Bringing 7,000 Years of History to Your Kitchen

From Dynasty 18 (14th to 11th c. BCE), New Kingdom

Source
Wall from the tomb of Rekhmire, Thebes


The recipe is illustrated in a scene from the tomb shows men making a cake-like dish made of tiger nuts, giving us the closest thing to a recipe for food from ancient Egypt.
Developed by chef Moustafa Elrefaey 
(following Pierre Tallet)

Ingredients
1 cup tiger nuts ground into a powder
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup ground dates
2 tsp honey
oil (for frying)

Method
Mix the tiger nut powder with water and form a soft dough. Divide the dough into small ball shapes. Mix the ground dates with the honey into a purée. 

To stuff each ball, create a small well with your thumb and fill the balls with the honey/date purée, close the gap, and shape them into cones. 

Fry the cones in oil, turning them frequently. Drain on a paper towel and serve cold.

Sweet Chicken with Fresh Croutons |
From the 14th c. CE 

Source
Kanz al-Fawa’id fi Tanwi‘ al-Mawa’id (Treasure Trove of Benefits and Variety at the Table)

This unusual dish, a speciality of medieval Egypt, tastes almost like a dessert. 

Developed by Nawal Nasrallah 
(original author anonymous)

Ingredients
2 cups of coarse crumbs of fresh bread
1/4 cup oil
1 1/2 cups sugar syrup (see below) 
1 whole chicken, boiled and fried, or use store-bought rotisserie chicken

Syrup
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups water
1 tbsp honey 
juice of one lemon
1 tbsp rosewater

Method
The recipe calls for crumbs of fresh white bread with crusts removed; dried breadcrumbs may not be substituted for this.

To make the syrup: In a medium pot, combine sugar, water, honey, lemon juice, and rosewater. Bring the sugar mixture to a boil on low heat until a drop placed in a saucer keeps its dome shape and does not go flat (120°C – about 10 minutes). Remove the pot from the heat immediately. 

Meanwhile, fry the crumbs in oil, until golden, and stir them into the hot syrup. Pour this mixture over the chicken, set in a deep platter. The syrup should be thick enough to coat the chicken, giving it a glazed appearance.

Fish Stew | From the 19th c. CE


Source
Nasihat al-Anam fi Hosn al-Ta‘am (Advice for the People on Fine Eating)

When Khedive Ismail’s palace chef retired, he shared his rich repertoire of recipes in a book, first published in 1898 then reprinted at least five times. At the end, he signs off with ‘Ahmed bin Ibrahim, cook of the former Khedive, food philosopher’. 

Developed by Nermin Amin 
(original recipe by Ahmed bin Ibrahim)

Ingredients
1 kg filleted white fish 
1/2 cup olive oil
1 head of garlic (half fried with skin on, half minced)
1 chopped/minced onion
1 tbsp flour
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup tomato purée 
salt and pepper
sprig of rosemary 
yellow lemon, finely sliced

Babaz Yakhni Armani (alternative)
onion diced
whole garlic cloves
1 tbsp sugar

Method
Prepare the fish by cutting into even pieces and frying in olive oil. Remove from oil and drain. In the same pan, fry the unpeeled cloves from half the head of garlic. When they begin to colour, remove and drain. Peel the cloves and arrange on the bottom of a casserole dish. Layer the fried fish evenly on top of the fried garlic. 

Strain the oil into another pot and fry the remaining minced garlic and the chopped onion.* As the onion begins to turn a translucent yellow, add the flour and continue to fry until it begins to colour, but not cook through. At this point, add the vinegar and the tomato purée, mix well, and pour over the fish in the casserole. Add salt and pepper to taste. Top the casserole with rosemary and finely sliced lemon. Place in the oven for 20 minutes, allowing the flavours to meld. Serve immediately.

*For Babaz Yakhni Armani: Add diced onions and fry with whole, peeled cloves of garlic. Add the flour, vinegar, and sugar, stir until the flour starts to change colour, then add the tomatoes as in the above recipe. Pour over the casserole and bake for 20 minutes.

From the Early 20th c. CE (possibly earlier) 


Source
The New Book of Middle Eastern Food

[Eaten during Coptic Lent, this dish is] also popular with the Greeks of Egypt and a general favourite throughout the Middle East.

Documented by Claudia Roden

Ingredients
6 artichokes of good quality
1 tsp sugar
juice of 1 lemon or more
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed or more
500 g (1 lb) fresh shelled or frozen broad beans
salt and black pepper
1 tbsp flour or cornflour

Method
Buy young artichokes. Remove the leaves, stems, and chokes and use only the hearts. Rub with lemon juice and drop in 150 ml (1/2 cup) water acidulated with lemon to prevent discoloration. 

Put the olive oil, garlic, sugar, and the acidulated water in a large pan with the artichoke hearts. Add the broad beans, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add more water to cover if necessary. Simmer gently over low heat for about 3/4 hour, until the artichoke hearts and beans are very tender, and the liquid is considerably reduced.

Mix the flour or cornflour to a smooth paste with a little cold water. Add a little of the hot liquid and stir well. Then add this to the pan gradually stirring constantly. Simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and has lost the taste of flour (about 15 minutes). Pour into a dish.

Serve hot to accompany main dishes, or cold as an hors d’oeuvre. The sauce will be gelatinous if cornflour is used.

__________
Reproduced from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food by Claudia Roden (London: Penguin, 1986) with the kind permission of the author.