Whether you’re Egyptian or know someone who is, you can’t deny that part of Egyptian people’s allure is sprinkling their magic onto anything they touch. Food is no different because Egyptians, indeed, have found a way to Egyptianize international dishes that will make you forget about the original ones.
Tomato Sauce Pasta
This dish might be an Italian one, however, we honestly think a lot of Egyptians (if not all) see it as a dish that synonymous with Om El Donia because of how famous it is. Whether you’re in Sahel by the beach, on holiday, or just chilling at home — it’s always the perfect time for a red sauce pasta with chicken panne (or baladi chicken), washed down with a hearty chicken soup. We’re quite positive Italians don’t make their pomodoro pasta like this, but we wholeheartedly appreciate how the dish has evolved and made its way into all of our lives.
Pizza
If you haven’t realized yet, we Egyptians are obsessed with Italian food, for good reasons. Pizza is the second dish on this list that happens to hail all the way from Italy. The Egyptianized version of the Italian pizza isn’t exactly that similar to it — it’s merely just the Masry-inspired and simplified rendition for the dish. Basically, instead of the dough, we just use baladi bread, then proceed by slapping some tomato paste on it (with seasoning) and then top it all off with cheese (we recommend having roumy or mozzarella).
Kabsa
Originating from Saudi Arabia, kabsa is a much-loved Arab meal that will instantly convert anyone into a stan. Instead of having it with beef, however, Egyptians love to replace it with mutton during Eid Al-Adha which may not taste that differently, but believe us when we say that the juiceness of the mutton along with its healthy fats that are absorbed by the rice elevate the whole dang experience.
Mahshi
Okay so, this might come as a shocker to most of us but our beloved mahshi was actually born in the Levant. Some say it was in Syria, others say it was in Lebanon, but everyone is positive that it definitely wasn’t Egypt. The original dish started with your average mahshi but filled with minced beef instead of our mixture of rice and tomato paste. However, it has been proven that vine leaves mahshi originated in Turkey.