Luxor4u

Does anyone know any really good books on Egyptian cooking?

Are you looking for just a recipe book or something with more in-depth information such as historical and/or cultural notes?

I do have a recipe book that I enjoyed using (mainly by adapting the recipes to my own ingredient preferences and availability) but I've not used it for years. I can't remember what it's called, and not at home at the moment, but will try to give you the title later.

Just a recipe book really Hepzibah. Got one called Egyptian Cooking that's not much good and another Egyptian Vegetarian meals which is OK.

Here's one I read and enjoyed, although not strictly a cookery book.

APRICOTS ON THE NILE: A MEMOIR WITH RECIPES

by Colette Rossant (Bloomsbury)
In 1937, when she was 5 years old, Colette left Paris to live in Cairo with her Egyptian-Jewish father and her beautiful French mother — until her father died and her mother abandoned her to her wealthy, food-loving grandparents. Colette reflects upon the wonderful variety of such a childhood, bringing to life again the people, the flowers, the visits to the bazaar with her grandmother, the afternoons spent in the spicy warmth of the kitchen helping Ahmet the cook . . . and eating the delicious Egyptian food! But when she was fifteen she returned to her mother in Paris - and never saw her grandparents again. Colette tells her story with enough humour to soften the pain - and builds her favourite recipes into the narrative.
This is a small book - but a real gem!

There's also a large print edition of Apricots On The Nile (2004) and she has written many other cookbooks.

If you do search online you will find quite a few Egyptian Cookery Book titles and also some recipes online.

Big sis just loves cookery books.
She bought one in Luxor airport a few years ago.

A title somewhere along the lines of "My Egyptian Granny's Cookbook!"

If you want a good cookbook for Egyptian food..then always look for the word "Granny"in the title!

Personally..I'd rather have good old plate of mince and tatties..recipe from "Maw Broon's"cookbook!

Just had a quick look on Amazon, there are several that look interesting, but none by a writer that I'm familiar with. If you find something you like, and you're prepared to wait, let me know and I'll order it for you.

Thanks Yildez. will have a look through and see what I find, that one that Hepzibah suggests might be good.

The book shop that was once next to Winter Palace, that is now up near the Passport Office ( I write like this Carrie, as you know where I mean) has several both son this subject. The family who own this shop I've known for over 20 years, the young chap, though not so young these days, will certainly help.

Alternatively, El Ahram weekly gives a quite often rather unusual recipe for you to try out, have to admit, tried one out, spent almost the following week in the very small room of my home. .

Been there A Four not a great selection I'm afraid, also to the book shop near McDonald's.
I also wanted a calendar with the dates of all the Islamic holidays, start of Ramadan etc, 27th of May, but the calendars are 150le which I thought a little expensive.

As many Islamic festivals are dependent on a lunar calendar, and on the sighting of the new moon, their commencement dates are often not known until the last minute.

Maybe they don't feature on calendars Carrie? I'll check.

I use Google for recipes and holidays, carrie.

newcastle wrote:As many Islamic festivals are dependent on a lunar calendar, and on the sighting of the new moon, their commencement dates are often not known until the last minute.

Maybe they don't feature on calendars Carrie? I'll check.

Apparently they do exist!

Of course there's always the possibility that a date, e.g. the first day of Ramadan, might change by a day at the last minute....but if you can cope with that small degree of uncertainty...happy hunting!

The AEU publishes one Newcastle but as I say 150le I thought was a little expensive.

Does sound a bit pricey for Egypt!

You could get an ordinary calendar and annotate it yourself with the Islamic holidays (easily available on internet).

It would give you something to do on these long winter evenings

Scottishtourist wrote:If you want a good cookbook for Egyptian food..then always look for the word "Granny"in the title!

Ach, yer Grannie!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VCWROijdwM

A nice shot of the now rare Belted Galloway cattle Brian Oh and a polite 'Clippie' on a coach, but a driver smoking!

Carrie, I've found the cookery book I was thinking about the other day. Goodness only knows why it was in the office and not on one of my shelves of cookery books!

The title on the cover is Egyptian Cooking, although when you open it the title page is Arab Cooking. It isn't all Egyptian cooking but recipes from Egypt, Maghreb, Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon. It is a colourful book with plenty of photographs. As well as the ingredients it tells you: How many servings; Preparation time; Cooking time; Difficulty; Flavour; Kcal per serving; Proteins per serving; Fats per serving; Nutritional value.

Although my copy was given to me in the UK, I'm sure I've seen this book, in various languages, in Luxor.

Got that one thanks Hepzibah but like you say it's more North African than Egyptian.