Nomadic Treats

Street Food

  • Hawawshi

    Hawawshi

    Hawawshi is an Egyptian stuffed bread filled with a seasoned mixture of minced meat, onion, peppers, herbs and spices, then baked until the bread is crisp and the filling is cooked through. Rich, savory and deeply aromatic, it is closely associated with casual eating and street food in Egypt.

    What is Hawawshi?

    Hawawshi is made by packing a seasoned minced-meat mixture inside Egyptian bread before baking it until the exterior becomes crisp and the filling cooks in its own juices. The bread absorbs some of the rendered fat and spices, which gives the inside a rich, savory flavor while the outside develops a toasted crust.

    It is usually eaten hot and can be served on its own or with simple accompaniments such as pickles, tahini sauce or salad. Because the filling is enclosed inside the bread, Hawawshi is easy to portion and eat by hand, which helps explain its popularity as a casual meal and street-food favorite.

    Hawawshi in Egyptian food culture

    Hawawshi is closely associated with everyday eating in Egypt, where it is sold by street-food vendors, bakeries and casual restaurants as well as prepared at home. Its combination of bread and seasoned meat makes it filling, portable and easy to eat without cutlery, which helps explain its popularity as a quick meal.

    Although the basic idea is simple, Hawawshi varies from one cook and region to another. The seasoning can change, the meat may be mixed with different vegetables or herbs, and the bread can range from soft and juicy inside to deeply crisp on the outside depending on how it is baked.

    What does Hawashi taste like?

    Hawawshi is deeply savory and aromatic, with the flavor of the meat shaped by onion, peppers, herbs and warm spices. As it bakes, the seasoned juices soak into the inner surface of the bread, giving it richness while the exterior becomes toasted and crisp.

    Texture is a major part of the appeal. A good Hawawshi combines a juicy, tender filling with bread that is crisp around the edges but softer where it meets the meat. Pickles, salad or tahini sauce can add acidity and freshness alongside the richness of the sandwich.

    Where does Hawawshi come from?

    Hawawshi is distinctly Egyptian, but its precise origin is difficult to pin down. A popular story attributes the dish to a Cairo butcher whose surname was El-Hawawshi, although accounts disagree about his first name and exactly when he began serving meat stuffed inside baladi bread.

    Many retellings place Hawawshi’s creation in the 1970s, while other accounts suggest it may have appeared several decades earlier. With the historical details uncertain, the butcher story is best treated as part of the dish’s popular history rather than a completely settled origin. What is clear is that Hawawshi went on to become widely eaten across Egypt and strongly associated with Egyptian casual food and street-food culture.

    Make Hawawshi at home

    Ready to make it yourself? Follow the full Hawawshi recipe with ingredients, step-by-step instructions, recipe notes and video.

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  • Hawawshi

    Hawawshi

    This Egyptian Hawawshi recipe fills balady bread or pita with a richly seasoned beef mixture, sheep tail fat or beef tallow, onion, tomato and optional chilies, then bakes the stuffed breads until crisp outside and juicy inside. It is served hot with a creamy tahini-yogurt sauce on the side.

    Watch how to make Hawawshi

    Ingredients

    For the Hawawshi

    • 5 medium Egyptian balady breads or pita breads
    • 500 g (about 1 lb 2 oz) minced beef
    • 50 g (about 1 3/4 oz) sheep tail fat, frozen and grated, or beef tallow
    • 1 medium onion, about 150 g (5 oz)
    • 1/2 medium tomato, about 75 g (2 1/2 oz)
    • 2 fresh chilies (optional)
    • 1 tsp salt
    • 1 tsp black pepper
    • 1 tsp meat spice blend, baharat or all-purpose meat seasoning

    For the tahini-yogurt sauce

    • 120 g (1/2 cup) tahini
    • 120 g (1/2 cup) Greek yogurt
    • 2 tbsp (30 ml) fresh lemon juice
    • 2 small garlic cloves, minced or grated
    • 1/4 tsp salt, or to taste
    • 2–6 tbsp (30–90 ml) water, as needed to loosen the sauce

    Instructions

    Prepare the filling

    Preheat the oven to 180°C / 360°F.

    If using sheep tail fat, freeze it until firm, then grate it. Add the grated fat to the minced beef. If sheep tail fat is unavailable, use beef tallow instead.

    Place the onion, tomato and chilies, if using, in a food processor. Pulse until very finely chopped, but not completely liquid.

