Roasted Chicken by Agency: The FactoryNawaya
Egypt's love of poultry
From comforting home dishes to delectable street food, Egypt's love of poultry results in an array of different poultry dishes. Here are seven poultry dishes you have to try.
Chicken & Potato Saneyya by Agency: The FactoryNawaya
1. Roast Chicken and Potato Bake
The original Egyptian protein-carb one-pot is easy to prepare and yields amazing flavor. The dish warms the hearts of the cold, hungry, homesick, or those looking for comfort.
Chicken & Potato Saneyya by Agency: The FactoryNawaya
Potatoes are arranged in a baking dish with Egyptian spices, onions, garlic, and tomato sauce and topped with similarly seasoned whole chicken quarters. The baking dish is covered and put in the oven for an average of 45 min. After this the oven grill is used to give the dish it's barbecued color.
Chicken & Potato Saneyya by Agency: The FactoryNawaya
Variations include adding fresh pepper, or carrot slices to the potatoes under the chicken or adding some chilli peppers for a spicy kick. With white or vermicelli rice at hand you can't help but dig in once the dish is served!
Chicken Panne by Agency: The FactoryNawaya
2. Chicken Panne
A kids' favorite, this street food, which is often served as a sandwich, can easily be found in Kebda and Sogo' food carts. It is also found on the Egyptian Sofra at family gatherings
Chicken Panne by Agency: The FactoryNawaya
The chicken is usually marinated with a mixture of Egyptian spices, lemon, garlic, and onions for a singular flavor kick. Eggs and breadcrumbs are then used to coat the chicken before frying. In day-to-day household consumption, Chicken Panee is typically served with spaghetti and red sauce.
Pigeons are stuffed with white rice or with fereek (coarse bulgur wheat). The stuffing is mixed with onions and spices, and then the stuffed and sealed pigeons are boiled with onions, cardamom, mastic, and dried bay leaves to make broth which can be eaten as Pigeon Soup. The cooked stuffed pigeon is then fried in a mixture of oil and ghee, giving it a crispy, golden color.
3. Stuffed Pigeon
Stuffed Pigeon, or Hamam Mahshi is a special treat which won't be found on the Sofra as it is tricky to cook. It is usually prepared by mothers as an offering to their newly-wed children, and is often delivered to the new couple’s house.
Shish Kebab Chicken by Agency: The FactoryNawaya
4. Shish Taouk
Shish Taouk or chicken kebabs are commonly served in kebab shops. Skewers of specially marinated chicken, alternated with tomato, onion, and pepper cubes are barbecued.
Shish Kebab Chicken by Agency: The FactoryNawaya
Households cook Shish Taouk by grilling them on the stove or simply placing the skewers in a pan in the oven. The kebabs are great finger foods on shorter skewers, and make for a family-gathering favorite!
Sharkaseyya by Agency: The FactoryNawaya
5. Sharkaseyya
Brought to Egypt during the Ottoman Empire, Sharkaseya became a luxurious Egyptian dish on the sofra (table) prepared for distinct guests, or special family gatherings.
The rarity of the dish is partially due to the expensive ingredients needed to make the Sharkaseya sauce: walnuts and white toast bread soaked in chicken broth and milk. To make the sauce, the walnuts and soaked toast are blended together and added to a pan with butter or ghee.
The ingredients are then fried with garlic and crushed coriander seeds. The boiled chicken is arranged over cooked white rice and the mouth-watering sauce is poured on top. Although best prepared at home, you can also eat delicious Sharkaseya in oriental Egyptian restaurants.
Shawerma Chicken Sandwiches by Agency: The FactoryNawaya
6. Chicken Shawarma
Cooked on a rotating sikh (pole), pieces of specially marinated dark and white chicken meat are layered to form a large cone shaped stack. A fire roasts behind as the pole with the stacked chicken rotates.
Shawerma Chicken Sandwiches by Agency: The FactoryNawaya
A tall sharp knife is used to cut the cone around its edges longitudinally, so little strips of succulent spiced chicken fall on a flat surface. Sometimes the shredded chicken pieces are mixed with fresh onions, tomatoes, peppers, and parsley for an Alexandrian touch.
Shawerma Chicken Sandwiches by Agency: The FactoryNawaya
The chicken mix is then wrapped in a pita bread, or served in white bread buns with pickles and Tahini (sesame sauce) or Tomeya (white garlic sauce) sauces. Shawarma is by far one of Egypt’s best street foods and a definite must-try.
Lessan Asfour Soup by Agency: The FactoryNawaya
7. Orzo Pasta Soup (Shorbet Lessan Asfour)
This soup can easily be found on an Egyptian sofra on a day-to-day basis and on special occasions. It's also a common household remedy for cold and flu. You can definitely find it served in traditional Egyptian restaurants as well.
It's main ingredients are chicken broth and Orzo pasta fried in oil, Ghee, or butter. The mixture is then poured straight from the frying pan into the cooking chicken broth.
Lessan Asfour Soup by Agency: The FactoryNawaya
To make the broth, chicken is added to boiling water with an onion, dried cardamom, mastic, dried bay leaves and seasoned with salt and pepper.
Lessan Asfour Soup by Agency: The FactoryNawaya
When the chicken is cooked, fried Orzo, little chicken pieces, and potato and carrot cubes are added to the broth and left to cook. Squeeze half a lemon in your bowl, and indulge yourself!
