كشري
Kushari
Koshari (rice, pasta and lentils)
Usage
Egypt's national dish: rice, short pasta, lentils and chickpeas topped with tomato sauce and fried onions. Add garlic-vinegar sauce or hot sauce to taste; eaten at kushari shops.
Grammar Note
Written Koshari in English. The name is used as is in all Egyptian shops and on menus.
فول مدمس
Fūl midammis
Ful medames (stewed fava beans)
Usage
A breakfast staple: fava beans cooked long and slow, dressed with oil, lemon and cumin, eaten with bread.
Grammar Note
مدمس is a participle "slow-cooked", placed after the noun like an adjective.
طعمية
Ṭaʿmiyya
Ta'amiya (fava bean falafel)
Usage
Fried fava bean and herb patties, usually put in bread. Cairenes say ṭaʿmiyya; in Alexandria people more often say falāfil.
Grammar Note
ṭ is the emphatic t and ʿ is a pharyngeal sound; the ending -iyya is common in dish names.
ملوخية
Mulūkhiyya
Molokhia (jute mallow soup)
Usage
Green, silky soup of finely chopped jute leaves, a home dish served with rice and chicken or other meat.
Grammar Note
The plant and the dish share the same word; note the ending -iyya.
محشي
Maḥshi
Mahshi (stuffed vegetables)
Usage
Zucchini, peppers or aubergines stuffed with herbed rice and cooked; cabbage rolls also belong to the table for family gatherings.
Grammar Note
A passive participle meaning "stuffed"; colloquially it ends in -i.
ورق عنب
Waraʾ ʿinab
Wara' enab (stuffed grape leaves)
Usage
Grape leaves rolled around rice and cooked; often served as one of the mahshi dishes.
Grammar Note
A two-word compound meaning "grape leaves".
كوارع
Kawāriʿ
Kawari' (trotter stew)
Usage
Slow-cooked trotters of cattle or sheep, as soup or stew. Check first if you do not eat offal or trotters.
Grammar Note
كوارع is used in the plural for the dish.
فطير مشلتت
Fiṭīr mushaltit
Feteer meshaltet (layered pastry)
Usage
A big pastry of many thin, flaky layers. Eaten sweet with honey or sugar, or filled with cheese or meat.
Grammar Note
مشلتت is a colloquial adjective meaning "layered".
ممبار
Mumbār
Mombar (stuffed sausage)
Usage
Intestine stuffed with rice and herbs, boiled and often fried; offal, so check your preference.
Grammar Note
A colloquial dish name used as is.
كبدة إسكندراني
Kibda Iskandarāni
Alexandrian liver
Usage
Beef liver sautéed with chili, garlic and cumin, typically eaten in bread as street food.
Grammar Note
إسكندراني is a relational adjective made from the city name with -āni.
مسقعة
Musaʾʾaʿa
Musaqqa'a (aubergine in tomato sauce)
Usage
Egyptian musaqqa'a is fried aubergine simmered in tomato sauce, often without meat.
Grammar Note
A different dish from Greek moussaka. The ق is read as a glottal stop in speech.
كفتة
Kufta
Kofta (grilled minced meat)
Usage
Minced meat mixed with spices and grilled on skewers; a basic item next to kebab in grill restaurants.
Grammar Note
The final -a is written with ة (ta marbuta).
كباب
Kabāb
Kebab (grilled meat cubes)
Usage
Cubes of meat grilled on skewers over charcoal; a basic grill-restaurant item alongside kofta.
Grammar Note
In Egypt kabāb is cubed meat and kufta is minced meat.
كباب حلة
Kabāb ḥalla
Kebab halla (pot-cooked beef)
Usage
Cubes of beef cooked with onion in a pot. Despite the name it is not grilled on skewers.
Grammar Note
حلة means "pot"; the second noun explains the first.
شاورما
Shāwirma
Shawarma
Usage
Meat roasted on a turning spit, shaved into bread; a popular street snack.
Grammar Note
A loanword that came into Arabic from Turkish.
مكرونة بشاميل
Makarōna bishamēl
Macarona bechamel (baked béchamel pasta)
Usage
Home dish of tube pasta with minced meat topped with béchamel and baked.
Grammar Note
Both words are loans, read with ō and ē.
رز معمر
Ruzz miʿammar
Roz me'ammar (creamy baked rice)
Usage
Rich rice cooked with milk or cream and baked in a clay pot, often served with meat.
