Amy Riolo - Nile Style: Egyptian Cuisine and Culture: Ancient Festivals, Significant Ceremonies, and Modern Celebrations (Hippocrene Cookbook Library)

Table of Contents

Hippocrene Cookbook Library

Afghan Food & Cookery

Alps, Cuisines of the

Aprovecho: A Mexican-American Border Cookbook

Argentina Cooks!, Exp. Ed.

Austrian Cuisine, Best of, Exp. Ed.

Belarusian Cookbook, The

Bolivian Kitchen, My Mothers

Brazil: A Culinary Journey

Burma, Flavors of

Cajun Cuisine, Stir the Pot: The History of

Cajun Women, Cooking with

Calabria, Cucina di

Caucasus Mountains, Cuisines of the

Chile, Tasting

Chinas Fujian Province, Cooking from

Colombian Cooking, Secrets of

Croatian Cooking, Best of, Exp. Ed.

Czech Cooking, Best of, Exp. Ed.

Danube, All Along The, Exp. Ed.

Egyptian Cooking

Egyptian Cuisine and Culture, Nile Style:

English Country Kitchen, The

Estonian Tastes and Traditions

Filipino Food, Fine

Finnish Cooking, Best of

French Fashion, Cooking in the (Bilingual)

Germany, Spoonfuls of

Greek Cooking, Regional

Greek Cuisine, The Best of, Exp. Ed.

Gypsy Feast

Haiti, Taste of

Havana Cookbook, Old (Bilingual)

Hungarian Cookbook, Exp. Ed.

India, Flavorful

Indian Spice Kitchen, The, Exp. Ed.

International Dictionary of Gastronomy

Irish-Style, Feasting Galore

Jewish-Iraqi Cuisine, Mama Nazimas

Kerala Kitchen

Korean Cuisine, Best of

Laotian Cooking, Simple

Lebanese Cookbook, The

Ligurian Kitchen, A

Macau, Taste of

Mexican Culinary Treasures

Middle Eastern Kitchen, The

Naples, My Love for

Nepal, Taste of

New Hampshire: from Farm to Kitchen

New Jersey Cookbook, Farms and Foods of the Garden State:

Norway, Tastes and Tales of

Ohio, Farms and Foods of

Persian Cooking, Art of

Pied Noir Cookbook: French Sephardic Cuisine

Piemontese, Cucina: Cooking from Italys Piedmont

Polands Gourmet Cuisine

Polish Cooking, Best of, Exp. Ed.

Polish Country Kitchen Cookbook

Polish Heritage Cookery, Ill. Ed.

Polish Holiday Cookery

Polish Traditions, Old

Portuguese Encounters, Cuisines of

Pyrenees, Tastes of

Punjab, Menus and Memories from

Rhine, All Along The

Romania, Taste of, Exp. Ed.

Russian Cooking, Best of, Exp. Ed.

Scottish-Irish Pub and Hearth Cookbook

Sephardic Israeli Cuisine

Sicilian Feasts

Slovenia, Flavors of

South Indian Cooking, Healthy

Spanish Family Cookbook, Rev. Ed.

Sri Lanka, Exotic Tastes of

Swedish Kitchen, A

Taiwanese Cuisine, Best of

Thai Cuisine, Best of, Regional

Trinidad and Tobago, Sweet Hands: Island Cooking from

Turkish Cuisine, Taste of

Tuscan Kitchen, Tastes from a

Ukrainian Cuisine, Best of, Exp. Ed.

Uzbek Cooking, Art of

Vietnamese Kitchen, A

Wales, Good Food from

Warsaw Cookbook, Old

Copyright 2009 Amy Riolo.

All rights reserved.

Book and jacket design by Wee Design, Inc.
Interior color photography by Michael Stewart Photography, Inc.
Interior black and white photos by Amy Riolo.

For more information, address:
HIPPOCRENE BOOKS, INC.
171 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10016
www.hippocrenebooks.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Riolo, Amy.

Nile style : Egyptian cuisine and culture : ancient festivals, significant ceremonies, and modern celebrations / Amy Riolo.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-7818-1221-4 (alk. paper)
ISBN 10: 0-7818-1221-6

1. Cookery, Egyptian. 2. Cookery--Egypt. 3. Egypt--Social life and customs. I. Title.

TX725.E35R56 2009

641.5962--dc22

2008043166

Printed in the United States of America.

