posted
well, since I enjoy cooking so much I can start with food recipes. I have a problem with brownies, I never seem to get them right, even after trying 5 different recipes. Anyone got a good recipe for them. I'm willing to trade it for my cheesecake recipe, I'm known to make a fabulous cheesecake(I'm a 20 year old egyptian boy, many people may find that amusing)
posted
Check this link for places where many Egyptian people, living in Cairo or Alexandria go to, hang-out, for dates or with groups of friends. http://www.yallabina.com
Each restaurant, bar, bistro, Cafe, is described including prices. Also if you check the 'Safety in Cairo' thread, on Visiting Egypt, you will find a few pictures of some of the places on this website, like Harris café and Café Riche.
Click on :http://www.yallabina.com/culture/ For Musical concerts in April.
And if you like Jazz:
Cairo Jazz Club Tel: 3459939 197, 26th July st. Agouza.
Enjoy!!
[This message has been edited by Monica (edited 26 April 2004).]
quote:Originally posted by focus683: well, since I enjoy cooking so much I can start with food recipes. I have a problem with brownies, I never seem to get them right, even after trying 5 different recipes. Anyone got a good recipe for them. I'm willing to trade it for my cheesecake recipe, I'm known to make a fabulous cheesecake(I'm a 20 year old egyptian boy, many people may find that amusing)
What's amusing about a guy that likes cooking?? Good on you I say. Anyway, I have a brownie recipe...it always works for me. So, here goes. 250g softened butter. 500g sugar 3 eggs 1 tsp vanilla essence 125g dark chocolate 125g sifted flour 1/2 tsp salt 125g chopped nuts (almonds are best I find)
Cream half of the butter with the sugar. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until light. stir in the vanilla. Put the leftover butter and the chocolate in a basin (heatproof) and stir until melted. Cool and then add with the butter and sugar mix. Then, stir in the flour, salt and nuts. Put into a greased shallow tin and bake in a preheated oven at 180 C for 45 mins. Let it cool and cut into squares and eat!! Yum yum...
posted
Lori, when you live in Egypt, most of the time you are a member in a Sporting club like:
Heliopolis Sporting Club
Gezira Sporting CLub
El- Ahly Egyptian Soccer team called El Ahly, they wear the red shirt!!! and they ROCK..most of the time!
Zamalek Same as above. The soccer team wears white shirts.
Maadi
Yacht Club
Equestrian Club
Shooting Club
Smouha, Alexandria
To enter one of those clubs if you are not a member you need a member to invite you. I am not sure if they SELL the 'carnets' or booklets, for foreigners, though.
posted
In The Name of Food: A dear friend of mine sent me this recipe. It is a splendid Russian soup I adore: here goes.. Borscht Prep: 10 min, Cook: 1:15.
Heat oil in heavy nonstick skillet over medium heat. Sauté onion and celery 4-5 minutes until softened. Add beets and cabbage. Stir in stock, vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 1 hour. Cool slightly, remove bay leaf and purée in a blender or food processor. Return to the pan, adding water if too thick. Reheat and serve. Soup it Up
posted
No offense Giggle Girl....but while your recipe is no doubt fantastic, I would prefer that recipes posted be posted by people that have actually accomplished cooking them in Egypt. That way if I need to know where to buy an ingredient you can tell me. If I have a question regarding my gas oven or stove, it too can be answered. So, in light of that thought, where do I get essence of vanilla and the Dark Chocolate in Cairo? I don't doubt that they are here, but what store carries them, and are they printed in English as such? Or what do I ask for in Arabic? And as long as I'm asking....is there such a thing here as Baking Soda? I mean like good old Arm and Hammer? What's it called? When I go for Baking Powder, that is even difficult to get the right stuff...what they sell here as Baking Powder is sweet, isn't it?