Grammar Note
رز is the colloquial word for rice, not MSA أرز.
حواوشي
Ḥawāwshi
Hawawshi (meat-stuffed bread)
Usage
Bread stuffed with spiced minced meat and onion, baked; found at street stalls and snack shops.
Grammar Note
A dish name born in Egyptian speech.
بابا غنوج
Bāba ghannūg
Baba ghanoush (roasted aubergine dip)
Usage
Roasted aubergine mixed with tahini, a meze eaten with bread.
Grammar Note
In Egypt it is pronounced ghannūg.
بصارة
Baṣāra
Besara (fava bean purée)
Usage
Green purée of fava beans with herbs, eaten with bread and raw onion.
Grammar Note
ṣ is the emphatic s.
فسيخ
Fisīkh
Fisikh (salted fermented mullet)
Usage
Salted, fermented mullet associated with Sham el-Nessim. The smell is strong and it must be fresh from a trusted shop.
Grammar Note
kh stands for خ, a throat fricative; the س is a plain s.
رنجة
Ringa
Ringa (smoked herring)
Usage
Smoked herring, often eaten at Sham el-Nessim.
Grammar Note
ج is read g, giving ringa.
جمبري
Gambari
Gambari (shrimp)
Usage
Shrimp, on the menu in seafood restaurants on the Red Sea and Mediterranean, grilled or in soup.
Grammar Note
ج is read g.
سجق
Suguʾ
Sogo' (spiced sausage)
Usage
Spiced beef sausage, fried and eaten as a quick meal.
Grammar Note
ق is a glottal stop in speech.
كرشة
Karsha
Karsha (tripe)
Usage
Stewed tripe; a polarizing offal dish, so confirm before ordering.
Grammar Note
ش is sh; the final ة is -a.
شكشوكة
Shakshūka
Shakshouka (eggs in tomato sauce)
Usage
Eggs poached in tomato and onion sauce, eaten with bread for breakfast or brunch.
Grammar Note
Shakshuka is a dish name shared across the Middle East and North Africa; in Egypt it is also eaten at breakfast.
عيش بلدي
ʿĒsh baladi
Aish baladi (whole-wheat flatbread)
Usage
Round puffed whole-wheat pita bread, the daily bread of Egypt, which opens like a pocket.
Grammar Note
عيش means both "bread" and "life".
عيش شمسي
ʿĒsh shamsi
Aish shamsi (sun-leavened bread)
Usage
Bread whose dough is leavened in the sun, then baked; found in Upper Egypt and the countryside.
Grammar Note
شمسي is an adjective made from شمس "sun".
عيش فينو
ʿĒsh fīnō
Aish fino (long white bread roll)
Usage
Soft long white bread rolls, used for sandwiches and fillings.
Grammar Note
فينو is a loan, from Italian fino.
جبنة رومي
Gibna rūmi
Gebna rumi (hard salty cheese)
Usage
Hard, salty cheese from cow or buffalo milk, used at breakfast and in feteer.
Grammar Note
The ج of جبنة is read g; رومي means of Roman/Greek origin.
جلاش
Gilāsh
Gollash (filo pastry pie)
Usage
Thin pastry wrapped around meat or cheese and baked; the same dough is used for baklava.
Grammar Note
ج is read g.
رقاق
Ruʾāʾ
Ro'a' (paper-thin pastry sheets)
Usage
Paper-thin dough sheets layered with meat or vegetables and baked in a clay pot.
Grammar Note
ق is a glottal stop in speech and written ʾ in the romanization.
طرشي
Ṭurshi
Torshi (pickled vegetables)
Usage
Vegetables pickled in vinegar or brine, served with kebab and bean dishes.
Grammar Note
A loan from Persian; in speech it is also called مخلل.
طحينة
Ṭaḥīna
Tahina (sesame paste)
Usage
Sesame paste with lemon and garlic, served as a dip or dressing.
Grammar Note
ḥ is a throat h; note the long ī.
سلطة
Salaṭa
Salata (salad)
Usage
Tomato and cucumber salad often comes with meals as a side.
Grammar Note
ṭ is the emphatic t.
فتة
Fatta
Fatta (rice, bread and meat)
Usage
Fried bread and rice topped with garlic-vinegar tomato sauce and meat; a festive dish, especially at Eid al-Adha.
Grammar Note
The ت is a doubled consonant (tt).
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