Thread by @samielge

I've been seeing some stories that the food variety at #COP27 includes many meat dishes. This is a pity because Egypt has a lot of delicious #vegetarian/#vegan dishes!

Here's a thread about the ones that I know and love, including links to recipes.

Let's go! 🧵🧑‍🍳🍽️
1/13

Let's start from one of my favourites: ta'ameya aka. Egyptian falafel.

These will blow your mind. They're like falafel but actually quite different in taste. They are green inside because of all the added herbs, yummy!
2/13

amiraspantry.com/falafel/

Then there's this thing that goes very well with pita bread, ta'ameya or by itself: ful medames or just ful.

There's a legendary place in Alexandria that serves the best ful ta'ameya, this bean thing combined with falafel and pita bread.
3/13

amiraspantry.com/foul-ful-medam…

Koshari, the national dish of Egypt! Chickpeas, macaroni lentils, rice and vermicelli with some fried onions, tomato and cumin sauce, what a mix!

Very filling and can be vegan. I had a very spicy version of this during the summer, loved it!
4/13

amiraspantry.com/egyptian-kosha…

Shorbet ads aka. Egyptian lentil soup. Here I see some differences on how this was prepared in my childhood compared to this recipe. We always had green lentils. Very smooth and great with some lemon/lime. This was our starter during festivities.
5/13

amiraspantry.com/red-lentil-sou…

Here's one I haven't done myself but had a lot during childhood: bamya aka. okra stew. This recipe is with meat, but in my opinion you could easily drop it or replace it.

Okra is something that might be a bit weird, at least for Nordic people.
6/13

amiraspantry.com/bamya-okra/

Warak enab! A classic! Grape leaves stuffed with rice. You'll need to invest some handwork time for these but it will be worth it. Works great as a party snack as well, e.g. with tzatziki sauce.
7/13

amiraspantry.com/stuffed-grape-…

This one is kind of related to the previous one. Mahshi is just a common term for stuffed veggies. This is a vegan mahshi recipe.
8/13

amiraspantry.com/rice-stuffed-v…

Shakshuka is something that's perhaps a bit more popular. I see some resemblances e.g. to moussaka. If I remember correctly, last time I made shakshuka I just left the eggs out, turned out completely fine!
9/13

amiraspantry.com/shakshuka/

Not a dish in itself but something to try instead of hummus: tahini sauce. It has its own distinct flavour and can be used e.g. for dipping veggies, as a salad dressing etc.
10/13

amiraspantry.com/tahini-authent…

Finally, another great sauce/soup called molokhiya. We always used this as a topping for rice, it's delicious, although I admit that the texture might seem a bit weird at first taste!
11/13

amiraspantry.com/mulukhia-aka-j…

As you can see there are plenty of traditional options in Egyptian cuisine for vegetarians and vegans, and here are only a few of them! #COP27 would be a great opportunity to showcase climate action by serving meat-free, sustainable food.
12/13

If there's anything you would add to the list, please do so! :) Also please notice that I am aware that the dishes presented are not solely Egyptian but used in many other Mediterranean countries as well. I'm half Egyptian, half Finn so please forgive me for any mistakes 😃
13/13