A Coptic FastRAWI Publishing
Coptic Feasts
Coptic Orthodox Egyptians can choose to fast for up to 240 days a year. The longest and most commonly followed fast is Lent, which precedes Easter. It has Copts following a seyami (vegan) diet for fifty-five days, abstaining from all meat, poultry, fish, and dairy products.
Bisara
Made of ful (fava beans) and served with a delicious topping of crispy fried onions, bisara is a popular vegan dish with a high protein value. Its bright green colour comes from all the added fresh herbs – parsley, coriander, dill, dried mint, and sometimes even dried molokeyya.
Eggplants
Whether fried, baked, or pickled with garlic and chili , eggplants are a huge part of the Egyptian diet, and ubiquitous in any of their many forms on the Coptic fasting table. Here we present one of the most popular forms: fried eggplants with garlic, tomato sauce, and chili.
Lentil soup
Lentils are among the oldest cultivated legumes in Egypt, and a bowl of lentil soup is a staple in cold weather. Made from yellow lentils, onions, carrots, tomatoes, and cumin (for taste and to decrease flatulence), it is always served with a squeeze of lemon.
Pickled lime
Laymoun mekhalil isn’t just a vegan condiment. It is often served meat or chicken stews to cut through the richness. Egyptian laymoun me3asfar is a variation that typically contains 3osfor (saffron threads) that give the pickling water a reddish orange hue.
French fries
A typical Coptic meal during the fast includes one or two seyami dishes that tend to be carb-heavy and very often fried such as French fries.
Meals during Coptic fasts are quiet, basic affairs. Unlike Ramadan, celebration only comes at the end of the fast when families come together at tables groaning underneath different delicacies and treats.
Ramadan IftarRAWI Publishing
The Ramadan Table
During the Holy Month of Ramadan, Muslims abstain from all food and drink – even water – from sunrise to sundown in remembrance of the month when the first verses of the Quran were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.
Although the word iftar literally means ‘break-fast’ (or simply breakfast), the word is also used for the meal eaten by Muslims at sundown during Ramadan. The iftar table usually features many treats and delicacies that are eagerly anticipated from year to year.
Fasters wait to hear the ‘canon’ go off to break their fast, a tradition rooted in centuries of history, where a canon would be fired at the Cairo citadel for the whole city to hear. Today, they rely on the radio, television, or of course, various apps.
Milk and dates
First, the fast is broken with a sugary beverage to restore energy. Another constant at iftar, is a bowl of milk and dates in the tradition of the Prophet Muhammad who is said to have broken his fast daily with three dates.
Soup
Soup is an integral part of the iftar table even when Ramadan coincides with summer. Traditional homemade chicken soup with vermicelli is a particular favourite.
Stuffed cabbage
Stuffed vegetables are always a crowd pleaser. No matter the occasion, no Egyptian table is complete without it. Here, cabbage leaves are stuffed with rice and a green herb mixture. Occasionally, ground meat is incorporated in the mix.
Other vegetables that can be stuffed include vine leaves, tomatoes, eggplants, courgettes, and even potatoes and onions. Stuffed vegetables are usually served alongside a refreshing yoghurt and cucumber salad lightly flavoured with garlic and a sprinkle of dried mint.
Vegetable stews
There’s always at least one cooked vegetable dish on the Ramadan table, often in the form of a rich tomato stew, with or without slow-cooked cubes of meat. This one is a typical okra stew cooked in the oven in a traditional clay pot.
Sambousak
Another crowd pleaser on iftar tables is sambousak, deep fried filo triangles with a variety of fillings – ground meat; melted cheese with basterma (Egyptian-style dried beef); white cheese with mint; or even sometimes spinach.
Grilled duck
Ramadan tables usually include two types of protein, either lamb or beef and some type of poultry. Seafood is rarely served since it’s thought to increase the thirst of those fasting.
Duck is a particularly special dish at family iftar gatherings. The bird is fried and stuffed with fireek (cracked green wheat) or rice and roasted with the duck fat adding an extra layer of tenderness and flavour to the stuffing.
Moussaka
Egyptian moussaka differs from its counterparts in other Mediterranean countries as it includes fried green peppers (sometimes even a couple of spicy ones!) and ground meat. Some people eat it with white rice and others scoop up morsels with toasted baladi bread.
Loaded Rice
As far as comfort dishes go, roz me‘amar must be at the top of the list with its crunchy golden top and its creamy centre. Baked in a traditional bram (clay pot) with cream and ghee, some people also add meat cubes to turn it into a main dish.
Fried DessertsRAWI Publishing
Dessert
Sweet, ghee-based desserts are an integral part of the Ramadan table. It is the most popular hostess gift when visiting family or friends for iftar or sohour, the second meal taken before sunrise. It is also the part of iftar most children (and adults) look forward to.
Kunafa
Traditionally, kunafa (strands of dough pressed into a mould or shaped into spirals) is stuffed with either ricotta cheese, cream, raisins, or nuts such as pistachios and hazelnuts, then drizzled with sugar syrup.
Every Ramadan though, new and creative twists on these traditional desserts pop up and become the new must-have dessert. The ‘inventions’ have included mangoes, chocolate and hazelnut spread, caramelized sugar biscuits, and even red velvet cake!
