When it comes to finding food from different ethnic backgrounds, Montreal is definitely the place to be. However, I can never seem to find an authentic Egyptian restaurant. There are several Lebanese and Moroccan establishments, but not Egyptian, which is a shame really. There are many similarities, but when it comes down to it, there is always something different about the taste.
Whenever my friends come over to my house, they practically drool over my mother’s cooking. Sometimes I think they only come over for the food because it’s that good. So here I am, sharing two of my favourite Egyptian dishes, moussaka and sweet potato dessert. They’re delicious. But don’t take my word for it, try them for yourself.
Egyptian moussaka
This is what you’ll need:
2 eggplants, cut into half circles
5 potatoes, peeled and cut into slices
1 green pepper, cut into slices
1 can of tomato sauce
5 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup of vinegar
Frying oil
Salt
Cumin
This is how you do it:
First, you will need to put one tablespoon of salt on your cut-up eggplants and leave it for about half an hour in the sun. This will help get rid of the water inside the eggplants. Then, you squeeze each piece to make sure they are dry.
Heat up the frying oil in a pan and proceed to fry the eggplants, the potatoes and the green peppers. Once they are cooked, you can take them out on paper towels to dry the oil.
Now, you will need to cook the sauce. Take five cloves of garlic and crush them. Then, fry them lightly in a small amount of oil until they become a light yellow. Add a teaspoon of cumin, a quarter cup of vinegar and one can of tomato sauce.
You can then add the fried eggplants, potatoes and green peppers into the sauce and let it cook until the vegetables have absorbed the sauce a bit. You’ll have to check the salt and add little by little as desired since the eggplants already have salt in them.
You can eat this with white rice or pita bread.
If you’re feeling a little adventurous and you would like to add a side of meat or poultry to the meal, here’s what you can do. You can get boneless chicken breasts, cut them horizontally into thin slices and dip them in an egg with salt. Then, you put it in bread crumbs (not actual bread crumbs, I’m talking about the ones you buy). Now just fry them in oil and they’re ready to eat.
Next, a meal is never complete without dessert. So here is an easy and fast dessert to complete this experience. Most places I’ve seen use sweet potatoes as a salty dish, but here’s a way to give meaning to its real name. I must warn you though, this is a really sweet dessert, so I hope you have a sweet tooth.
Sweet potato dessert
This is what you’ll need:
3 sweet potatoes
1 cup of milk
1 egg
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 thin stick of melted butter
Cinnamon
This is how you do it:
Put the sweet potatoes in the microwave for about two minutes or until tender. When you take them out, peel them and mash them in a bowl. Then, gradually add the egg, milk, sugar, melted butter and your desired amount of cinnamon while mixing the whole time.
After blending, spread in an oven pan and put it in the oven on 350 degrees Fahrenheit. You can leave it for 30 minutes or until you see the top get slightly darker.