    Add the vegetable mixture to the minced beef and fat. Season with the salt, black pepper and meat spice blend. Mix thoroughly until evenly combined and slightly sticky.

    Fill the bread

    Divide the meat mixture into 5 equal portions.

    Make an opening in each balady bread or pita large enough to add one portion of filling. Stuff the bread, then press gently from the top to spread the meat evenly all the way to the edges.

    Bake the Hawawshi

    Place the stuffed breads on a parchment-lined baking tray.

    Bake on the middle rack for about 30 to 40 minutes, flipping after the first 15 minutes. The bread should be crisp and golden and the meat fully cooked inside.

    Make the tahini-yogurt sauce

    While the Hawawshi is baking, combine the tahini, Greek yogurt, lemon juice, garlic and salt in a bowl.

    Add the water gradually, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the sauce is creamy and pourable. Taste and adjust with additional lemon juice, salt or garlic if needed.

    Serve

    Serve the Hawawshi hot with the tahini-yogurt sauce on the side.

    Recipe Notes

    Balady bread or pita

    Egyptian balady bread is traditional for Hawawshi, but pita bread works well if balady bread is not available.

    Sheep tail fat

    Sheep tail fat gives the filling a richer, more traditional flavor. If you cannot find it, beef tallow is a good substitute.

    Cooking Hawawshi in a pan

    To cook Hawawshi in a pan instead of the oven, brush the outside of the bread lightly with ghee and cook over medium-low heat, flipping occasionally, until the bread is crisp and the meat is fully cooked inside.

    Learn more about Hawawshi

    Want to know more about the dish itself? Explore the origins, food culture and story behind Hawawshi.

  • Koshary

    Koshary

    This Koshary recipe brings together rice, lentils, pasta and chickpeas with a spiced tomato sauce, garlic-vinegar dressing and crisp fried onions. Each component is prepared separately before being layered together, creating the mix of comforting starches, acidity, spice and crunch that defines the Egyptian dish.

    Plan ahead: the dried chickpeas need to soak for at least 8 hours before cooking.

    Watch how to make Koshary

    Ingredients

    For the crispy onions

    • 2 large white or yellow onions
    • 1 tbsp flour
    • 1 tbsp starch
    • A generous amount of oil, for frying

    For the Koshary

    • 125 g (4.4 oz) brown lentils
    • 250 g (8.8 oz) rice
    • 1 cup dried chickpeas
    • 125 g (4.4 oz) spaghetti, broken into thirds
    • 125 g (4.4 oz) small pasta
    • 75 g (2.6 oz) vermicelli
    • 1 bouillon cube
    • 1 tbsp cumin
    • Salt and pepper, to taste

    For the tomato sauce

    • 1 tbsp minced garlic
    • 1 tsp cumin
    • 1 tsp coriander
    • 1 tbsp tomato paste
    • 720 ml (3 US cups) tomato juice, or 480 ml (2 US cups) passata, thinned with a little water if needed
    • 1/2 tsp sugar
    • Salt, to taste
    • Some of the reserved onion-frying oil

    For the Daqqa (garlic-vinegar sauce)

    • 240 ml (1 US cup) hot water
    • 120 ml (1/2 US cup) vinegar
    • Juice of 1 lemon
    • 1/2 tsp cumin
    • 1/2 tsp coriander
    • 1 tbsp minced garlic
    • Salt, to taste

    Instructions

    Make ahead

    Soak the chickpeas overnight. Drain, then boil them in fresh water until tender. Drain and set aside. Canned chickpeas can be used instead if you are short on time.

    Soak the brown lentils in water for at least 3 hours. In a separate bowl, soak the rice for 30 minutes. Drain both well before cooking.

    Fry the onions

    Slice the onions as evenly as possible. Pat them thoroughly dry, then toss with the flour and starch until evenly coated.

    Heat a generous amount of oil in a pan and fry the onions until golden and crisp. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel to drain. Reserve the onion-frying oil for the remaining steps.

    Cook the Koshary

    Heat some of the reserved onion-frying oil in a large pot. Add the vermicelli and fry until golden.

    Add the drained rice and lentils, followed by the spaghetti and small pasta. Mix well and cook for about 1 minute.

    Add the bouillon cube, cumin, salt and pepper. Pour in enough hot water to come about 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) above the ingredients. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer until the rice, lentils and pasta are cooked through and the liquid has been absorbed.