Also, do you guys really use a scale to weigh out the grams of each ingredient? How many cups is all that equal to? (<---- sez the metrically challenged American)
quote:Originally posted by GiggleGirl: What's amusing about a guy that likes cooking?? Good on you I say. Anyway, I have a brownie recipe...it always works for me. So, here goes. 250g softened butter. 500g sugar 3 eggs 1 tsp vanilla essence 125g dark chocolate 125g sifted flour 1/2 tsp salt 125g chopped nuts (almonds are best I find)
Cream half of the butter with the sugar. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until light. stir in the vanilla. Put the leftover butter and the chocolate in a basin (heatproof) and stir until melted. Cool and then add with the butter and sugar mix. Then, stir in the flour, salt and nuts. Put into a greased shallow tin and bake in a preheated oven at 180 C for 45 mins. Let it cool and cut into squares and eat!! Yum yum...
[This message has been edited by Debbie (edited 27 April 2004).]
posted
Debbie, Apparently u don't cook. These ingredients you're talking about are available at every major supermarket in town. I know where to get them.
Any way, my cheesecake recipe: Layer 1: Crush 1 small pack of Digestive biscuits into crumbs, and mix with a small pack of butter(about 250 gm). Spread in pan. Layer 2: Mix 1 tin of Nestle Cream, 2 sachets of Dream Whip Cream Chantilly powder, 1 pack of Philadelphia cream cheese (or 1 six piece pack of Kiri) and 1 sachet of gelatin powder dissolved in half a cup of hot water (I usually use any yellow jelly available like mango, banana, pinneapple,etc., gives them a better taste). Beat them together untill thick enough and spread over layer 1.
Put in fridge untill the cream is thick and holding, and Walla! enjoy!!
(You can put a third layer of strwaberry or cherry jelly if you want to, I usually do that)
posted
Debbie come ooon, all this stuff is available almost everywhere in Cairo! Try Alfa or Carrefoure if you hate searching deep. For vanilla just ask for ... vanilla. As for dark chocolate ask for "cooking chocolate". I like to cook too (and I am an Egyptian guy if you are the stereotypical kind). I love to make experiments with risotto, and when I get that right maybe I will work as a chef.
I am going to talk about cinemas. There are tonnes in Cairo but only a few are any good. My most favourite is Osman Group in Maadi (el-Bandar) it's very clean, the people watch silently, and the sound system is good. Galaxy in Manial is also good but the rooms are so small and sometimes the people do talk a lot (and it's not less expensive than OG). There's also family cinema in Maadi, it's new and fairly good with seven screens. But for some reason it's not as good as OG (but less expensive). Tell me what your favourite is everyone.
P.S. For all reasons avoid Odion in downtown, I once tried to watch "Crouching tiger, hidden dragon" there and I swear I didn't hear a word because all the "shabab rewesh" were testing their ringtones inside. I had to watch the film again in OG.
posted
Sporting club is a snobby subject. I'd rather stick to the lovely subject of food.
How abou something local, yummy and light ..
... LIKE RECIPES FOR BAMYA WITH EVERYTHING!!!
HELP EGYPTIANS! I have a box of frozen bamya in my fridge from my Syrian friend and have no idea how to cook them , they look quite different from the bamya my Mom cooks
posted
[BTW Not snobbish nowadays to belong to a Sporting club in Egypt, TRUST me!!!]
quote:Originally posted by Lori: Sporting club is a snobby subject. I'd rather stick to the lovely subject of food.
How abou something local, yummy and light ..
... LIKE RECIPES FOR BAMYA WITH EVERYTHING!!!
HELP EGYPTIANS! I have a box of frozen bamya in my fridge from my Syrian friend and have no idea how to cook them , they look quite different from the bamya my Mom cooks
HELP!!!
[This message has been edited by Monica (edited 27 April 2004).]
quote:Originally posted by kimo_the_maniac: the people watch silently.
Really? They watch silently? That's incrediable. I don't have that in my local cinema in the UK. There are always teenagers giggling, fat men rustling sweet papers, the inevitable phone rining (even though mobiles are banned) and romantic couples sucking each other's tonsils out instead of watching the film. LOL we could do with more cinemas like the one you describe!!
posted
Here is a way of cooking bamia. There are more ways, with no meat for example and no tomato paste.
