FOODIE SPECIAL.....................BREAD IT OUT when in Egypt

BREAD IT OUT when in Egypt





Such is the demand for bread in the Land of the Nile that it's used as a gamosa (utensil or a pocket for fillings), to ladle soup or scoop food

It is not often that one wants to peer into mummy's tooth. But some brave, curious soul did just that and found traces of bread made of emmer wheat. Mummies ate bread? Well, they did. Not mom! But those long-dead mummies of ancient Egypt who, when alive, loved the wheat bread and washed it down with beer made of barley. Diligent excavators dug into the food habits of ancient Egypt and earnest hieroglyph readers deconstructed banquet scenes on tomb walls and concluded that the Egyptians invented beer, grew wheat, ate a lot of onions and turnip. They also hacked into salary slips and learnt that in ancient Egypt, beer was so precious that it was used as cur rency and salary for pyramid workers. These workers were also paid in bread and onion! So, bread is the monarch of Egyptian kitchen? It sure is even today. Walk around and bread seems to be everywhere. Men peddling flatbread by the roadside, bread that resembles giant pret zels, square bread with waffle like dented squares, maize bread with an overload of fenugreek seeds. Brave bakers stacking hundreds of flatbread on a wooden bench and manoeuvring the crowded bazaars. In Egypt, bread, interestingly, is used as a gamosa (utensil) or a pocket for fillings, to ladle soup or scoop food. Bread is used to wrap falafel, kebab and other sauces as the favourite lunch on-the-go sandwich.

It is kosheri that the Egyptians swear by.Often called the national dish, kosher is a combination of rice, lentils, beans with macaronipasta served with tomato puree and caramelised onions. Though Egyptians are primarily carnivorous, kosheri stands out as popular vegetarian dish.Trust the Egyptians for their sweet tooth ­ all their desserts satiate the sugar craving.Umm Ali is a raisin cake soaked in milk and served hot; roz-bil-laban is rice pudding; qara asali is baked pumpkin; kunafa is baked noodles with nuts and double cream; fakhfakina is a fruit salad, while khushaf is dates and dried nuts in sugar water.

Egyptian food is not merely about bread and kosheri. Drinks galore. Boiled and sweetened hibiscus is a common welcome drink while tamarino (tamarind + sugar) is used to beat the harsh desert heat and lower blood pressure. Mint tea is everywhere.The best place to have mint tea is the cafe in Khan-e-Khalili market where Nobel Laureate Naguib Mahfooz was a regular. Mahfooz, who won a Nobel Prize for Literature, is no more but the story of the cafe is intricately entwined with his life and writings...Just as the story of Egyptian bread began with the Pharaohs and pyramids and continues to be told. And retold.

Preeti Verma Lal

TL22MAY16