North African food: A thread.

• Koshary / كشاري - is an Egyptian dish made of rice, macaroni & lentils all mixed together & topped with spicy tomato sauce & fried onions.

• Couscous - is a Maghrebi dish made of small steamed balls of semolina with a soup of veggies. it varies from to to to .

• Bamya - is an Okra with veggies or/and meat stew, it’s widely known all over the Middle East and North Africa.

• Shakshouka - is traditional Maghrebi dish made of eggs poached in a sauce of tomatoes, chili peppers, and onions, often spiced with cumin.

• Bastilla or Pastilla - is a chicken or any meat pie, it’s basically a Moroccan/Andalusian dish that later spread in the Maghreb.

• Masfouf - basically Couscous with dry fruits or steamed vegetables sometimes topped with fermented milk (Lben).

• Seffa - a famous Moroccan dish which features saffron chicken, lamb or beef hidden within a dome of steamed couscous or broken vermicelli.

• Sudanese Mahshi - is a Sudanese dish made of assorted bell peppers and zucchini, cored, stuffed with minced meat.

• Hlelem - is a soup of vegetables mainly beans and noodles, & it’s a traditional Tunisian dish.

• Hwawshi - is an Egyptian dish which features small dough stuffed with ground beef, veggies, and olives.

• Asida - a dish made up of a cooked wheat flour lump of dough, sometimes with added butter or honey. it’s eaten all over MENA.

• Lablabi - is a Tunisian dish based on chick peas in a thin garlic & cumin-flavoured soup.

• Berkoukes - it’s like couscous but bigger grains & cooked directly in a soup, it’s eaten all over the Maghreb.

• Bissara - is both a soup and a bean dip in African cuisine, prepared with dried, puréed broad beans as a primary ingredient.

• Madqouqa (in Morocco)/ H’miss (in Algeria) - is a dish made of cooked & mashed tomatoes & peppers with a lot of olive oil.

• Kesra/Aghrom - Algerian semolina flatbread, it’s literally eaten with everything & anything. especially with H’miss

Matlo3/مطلوع - the larger, bigger & softer version of Kesra, it’s amazing when dipped in olive oil.

• Fūl Medames - a dish of cooked fava beans served with vegetable oil & cumin. originally from Egypt & eaten all over MENA.

• Rfissa - a Moroccan dish served with chicken & lentils & fenugreek seeds, msemmen, meloui or day-old bread, & the blend of Ras el hanout.

• Falafal or Taamiya - is a deep-fried ball, doughnut or patty made of ground chickpeas, fava beans, or both. It’s eaten all over MENA.

• Sheikh Mahshi - eggplants stuffed with meat & accompnied with rice. You can find it all over MENA espacially in Libya and Lebanon.

• Molokhiya - is a nutritious & delicious Jute leaves soup, eaten all over MENA.

• Qulqas - is an Egyptian dish based on Colcasia cubes cooked in Swiss chard & Coriander broth.

• Harira/Chorba - is a soup of veggies with vermicelli or crushed green wheat, it’s a traditional dish of the Maghreb.

• Goullash - is an Egyptian dish also known as Phyllo meat pie, it’s eaten all over the Mediterranean coast.

• Tagine - is a Maghrebi dish which is named after the earthenware pot in which it is cooked. You can put anything in it & still tastes .

• Bazeen - is a traditional Libyan dish based on an unleavened bread prepared with barley, water & salt, with meat, veggies & boiled eggs.

• Batbot (Mkhamer or Toghrift) - is a Moroccan bread baked in a pan & sometimes stuffed salads, meats & whatever you want in it.

• Saykouk - is a Maghrebi dish which features couscous & fermented milk (Lben).

• Babboush - is a soup of snails with spices, it’s a traditional Moroccan dish.

• Fatta - it’s a MENA dish consisting of pieces of fresh, toasted, or stale flatbread covered with other ingredients (meat, rice, etc..).

• Kofta - it’s a dish that consists of grilled beef balls with vegetables & rice. It’s eaten all over MENA & Mediterranean countries.

• Harcha - is a Moroccan pan-fried flatbread made of semolina. Perfect with any dish, whether salty or sweet, especially for breakfast.

• Slata Meshwiya (Grilled Salad) - is a Tunisian dish which consists of grilled tomatoes, onions & peppers, served with olive oil & eggs.

• Tamina - is an Algerian dessert made of toasted semolina & honey, it’s made on birthdays, weddings & other traditional celebrations.

• Chebakia - it’s strips of dough rolled & fried until golden, coated with a syrup made of honey & rosewater then sprinkled with sesame.

• Griwech - the Algerian version of Chebakia, the only difference is their form.

• Basboussa - is a sweet cake made from cooked semolina or farina soaked in simple syrup. it’s eaten all over MENA.

• Rechta - is a Maghrebi dish that consists of homemade noodles with chicken & vegetables accompanied with a cinnamon flavored sauce.

• Bsisa - a typical North African food, consists of a variety of mixtures of roasted cereals ground with fenugreek, aniseed, cumin &!sugar.

• Msemen - is a traditional, pancake-like bread of the Maghreb, it’s always accompanied with sweet food like (dry) fruits & honey.

• M’hajeb - it’s just the salty & spicy version of Msemen, it’s also a Maghrebi dish mainly eaten in Algeria.

• Fricassé - it’s a Tunisian snack that consists of stuffing a fried roll with flaky tuna, hard -boiled eggs, preserved lemons & harissa .

• Brik , Bourek , Briouat - is a dish consisting of thin pastry around a filling (meets, veggies, cheese, etc…), commonly deep fried.

• Kisra - is a Sudanese traditional flatbread that you can eat with literally every dish.

• Tamr Mahshi - it’s mainly a dessert made of dates stuffed with almonds, nuts & sometimes cheese, perfect for Iftaar during Ramadan.

• Makrout/Makroud - is a North African sweet pastry filled with dates, nuts or almond paste & coated with honey & has a diamond shape.

• Kelb Ellouz - is a North African pastry made of toasted semolina & almond drenched in syrup. it’s very popular in Ramadan.

• Mahshi Waraa Enab - it’s a dish that consists of stuffed raisin leaf rolls, it’s a traditional Middle Eastern & North African dish.

• Baghrir - is a small & spongy pancake made in the Magreb with semolina or flour; when cooked correctly, they are riddled with tiny holes.

• Yoyo - is a Tunisian orange or lemon flavored & glazed doughnut soaked in honey syrup. accompanied with nuts or coconut.

• Sfenj or Khfaf - is a Maghrebi doughnut, cooked in oil, eaten plain or sprinkled with sugar or soaked in honey. Perfect with atay (tea).

• Tcharek - are Algerian crescent shaped pastries/cookies filled with date paste & flavoured with cinnamon & orange blossom water.

• Fateer Meshaltet - is a traditional Egyptian layered pastry, it can be stuffed with sausage & cheese, or with cream & honey.

• Mahshi Kromb/ محشي كرنب - it’s a dish that consists of Cabbage leaves stuffed with ground meat, rice & spices, it’s eaten all over MENA.

• Macarona Beshamel - is a dish famous in Egypt & other Mediterranean/MENA countries, & it’s made of macaroni, meat & Bechamel sauce.

• Karantika or Garantita - is a tart/pie made of chickpea flour, water & some spices. Very famous in Algeria, especially as sandwiches.