K is for Konafa

While I wrote about konafa bil gibna (konafa with cheese) in my book, it was not a variety of konafa that I had ever tried myself – until a couple of weeks ago! I have always loved konafa with nuts and/or cream, but I must say – konafa bil gibna is quite a tasty option! Sadly, there are not many shops selling Egyptian sweets here in Dahab – and none up to the standards of my favorite shop in Cairo. I don’t know what took me so long, but I finally decided to buy the frozen konafa pastry strands and make my own.

When I told my mother that I was “making” konafa, she asked surprisingly if I had a tool to make those thin pastry strands. No, I answered, I bought the frozen pastry! (Which is what most Egyptians do, my husband assures me. Frozen or fresh from the baker.) But my mother replied that I was “assembling” konafa, not “making” it. And assembling konafa IS pretty simple, once you have the pastry! A bit of ghee, a bit of cheese and lemon, a rose-water infused syrup and you get this:

Delicious!

F is for Food!

If you like Egyptian food and have enjoyed my photos of these yummies, you may be interested in checking out my ¨Food of Egypt 2012¨ Calendar that I created on Zazzle. Makes a nice gift and you can customize size, color, and even the photos!

Food of Egypt 2012 Calendar by bernadettesimpson
Join Zazzle’s calendar affiliate program

A is for Almonds

Almonds are called ¨luz¨ لوز  in Arabic and are available for purchase year round in Egypt. Most of these almonds are imported since almond trees are not cultivated in the Nile Delta. They are, however, grown in south Sinai – in the Bedouin gardens in the mountains around the city of St. Katherine´s.  Two varieties of almond (Prunus amygdalus) grow in south Sinai – fark, a small soft-shelled nut, and al-sal, the larger hard-shelled nuts pictured above. A friend recently visited one of the gardens and generously returned with a kilo of almonds for us…so you know what we´ve been snacking on! Well worth the effort.

M is for Mmmm, Mmmm….Mangoes!

Mmmm, mmmm, mangoes! I can never say enough about  mangoes. As you may know, mangoes feature in my book An ABC Escapade through Egypt and they have also shown up on this blog before.

Mangoes are on the top of most everyone´s favorite fruits here in Egypt, but how fans go about devouring them can vary. Some prefer to cut the mango in half, pull out the seed, and then scoop the flesh out with a spoon. But others prefer the criss-cross cut method pictured above. What about you? How do you break into your juicy treat?

K is for Karkade

K is for Karkade! And obviously I´m in a food and drink mood lately. These are the dried hibiscus flower petals that are used to brew karkade, a drink popular hot or cold. Maybe I should have posted this photo before the one of the simmering petals that I posted last summer. I said it then and I´ll say it again – karkade makes an excellent plastic-free beverage if you buy the petals in bulk using your own container or bag.

Last night, I discovered an ice cream parlor in Cairo that was selling karkade ice cream. That´s a flavor I´ve never seen before! So perhaps you could even use your brewed beverage to make popsicles or some other frozen treat.

Karkade is pronounced (kar-ke-day) كركديه

M is for Mouthwatering MishMish

Mmmmm….mouthwatering mishmish! مشمش Or apricots as we call them in English. Another popular summer fruit here in Egypt. Crisp and tangy at the moment, soft and sweet when more fully ripe.

And just a few more facts from the FAO:

In 2008, Egypt ranked #9 worldwide in apricot production, growing 106,165 MT.

Any guesses on which country produces the most mouthwatering mishmish?!

P is for Perfect Peaches!

The season is NOW if you want to snack on these perfect peaches!

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, in 2008, Egypt ranked #8 worldwide in their production of peaches and nectarines, growing 399,416 MT (metric ton = 1,000 kilograms). China is the world’s top producer and also where this fruit originates.

And according to this Good Food Guide website, Egypt exports at least 4 different varieties to the UK in April and May – Florida Prince, Tropic Prince, Florida Star, and Ruby Crest. Unfortunately, I’m not sure what variety we have at our grocers here in Dahab, but as long as they’re yummy it doesn’t really matter, does it?  :-)

J is for Jujubes

Jujubes are literally bursting from our trees here in Dahab at the moment! These pictured here are the fruit – in varying stages of dryness – of the Ziziphus spina-christi tree which makes them Christ-thorn Jujubes as opposed to Common Jujubes. Although I never refer to them by their English name, but rather ‘nabq’ (نَبق) or ‘sidr’ (سٍدر). Whatever you call them, they make a delicious and free snack! My young Bedouin neighbors and I collect kilos of these every few days from trees in the city (near the playground!). I like them fresh from the tree, but also dried. I’ve not seen them for sale here in Dahab, but we did purchase some from a green grocer in Cairo years ago. You can also purchase bags on the dried jujubes from shops in the town of St. Katherine’s.

H is for Halawa

Halawa tahiniya, or حلاوة  طحينية, is one of my favorite sweet snacks in Egypt. Halawa means “sweetness” in Arabic and is made from tahina, a sesame seed paste, and sugar. It is typically made and sold in blocks that you can purchase from the deli section of local shops. You can also buy it in packages like the one pictured above. Traditionally, halawa is plain but today there are many varieties available – chocolate, almonds, hazelnuts, and pistachios. Halawa is usually eaten in a sandwich (hot or cold) on baladi bread, the pita-like local bread. Although it is not unusual to see people simply dig in with a spoon!

Q is for Qasab

I decided to post this sugar cane photo under it’s Arabic name, but that wasn’t as easy as I’d thought! Sugar cane in Arabic is قصب السكر , literally “cane of sugar”. The Arabic letter /ق/ is usually transliterated as /q/ in English…but that does not help with pronunciation, does it? In Egyptian Arabic, the /ق/ is pronounced as a glottal stop, so sugar cane would sound something like /‘asab/. In Sinai Bedouin Arabic, the /ق/ is pronounced more like /g/, so sugar cane is /gasab/.

Maybe I should I simply have categorized this under S is for Sugar Cane!

Whatever you call it, my young Bedouin neighbors and I enjoyed munching on several stalks the other day. We bought them from a vendor who was selling them from his truck, in other words – not something we get on a regular basis so it was a treat! I believe we paid LE 1 per stalk.