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used to see my mother-in-law picking over the beans to see if there were any bugs in them! But foul is an excellent source of second class protein (especially if a few bugs have been missed).

Desserts don't seem to be a big feature of Egyptian meals, perhaps because of the plentiful supply of fruit. Cake shops are common, and birthday cakes are usually enormous affairs. Then at the end of Ramadan homemade 'cahk' are traditionally served, which are biscuity petits fours. During Ramadan (at night of course), baklava and conafa are very common. It sometimes seemed that people were almost eating more during Ramadan than the rest of the year, although I admired the way many people went about their daily lives without so much as a drop of water passing their lips.

Egyptian Christians also observe very strict periods of fasting when they eat no fat or meat of any kind. Olive sandwiches seem to be the norm for weeks on end. I can't imagine many of us being so strict about our food.
There is a wide variety then, and I haven't even mentioned kebabs and kofta, perhaps because we are now so familiar with them. I didn't actually eat them very often while I was in Egypt. On the whole I would say I prefer Indian food to Egyptian, but many women put a great deal of time and effort into their cooking with excellent results. I haven't visited the country for several years now, and I do wonder if ready meals have reached the supermarkets yet or whether tradition still prevails.

Learn more about this author, Liz Allen.
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