6 tablespoons unsalted butter or olive oil. 2 lb (1 kg) stewing lamb or beef, cut into 1 in cubes. 2 onions, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, finely minced 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon ground coriander 1 cup (6oz/185 g) peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes 3 tablespoons tomato paste 1 cup stock (beef) or water, or as needed salt and freshly ground pepper 1-1 1/2 lb (500-750 g) bamia juice of 1 lemon
Instructions: Note: This can be prepared with lamb or beef. Serve with rice.
Preheat an oven to 325 F (165 C)
In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, warm 4 tablespoons of the butter or oil. Working in batches, add the meat and fry, turning, until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon transfer to a stew pot.
Add the onions to the fat remaining in the frying pan, and saute over medium heat until tender and translucent, 8-10 mins. Add the garlic, cumin, coriander, tomatoes, tomato paste, the 1 cup stock. Stir well. Pour over the meat and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and let it simmer until all the liquid is absorbed, about 1 1/2 Hrs. Taste and adjust the seasonings.
In a saute pan over medium heat, warm the remaining 2 tablespoons butter or oil Add the bamia and saute for 3 mins, stirring gently. Arrange the bamia on top of the meat. Sprinkle the lemon juice evenly over the surface. Re-cover and return at medium heat for 35 -40 minutes longer. Add stock or water if the mixture seems too dry. Serve the De'eyet "BAMIA" piping hot.
quote:Originally posted by Lori: Sporting club is a snobby subject. I'd rather stick to the lovely subject of food.
How abou something local, yummy and light ..
... LIKE RECIPES FOR BAMYA WITH EVERYTHING!!!
HELP EGYPTIANS! I have a box of frozen bamya in my fridge from my Syrian friend and have no idea how to cook them , they look quite different from the bamya my Mom cooks
HELP!!!
[This message has been edited by Monica (edited 27 April 2004).]
quote:Originally posted by focus683: Debbie, Apparently u don't cook. These ingredients you're talking about are available at every major supermarket in town. I know where to get them.
Well thanks so much for your help focus. Next time I need something I'll remember YOU know where to get it....you might not bother telling anybody, but focus knows where. GEEZ!
Now Kimo, I do believe Alfa may have it, but do you think the help there speaks enough English for me to really walk up to them and say "cooking Chocolate" and they will know what I want? Wanna bet? Also, is Vanilla the universal word for vanilla too? Do you two guys that know so much about it have brand names you could share so I can be sure I'm getting what I want? And is the vanilla liquid? I seriously have not seen anything near the spices (which is where it would be where I'm from) that says vanilla on the bottle. I'm not saying it's not there, I'm saying I haven't seen it. If you are so smart about it, tell me what section to look in because again, I find most of the help at these grocery stores are very English challenged and my Arabic is slightly worse than their English.
posted
Think I have to check the spelling and my cooking books.. but maybe I meant Solianka
Posts: 477 | From: Egypt | Registered: Jan 2004
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posted
Kat...That's it what I meant: the spicy soup from Georgia and not Solianka. You edited your post after mine, so it might look a bit confusing. I will post the recipe once I get it. Monica... simply trying to impress you Posts: 477 | From: Egypt | Registered: Jan 2004
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posted
kat..Obviously I don't read or else I answer the unedited post.. thanks for the recipe.
Posts: 477 | From: Egypt | Registered: Jan 2004
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posted
No Debbie I don't wanna bet, I don't know if they speak English, I never tried that one. So yeah you have a point there. But come on you've been in Egypt all these years and you are still a tourist at heart. You can't do shopping yet??? :-) The point is Debbie you don't need to go to Alpha, this is in most groceries!
