Simplified Egyptian cooking featuring hearty, all-in-one dishes like Koshary and slow-cooked stews that bring deep flavour with minimal cleanup.

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Stewed okra in tomato sauce (bamya)

Today’s recipe is a return to a classic favourite of mine: Stewed okra (bamya) in tomato sauce. Bamya, arabic for okra. It’s my comfort food. It’s tasty, healthy (great for your digestive tract), and easy to make. If you’re new to okra, you just have to get over the sliminess texture. Once you get over that, you’re good. And you’ll thank me forever. You’re welcome.

Olass wa sal (Taro with swiss chard)

I’ve been trying to chase down this recipe for months now. Though I ate it back in 2010 for the first time during Christmas dinner in Cairo. I thought it was molokhia a green soup made from the fresh leaves of the molokhia plant. Not at all, though the spicing is similar.

I was told it was ‘olass. And that it is normally eaten on special occasions, like Christmas. But after some research between both sides of the family, and my Arabic tutor, turns out everyone eats ‘olass all the time and its a favourite dish of most households.

Lesan al Asfour: Egyptian bird’s tongue soup (orzo pasta)

Let’s just start this off right: this is not a meal about an actual bird’s tongue. This is simply the easiest and most comforting soup made with orzo pasta, also known as lesan al asfour. The shape of the pasta resembles a bird’s tongue, hence the name.

It’s one of those soups that doesn’t require much, but when you put all the elements together, it’s essentially a giant bear hug from the inside.

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