Recipes

During the Pharaonic period, feasts in the Old and New Kingdoms took place at harvest time or during religious celebrations. Before the feast, people bathed their bodies in ointments wove sweet-smelling blossoms into their hair, and sometimes donned necklaces or garlands of lotus flowers. A favorite dish at these Egyptian feast was a stew made with chicken, calves' feet, and eggs in their shells, thickened with grain, possibly freek (green wheat). During ceremonial royal banquets in Nile Valley, the dining hall would be decorated with wreaths and garland of flowers. The menu featured roast goose, small calf legs, gazelles garnished with lamb tail fat, grilled wild duck, and quail. Fish was served both raw and grilled, served with bread of various shapes and numerous vegetables. For dessert there were fruits, cakes with honey, and at times melons. Both before and after the meal, a servant would bring a jug of scented water and a bowl for guests to wash their hands. Music, singing and dancing were important parts and banquets, and professional dancers primarily women, entertained guests accompanied by musicians playing harps, lutes, drums, and tambourines.

Feasts for a Pharaoh has important practical features. The recipes are organized into chapters according to catagories of food or courses which are given their Arabic names. Cooks will be especially pleased with the list of spices and herbs, also in Arabic and English as well as tips about their use in a culinary tradition in which they are essential. Also convenient are the tables of measurements, metric conversions and substitutions.
With virtually every ingredient available including the freshest possible herbs and spices, in souks from everywhere, the aspiring cook of Egyptian food will find Feasts for a Pharaoh book a ready companion in an exciting culinary venture.

The book is heavy, detailed, and filled with good and authentic recipes set down so
they are not only easy to follow but adaptable to available ingredients. Almost everyone has a list of variations so that anyone put off by a certain ingredient or two but intrigued with the basic concept, need only to run their fingers down the page.

I have chosen a variety of the dishes offered in the book for you to vouch for the skill with which I prepared my recipes.

Kishk	Fool iskandarani	Apricot pudding	Drinks