For vanilla, I don't know what section exactly because I (blush) don't concentrate that much. But here are a couple of brands: Cook's (these come in small packets and are heavily sweetened, and Abu Ali (comes in a small jar and is very concentrated, serious sh*t). For liquid vanilla try "ro7 el-vanilia" I think that's what they call it. And it's usualy a small, obscure bottle (and yes next to spices) and is usualy marked only in Arabic (WHICH YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO READ BY NOW FOR GOD'S SAKE). If you want fresh Vanilla pods, it can be hard to get but I think a few places have it. In Carrefoure I think you can find the cooking choc in the area around the Turkish coffee grinders, you know that area with the strong smell? If not then try near butter in the fridges (I guess that's where it is in Alfa). I will have to check this with someone who actualy knows her way around.
Focus, there are a lot of us out there LOL. What is the problem with your brownies, ours are always just fine. Sometimes they turn out a bit soggy but mostly they are very good.
posted
kat you're funny! but you're right when a man cooks, it is a real pleasure in the kitchen ~ cooking together or taking turns ~
But isn't it impressive though that in Egypt, you can find all these ingredients.
BTW, this thread is great Lori, the non Egyptians that move to Egypt, live in Egypt, can still have their own country's meals in their home away from home.
[This message has been edited by Monica (edited 28 April 2004).]
quote:Originally posted by Debbie: Now Kimo, I do believe Alfa may have it, but do you think the help there speaks enough English for me to really walk up to them and say "cooking Chocolate" and they will know what I want? Wanna bet? Also, is Vanilla the universal word for vanilla too?
Debbie, I have a great brownies recipe that I've been using for almost ten years now. I'll bring it back to Cairo with me and make some for you. And you don't necessarily need dark chocolate for it (which is hard to find unless you buy the really expensive kind from Lindt), you can always make them with cocoa powder.
As for vanilla, I think it's the same word in Arabic, at least in classical, but you might have to ask an Egyptian for the pronunciation because it also means shirt (like the shirts soccer teams wear) ... I have not seen natural vanilla anywhere in Cairo, don't like the liquid stuff, I prefer to scratch the stuff out of the pod or buy it in powdered form without any additives.
quote:Originally posted by kimo_the_maniac: For vanilla, I don't know what section exactly because I (blush) don't concentrate that much. But here are a couple of brands: Cook's (these come in small packets and are heavily sweetened, and Abu Ali (comes in a small jar and is very concentrated, serious sh*t). For liquid vanilla try "ro7 el-vanilia" I think that's what they call it. And it's usualy a small, obscure bottle (and yes next to spices) and is usualy marked only in Arabic (WHICH YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO READ BY NOW FOR GOD'S SAKE). If you want fresh Vanilla pods, it can be hard to get but I think a few places have it. In Carrefoure I think you can find the cooking choc in the area around the Turkish coffee grinders, you know that area with the strong smell? If not then try near butter in the fridges (I guess that's where it is in Alfa). I will have to check this with someone who actualy knows her way around.
Thank you for this Kimo. It actually is VERY enlightening. I've NEVER seen anything but liquid vanilla extract or vanilla beans. When you say "a small packet", does that mean it's a powder? Now that is just plain weird for someone that has never seen it that way. Regarding "any grocery store".... I still say WRONG. I have a little one around the corner from my house that is pretty good, but still can't find it in there, but then what you said about the cooking chocolate being near coffee grinders or in the cooler might explain it. Why would you put dark chocolate near the coffee or in the cooler by the butter? This is my problem, I was trying to apply some logic to the idea of where to look for it.
And for those that are laughing at me because I don't or rather HAVEN'T cooked a lot since I moved here, you might be finally figuring out that the reason is that I generally couldn't find the ingredients I wanted. I gave up. I wasn't about to buy one of everything to taste it and figure out what it was. The dairy case at any grocery store is a huge mystery to me.
quote:Originally posted by Debbie: Thank you for this Kimo. It actually is VERY enlightening. I've NEVER seen anything but liquid vanilla extract or vanilla beans. When you say "a small packet", does that mean it's a powder? Now that is just plain weird for someone that has never seen it that way. Regarding "any grocery store".... I still say WRONG. I have a little one around the corner from my house that is pretty good, but still can't find it in there, but then what you said about the cooking chocolate being near coffee grinders or in the cooler might explain it. Why would you put dark chocolate near the coffee or in the cooler by the butter? This is my problem, I was trying to apply some logic to the idea of where to look for it.
