Recipes

Evangelical Theological Seminary and St. Andrew's United Church

Most of Egypt’s people live in the fertile lands of the Nile River and its surrounding Delta. These days, farmers can predict the availability of water to help them grow their crops thanks to modern dams and water irrigation projects, but there are still small farmers growing crops the way their ancestors did centuries before. The food of Egypt is much closer to the food of the countries of the Middle East than it is to the food of sub-Saharan Africa.

One activity to do with children is to have some pita (pocket) bread for them to try. Many of them may already have eaten it at home. If you cannot buy pita in your local store, it is fairly easy to find a recipe and make it (with a little trial and error!) Have some ingredients common to North African and Middle Eastern cooking, such as yogurt, feta or other goat cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes, olives (black), olive oil, almonds, dates and apricots. You can make the following recipe and invite the children to make "sandwiches" with their Ta’amia and pitas. Serve tea flavored with mint as a beverage.

Spicy cakes Ta’amia Makes 20 This dish is more familiar to some of us as falafel, which is made of garbanzos and often found in delis in big cities in the U.S. The Egyptian version is made of white broad beans (ful nabed) that can be hard to find if you do not have a Greek or Middle Eastern grocery in your area. You can substitute garbanzos (also known as chickpeas). This dish is associated with the Christian Copts, who eat these patties during Lent when they do not eat meat. 2-1/2 cups white broad beans or garbanzos, soaked and cooked 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1/2 teaspoon turmeric 1 medium onion, grated 1/2 teaspoon baking powder handful fresh cilantro or parsley, chopped lemon juice 1 teaspoon ground cumin sesame seeds 1 teaspoon ground coriander a little flour and a little water salt and pepper to taste oil for cooking First, pound the beans or put them through a blender until they are very smooth. If they are not smooth, the ta’amia will not bind later on. Put all the remaining ingredients in except the water, flour, sesame seeds and oil. Mix well and leave to stand at least 15 minute, but preferably an hour. After the mix has rested, take small amounts and make round cakes about 2 inches in diameter and 3/4 inch thick. Add a little flour and water if they are not sticking together well. Let the cakes rest another 15 minutes, and then press a few sesame seeds on the top of each. Next, heat the oil in a pan and brown the ta’amia a few minutes of each side until golden brown. Drain on absorbent paper and serve hot with pita bread, yogurt and slices of tomato and cucumber. Recipe from The New Internationalist Food Book by Troth Wells, Second Story Press, 1995, p. 48.