned above, ful, is the breakfast of champions. Think about it … if you ate mashed beans for breakfast every morning, like many Egyptians do, wouldn’t you have a stomach of steel also? I eat ful pretty often myself (cheap, easy – which is why it’s so popular here) but every now and then I have to take a break because (and I will try to spare you the details) this amazing dish and my gastrointestinal mechanisms don’t often agree with one another. But many Egyptians don’t take a break … and that’s why they’re champions. Ful is often combined with pita bread, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, cheese, hard boiled eggs, etc… or a more popular dish of ta’amaya (you probably know this as falafel) which is a fried patty made of spiced fava beans and (or) chickpeas.

Then there’s koshari. My dad is often invited into the schools to talk about Egypt. He usually takes a dish for the kids to try… and it’s usually koshari. Talk about a hit! It is composed of macaroni, rice and lentils in a tomato sauce. Variations of the dish also include an oily garlic onion sauce to drip over the dish as well as fried onions to top it off or extra hot tomato sauce. If you’re one of those “low carb” people, this is a nightmare. I am not a fan of the dish myself and when I tell this to people they look at me like I’m from another planet — the idea is just shameful. You can buy a large bucket of this rice-macaroni concoction for about 25 cents on the streets of Cairo.

Then we get to my favorite, “wara aynab” or “mah’shii”. Translation – stuffed grape leaves. I could eat these every day for the rest of my life. They consist of grape leaves stuffed with rice, ground beef, tomatoes, and onions. Pack them in a kettle full of water with garlic, lemon juice, and mint. Cook until water boils out. My mom makes the best in the whole wide world – I am blessed. Unfortunately, these delicious treats take way too long to prepare and cook, so I have to guilt her into making them for me. Also popular in Egypt: stuffed zucchini, stuffed bell peppers, and stuffed cabbage. Grape leaves are the best by far. Variations include omitting the ground beef and (or) cooking in a tomato sauce.

Egyptians who are able to afford it love meat – of all kinds. Roasted chicken is popular here, as well as kofta and kebab. Pigeon is also well-liked here – though I don’t know why because there is barely any meat on their bones and it tastes like chicken but is way more expensive. Then there’s also lamb meat, which is a touchy subject for me since my father once sacrificed and slaughtered what I thought was my “pet” sheep when I was a child. “Lonely,” our sheep, died of the stomach flu but oddly enough we had some extra meat on the table about the same time of Lonely’s death. So I’m anti-lamb meat. However, Egyptians are not, savoring every part from the stomach to the eye balls to the tongue to the brain. Yum?

Then there are the various salads – yogurt salad, tahina, baba ghanoush, etc. The most basic of salads usually consist of tomatoes, cucumbers, and onion (sometimes) drizzled in olive oil and vinegar. Tahina is a salad paste made of sesame seeds – usually a bit bitter. Yogurt salad is my favorite – yogurt mixed with cucumbers, mint, garlic, and olive oil. Baba ghanoush is also quite tasty. This dish is made of mashed eggplant and various seasonings. It might not sound appetizing but I could make a meal out of all of the different salads in Egypt. I love them!

So, when I think of Egyptian foods, this is what immediately comes to mind. I have left out desserts due to space restrictions, so I’ll save that for another day! Middle Eastern cuisine is popular on the internet so if you’re interested in trying any of these dishes, I suggest doing google searches for a recipe. I’ve done this myself several times and I promise the searches are fruitful. And as we say in Egypt, “Bon Appetit” (…I know, it’s French… but that’s what we say!). Enjoy!

Karema Eldahan is a Middlesboro native living in Egypt. She shares her experience through this monthly column.