And for those that are laughing at me because I don't or rather HAVEN'T cooked a lot since I moved here, you might be finally figuring out that the reason is that I generally couldn't find the ingredients I wanted. I gave up. I wasn't about to buy one of everything to taste it and figure out what it was. The dairy case at any grocery store is a huge mystery to me.
hehehe.
Well elementary dear Debbie, you put chocolate near coffee because when you smell coffee you remember Brazil which is next to Bolivia which is a major producer of cocoa. And you put it near butter because butter is made of milk and chocolate goes into orios and orios are dunked in milk. What is it with you??
I invite you to a shopping expedition to Carrefoure some day and maybe we can dig up some of the stuff you need.
quote:Originally posted by kimo_the_maniac: Well elementary dear Debbie, you put chocolate near coffee because when you smell coffee you remember Brazil which is next to Bolivia which is a major producer of cocoa. And you put it near butter because butter is made of milk and chocolate goes into orios and orios are dunked in milk.
Thanks for this insight into Egyptian logic, Kimo.
quote:Originally posted by kimo_the_maniac: hehehe.
Well elementary dear Debbie, you put chocolate near coffee because when you smell coffee you remember Brazil which is next to Bolivia which is a major producer of cocoa. And you put it near butter because butter is made of milk and chocolate goes into orios and orios are dunked in milk. What is it with you??
I invite you to a shopping expedition to Carrefoure some day and maybe we can dig up some of the stuff you need.
I love it Kimo...thank you! That is GREAT. And, I would LOVE to take you up on your Carrefoure shopping adventure. You can call yourself Casual Carrefoure and start a business! LOL
posted
Katrina, u can't just get any recipe off the net and think u can make it. Many ingredients are not available in egypt (and for God's sake it contains red wine).
Giggle girl your brownies recipe was marvellous. I finally got to make good brownies.
Kimo I live in maadi within a 5 minute drive to Carrefoure. Can I go with you and Debbie and treat you both to a Cinnabon?
quote:Originally posted by focus683: Can I go with you and Debbie and treat you both to a Cinnabon ... Cinnabon ... Cinnabon ... Cinnabon ... nnabon ... bon ... bon .....
Sure focus please come, and not for any materialistic selfish hot from the oven overpriced piece of heaven reason, no not at all. Ahem.
quote:Originally posted by focus683: Katrina, u can't just get any recipe off the net and think u can make it. Many ingredients are not available in egypt (and for God's sake it contains red wine).
Giggle girl your brownies recipe was marvellous. I finally got to make good brownies.
Kimo I live in maadi within a 5 minute drive to Carrefoure. Can I go with you and Debbie and treat you both to a Cinnabon?
Focus and Kimo.... YUM! You got a date! I can see that maybe the next ES meeting will be outside Cinnabon, huh?
What a great idea. When do we go?
And Focus, for this, I'll even forgive you for the snotty stuff you said about my not cooking. LOL
posted
Alright Debbie, if that's what it takes to forgive me, I'm totally ready. I didn't mean to offend u, sorry. I'll also show you where u can get everything u need so that you would also know where to get them. Just email me any time u n kimo and set a time to meet there (preferably during a weekday when it's not overcrowded with snobbish arrogant teens). looking forward to it.
i apologize also to katrina. didn't realize people cook with wine in egypt. none of my business even if they did.
any other person here got an interesting recipe they're willing to share?
quote:Originally posted by focus683: Just email me any time u n kimo and set a time to meet there (preferably during a weekday when it's not overcrowded with snobbish arrogant teens). looking forward to it.
Need an email address to get this going please. If you are shy, mine is Dds71@aol.com
P.S. I'm good with a weekday. I'm free this week until Thursday (during the day).
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