My Egyptian Grandmother's Mother Kitchen: Traditional Dishes Sweet and Savory Review

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(More customer reviews)The four star rating I gave this book is for the beautiful colored pictures - they are on each and every page! The range of recipes is quite encompassing but I do have some concerns in regard to the directions and flavoring of the dishes. You will need to have some basic knowledge of Middle Eastern cooking/spice mixes, etc., to have these recipes come out as they should. The pictures are a great help to show the completed product. One example of poor instructions/spices is the recipe for Macaroni Bechamel. It originally is quite a tedious recipe and the recipe contained in the book is not clear. Also, there are problems with translations; tomato juice is listed in numerous recipes when it should probably read "tomato sauce", the recipe for veal sweetbreads is shown as "thyroid glands" instead of thymus glands. Also, it lists ingredients like "gullash", "rugag" and "quata'if". Gullash would be the same as our phyllo (filo) dough. But, rugag is a type of cracker bread and quata'if is a small pancake. It's too bad that she didn't include recipes on how to make these. Fortunately, I have recipes for both these items but the reader new to this cuisine would be confused. I would only give two stars for the recipes themselves. It's a wonderful book to read for the "armchair cook". I am happy with my purchase!

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In this beautifully illustrated volume, Magda Mehdawy has gathered in one book the most complete collection of Egyptian recipes ever assembled. Drawing on the traditional recipes she learned from her grandmother and other members of her generation, Mehdawy offers a surprising range of sumptuous recipes and unusual flavors that are part of Egypt's millennia-long cultural heritage. She also reveals the historical depth of the national cuisine, beginning with a section on food and wine-making techniques used by the ancient Egyptians. For readers interested in more recent traditions, Mehdawy provides lists of typical menus served on Islamic holidays and feasts, and a fascinating overview of traditional beliefs regarding vegetables and spices.While covering regional dishes from all over Egypt, Mehdawy emphasizes the cuisine of her native Mediterranean city of Alexandria, providing a wide selection of seafood dishes, such as baked sardines and shrimp kufta with rice. Grouped by food categories - including Broths and Soups, Stuffed Vegetables, Poultry, Pickles, Jams, and Desserts - the book helpfully lists detailed health information as well as practical advice on shopping for the best-quality ingredients, and where to find them. Even chefs already familiar with Egyptian cuisine will find new dishes here. With copious illustrations in full color throughout, this compendium is a great introduction to the rich flavor and variety of the traditional Egyptian kitchen.

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The Pharaohs Kitchen: Recipes from Ancient Egypts Enduring Food Traditions Review

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(More customer reviews)The Pharaoh's Kitchen by Magda Mehdawy and illustrated by Amr Hussein is just fascinating! We have recently returned from a trip to Egypt, so we found this book to be most enlightening as well as entertaining. The authors have deciphered ancient recipes for the foods native historically to Egypt. Both author and artist are archeologists who live in Egypt and the Arabic version of this book won the Gourmand World cookbook Award for the Best Culinary History Book in Africa. Containing almost 100 recipes the book is illustrated by pictographs from the tombs of the Pharaohs and with photos of Egyptology museum exhibits. The ancient traditions and celebrations are described and some of these are still observed. The recipes, authentically derived from details of the hieroglyphics in the tombs, are given in the ancient form with added text describing how these can be prepared today. The book tells about the ancient Egyptian kitchen, utensils, manners, and ways of eating. In the back of the book the hieroglyphs are shown and the Glossary explains many of the terms used in the text. The book has sections with customs, service, explanations and recipes for Beverages, Breads, Birds and Fish, Eggs and Dairy Products, Meat, Poultry, Vegetables, Legumes, Fruit and Desserts. I found it impossible to see how anyone could amass such a fascinating and thorough book of such ancient customs! EXCELLENT!!! Be sure to get this is you are traveling or living in Egypt.

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Judging from the evidence available from depictions of daily life on tombs and in historical texts, the ancient Egyptians were just as enthusiastic about good food and generous hospitality as are their descendants today. Magda Mehdawy and Amr Hussein have done extensive research on the cultivation, gathering, preparation, and presentation of food in ancient Egypt and have developed nearly a hundred recipes that will be perfectly recognizable to anyone familiar with modern Egyptian food. Beautifully illustrated with scenes from tomb reliefs, objects and artifacts in museum exhibits, and modern photographs, the recipes are accompanied by explanatory material that describes the ancient home and kitchen, cooking vessels and methods, table manners and etiquette, banquets, beverages, and ingredients. Traditional feasts and religious occasions with their own culinary traditions are described, including some that are still celebrated today. A glossary of ingredients and place names provides a useful guide to unfamiliar terms.

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