Nora George - Noras Recipes From Egypt

Nora Georges book on Middle Eastern cooking combines great food and ease for the cook. I highly recommend it.

PAULA WOLFERT, author of Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean

Noras Recipes from Egypt features something for everyone: appetizers, soups, salads, meats, seafood, meatless dishes, desserts and even pickles...teaspoon by quarter cup, (Nora George) unravels generations of oral traditions.

DOUG HOAGLAND, Fresno Bee California

...its simply wonderful, its accurate and so easy to follow, I was a lousy cook, but now Im great.

ARLETTE AIRUT Montreal Canada

Copyright 1995 Nora George

P.O. Box 502

Clovis, CA 93613

Second Print: May, 2000

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.

Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number: 95-94815

ISBN 0-9648676-0-5

ePUB ISBN 978-1-5457-3862-7

Mobi ISBN 978-1-5457-3863-4

Artwork by George Chamaa ,

Sherman Oaks, California

Photography by Nadim George ,

Burbank, California

Typesetting by Ghassane Habib,

Fresno, California

Arabic typesetting by Nabil Karam,

Fresno, California

Layout by Farid George ,

Danville, California

Color separation by Vahe Litho & Prepress

Fresno, California

Printing and binding by Gutenberg We Print

Fresno, California

DEDICATION

I dedicate this book to my late Mom and Dad, Mary and George Surur , who taught me so much about cooking, and to my late sister Amy Gabbour who encouraged and pushed me to get this project going.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I wish to thank very much all the following relatives and friends who gave up a lot of their time to assist me with various information, advice and technical work. In alphabetical order, they are:

George CHAMAA

May GABBOUR

Ghassane HABIB

Nabil KARAM

Essam MOUSTAFA

Dina NASSAR

Tania NASSAR

Wadad NASSIF

Roger TATARIAN

My warmest appreciation and gratitude go to my husband William, my sons Farid and Nadim and my family and friends in New York, California, Montreal, Ottawa and elsewhere, without whose strong support and encouragement I would not have been able to complete my dream cookbook.

CONTENTS

NOTE

You will notice a lot of words in this book have an asteris k (*). It is an indication that this specific ingredient can be purchased in Middle Eastern, Armenian or Greek food stores.

INTRODUCTION

The idea for this project came from my parents who took the time to hand-write a basic cookbook in Arabic for my siblings and myself. They were eager to pass on to us the culinary tastes they learnt from their parents and to help us enjoy Egyptian food.

I was born and raised in Egypt to Egyptian parents. I married an Egyptian and had two boys while both of us were working for the United Nations in Cairo. My husbands work then took us to several African countries from 1968 until 1980 and finally to UNDP headquarters in New York until our retirement to California in 1986.

Egyptian cooking has certainly been influenced by various empires, giving it flavors from Greece, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Turkey, Armenia, Persia and other Mediterranean cultures. Many variations exist for cooking these foods depending on the different regions in Egypt and on the various styles developed by individual families. My ancestors were from Syria and Lebanon and their regional flavors are evident in our familys unique cooking style.

The nature of our work at the United Nations created in us an urge and pleasure to entertain people of various ethnic backgrounds. This offered us an opportunity to expose our Egyptian culture and how better to do it than with our rich assortment of foods. For a meal, Egyptians usually cook a variety of foods in abundance. Some of our basic mixtures are usually prepared in advance, stored and ready to be combined with several other items to make varieties of foods for a meal at short notice. Cooking in abundance and sharing it is a well known characteristic of Arab culture and hospitality.

My nieces and nephews, as well as my sons, were forgetting the Arabic language and were unable to follow the handwritten cookbooks left for us by my parents. So while we were living in New York, where my brother and his family live, and on frequent visits to my sister and her family in Montreal, I was encouraged by them to write a cookbook in English.

With family support and my rich international background, I embarked on this project to preserve and share the recipes that my family and I have enjoyed for so many years, and still do. I would specially like to share these recipes with our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren who should not lose touch with the pleasures of Egyptian cooking.

I have tried my best to make this cookbook simple and easy to follow and have adapted the recipes and measurements to the modern North American kitchen. I hope that the next generations can still enjoy the rich assortment of Egyptian cooking, be proud of it, and share it with others.

APPETIZERS

Note: You will notice a lot of words in this book have an asterisk (*). It is an indication that this specific ingredient can be purchased in Middle Eastern, Armenian or Greek food stores.

DOKKA/ Spice, Herb and Nut Mixture

Dry roast sesame seeds in a pan over medium heat until light brown, stirring constantly to avoid burning. Set aside.

Dry roast coriander seeds over medium heat. When cool, process in an electric spice grinder, or food processor until it becomes powder. Pass through a fine strainer and place in a bowl.

Finely grind chick peas, sumac and mint flakes in an electric spice grinder or food processor then pass them through a fine strainer. Add ground coriander, cumin, anise, fennel, salt and mix well. Stir in the roasted sesame seeds.