To my mother-in-law, Fathiya Al Zayat, and my sister-in-law, Soad El Tanbedawy, for their unconditional love and support.

Amy Riolo with her mother-in-law

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank my creator for enabling me to experience Egypt. I am enormously grateful to Sheilah Kaufman for believing in this book from the beginning, and for her diligent guidance and assistance. I would also like to thank Priti Chitnis Gress for her excellent editorial guidance. Thank you to Dr. Norton Fishman, Kathleen Ammalee Rogers, Dr. Beth Tedesco, and Dr. Mary Lee Esty for enabling me to fulfill my dreams. I would like to thank my husband, Maher El Tanbedawy, for supporting me in my relentless search of authentic recipes. I would also like to thank Michael Stewart and Andy J. Park of Michael Stewart Photography for their commitment in capturing the spirit of Egyptian culture while photographing Egyptian cuisine. I also appreciate the support extended to me by my parents Faith and Rick Riolo, Nonna Angela Foti, the staff at the Embassy of Egypt in Washington, D.C., Dr. Mohamed Hamza and Dr. Maha Kamel of the Egyptian Cultural and Education Bureau, and Dr. Regine Schulz and Abdelwahab El Abd of the Baltimore-Luxor-Alexandria Sister City Committee; as well as the suggestions of Paul Trattner, Gail Forman, Enas Elhanafi, Joan Nathan, and Todd Kliman.

In Egypt, I am extremely grateful to my sister-in-law, Soad El Tanbedawy, my brothers-in-law, Abdu and Nabil El Tanbedawy, Chef Nasser Saiyd, Amira Mohsen, Saadeya Osman Uaah, and Kareema Mohamed Abdu for their culinary guidance and inspiration.

Thank you to Osman Shaheen, Mohamed Shaban, Mohamed Salah, Vivian Farook Yosif, Ali El Tanbedawy, Ayman and Rasha El Tanbedawy, Samy and Azza El Tanbedawy, and archeologist Elham Ali. In Luxor, I would like to thank my brothers Ahmed, Mahmoud, and Mohammed Edris and Mahmoud Fathy for treating me like one of the family. I would also like to thank Dr. Samier Farag, Bahaa Elden Aboelhamd Osman, General Mohamed El Metwali, Gerges Samael Azes, Hosny Hussein, Essam Ramadan, the staff of the Nubian Village in Luxor, the Nubian Community in Aswan, and the staff at the Egyptian Agricultural Museum in Cairo for sharing important cultural and historical information with me.

At the Tut Hotel in Luxor, I would like to thank Helmy Salah, Selem Mohamed, Chef Faisal, Chef Heggag, and Chef Ahmed Hashem for sharing their ideas and recipes. In addition, I would like to thank every shopkeeper, taxi driver, chef, and restauranteur who answered my questions and provided me with additional insight.

Foreword

E gyptian cuisine reflects the rich and varied cultural development of the country. Egyptians were typically open to foreign ideas and able to adapt or modify outside influences without giving up their main traditions. This principle also holds true for Egyptian food. Some of the recipes in this book date back to Pharaonic times, and others have their roots in Christian, Jewish, and Arabic traditions. There were influences from Mediterranean, Lebanese, Syrian, and Turkish cuisines, and also from Nubia. However, the Egyptian culinary tradition is not just a mixture of different influencesit is a highly advanced cuisine which developed its own characteristics over time. It reflects the needs of the Egyptians and their available food resources, as well as their cultural and religious customs.

Amy Riolo is an internationally recognized food historian and culinary expert with a special focus on oriental cuisines. When I first met her a couple of years ago in Baltimore, I was very impressed by her excellent knowledge and enthusiasm. I not only had the chance to taste her culinary art, but also to observe her talent for fascinating people with oriental food traditions. She is an outstanding instructor who combines seriousness and passion. During the last couple of years she has focused on researching and experimenting with Egyptian cuisine. Her main goal is to raise awareness about Egyptian culinary heritage, particularly in the U.S., and to help preserve the traditions in Egypt.