    Check occasionally as it cooks. When everything is tender, remove the pot from the heat and leave the lid slightly ajar for a few minutes so any excess moisture can escape.

    Make the tomato sauce

    Heat a little of the reserved onion-frying oil in a pan. Add the garlic and cook briefly, then stir in the cumin and coriander until fragrant.

    Add the tomato paste and mix well. Pour in the tomato juice, or the passata thinned with a little water if needed. Add the sugar and salt to taste. Simmer for a few minutes, adding a little more water if the sauce becomes too thick.

    Make the Daqqa

    Combine the hot water, vinegar, lemon juice, cumin, coriander, garlic and salt in a bowl. Mix well and set aside until serving.

    Assemble the Koshary

    Spoon the cooked Koshary mixture onto a serving plate or into individual bowls. Spoon over the tomato sauce, add the chickpeas, then finish generously with the crisp fried onions.
    Drizzle with Daqqa to taste and serve immediately.

    Learn more about Koshary

    Want to know more about the dish itself? Explore the story, origins and food culture behind Koshary

  • Koshary

    Koshary

    Koshary is one of Egypt’s most distinctive everyday dishes: a hearty combination of rice, lentils, pasta and chickpeas topped with spiced tomato sauce, garlic-vinegar sauce and crisp fried onions. Cheap, filling and deeply associated with Egyptian street food, it brings together simple ingredients into a dish with layers of texture, acidity, spice and crunch.

    What is Koshary?

    Rather than being cooked as a single combined dish, Koshary is assembled from separately prepared components and finished just before serving. The base is layered into the bowl, then the sauces and fried onions are added on top. This makes the final balance easy to adjust, and diners can add more tomato sauce, garlic-vinegar dressing or heat according to their preference.

    It is widely eaten as an inexpensive, filling meal and is especially associated with Egypt’s casual restaurants and street-food culture. Koshary shops range from small neighborhood counters to large specialist restaurants devoted almost entirely to the dish.

    Why Koshary matters in Egypt?

    Koshary occupies an unusual place in Egyptian food culture because it is both intensely ordinary and instantly recognizable. It is inexpensive enough to be an everyday meal, substantial enough to satisfy on its own, and familiar across different parts of Egyptian society. For many people, it is less a special-occasion food than something woven into daily life.

    The specialist Koshary shop is also part of the experience. Ingredients are prepared in quantity, assembled quickly and served with the sauces and condiments that allow each diner to adjust the final dish. That combination of affordability, speed and familiarity has helped make Koshary one of the foods most strongly associated with modern Egyptian eating.

    History and origins of Koshary

    The exact origins of Koshary are debated. One of the earliest known written descriptions comes from the nineteenth century, when the British explorer Richard Burton wrote of a dish eaten in Suez made from rice, lentils and onions. That early version was much simpler than the Koshary served in Egypt today.

    Over time, the dish evolved as new ingredients and influences became part of Egyptian cooking. Pasta, chickpeas, tomato sauce, garlic-vinegar dressing and crisp onions were gradually incorporated, creating the layered form now associated with modern Koshary. Although comparisons are often made with Indian khichdi and other rice-and-lentil dishes, historians do not agree on a single foreign origin for Koshary.

    The sauces and toppings that define Koshary

    Koshary depends heavily on what goes on top of the rice, lentils and pasta. A rich tomato sauce provides much of the dish’s flavor, while a sharp garlic-and-vinegar sauce—often known as daqqa or dakka—adds acidity that cuts through the starchier ingredients. A hot chili sauce, commonly called shatta, can be added for extra heat.

    Crisp fried onions provide the final contrast, adding sweetness, texture and crunch. The balance of tomato sauce, vinegar, garlic and chili can be adjusted at the table, which means two bowls built from the same basic ingredients can taste noticeably different depending on how each person seasons them.

    What does Koshary taste like?

    Koshary is hearty and savory, but the finished dish is more lively than its base ingredients might suggest. Rice, lentils and pasta create a mild, comforting foundation, while tomato sauce adds richness and a gentle tang. The garlic-vinegar dressing brings sharpness and acidity, and chili sauce can add anything from a little warmth to noticeable heat.

    Texture is just as important as flavor. The soft grains, lentils and pasta contrast with firm chickpeas and crisp fried onions, so a good bowl combines softness, crunch, acidity and spice in almost every bite.

    Cook Koshary at home

    Ready to make it yourself? Follow the full Koshary recipe with ingredients, step-by-step instructions and video.

    Get the Koshary recipe →