CHICKPEA SALAD: A Refreshing Treat!

Reconstructing the ancient Egyptian diet may at first seem challenging. The ancient Egyptian culture combined with Roman culture during the first six centuries of the first millennium CE. The Empire ruled first from Rome, and then from Constantinople after the mid-4th century. A distinctive Coptic culture emerged: an inheritance of the ancient Egyptian culture with Hellenistic influence and increasingly Christian through the first six centuries of the current era.


While a few detailed documents remain of ancient Egyptian activities and industries (as in the Medical Papyri), we have no such comprehensive resource for food preparation. It is only in rare instances that we have a full recipe preserved, as is the case with “Date Candy,” found etched on a piece of broken pottery to about 1600 BCE. In order to recreate what they ate, we instead rely on a diverse array of sources including temple records, tomb paintings, food remains in tombs, and ethnographic examples from past and present Egyptian eras.

Chickpea Salad is a reconstruction based mainly on this latter category. A popular and refreshing dish from Egypt’s Coptic, Islamic and modern periods, this salad combines a few simple native Egyptian and imported ingredients from the past 4,000 years.

Ingredients (the basics):

• 1 can Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans) (15 oz.)
• 1 ½ cup coarsely chopped Cucumbers
• 1 ½ cup chopped Tomatoes
• ½ cup chopped Red Onions
• 1 cup coarsely crumbled Feta Cheese
• ½ cup Olive Oil
• 1/3 cup Vinegar

Ingredients (optional):

• Celery, Garlic, Salt & Pepper, chopped Parsley, and plain yogurt. Large leaf lettuce for optional serving suggestion. Eat with Pita bread.

Preparation:

1. Mix olive oil and white wine vinegar
2. Add in drained garbanzo beans with oil/vinegar mix and let sit for 5 minutes
3. Add in cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and feta
4. Add in any optional ingredients desired
5. Mix well and enjoy!

Serving Suggestion:

• Spoon mixture into a bowl lined with large lettuce leaves, as in the photos.

Recipe for Fig Cakes

With an abundance of Figs in Ancient Egypt, many delicious dishes were created. Here is a modern version of an ancient delight! If we recall how costly and labor intensive the importing of spices was from foreign lands, we can be very grateful for the ease with which we obtain these items today.

• 1 package figs



• 1 cup slivered almonds



• 1 cup chopped walnuts



• Nutmeg



• Cinnamon



• Honey

With a mortar and pestle, or small food processor, grind almonds into small pieces. Set almonds aside. Grind walnuts until they are a paste consistency; add a small amount of water if needed. Set walnut paste aside. Grind figs, almond paste, a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg, and a small amount of water. Roll the mixture into small one inch balls. Coat the balls with ground up almonds. Enjoy the sweet and healthy treat by dipping the fig balls in honey.

FEATURED RECIPE – BASBOUSA

Looking for a quick and easy dessert recipe? Show your friends and family how special they are with this recipe for basbousa, a savory treat enjoyed in Egypt and throughout the Near East.

BASBOUSA INGREDIENTS:

Syrup Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups water
• juice from 1 lemon (or 2 tablespoons orange juice)
• 1 teaspoon honey(optional)

Cake Ingredients:

• 2 cups semolina
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 2 eggs
• blanched split almonds
• whipped cream (optional)

PREPARATION:

Prepare syrup first. Dissolve sugar in water in a medium saucepan. Add lemon juice and bring to a boil. Once the syrup begins to boil, add in honey. Reduce heat and allow to slowly boil for about 8-10 minutes.Remove from heat and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease and flour a 9x12 baking dish.

Cream together butter and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add eggs and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine semolina, baking powder, and baking soda. Slowly add to butter and egg mixture. Stir in milk.

Pour mixture into baking dish and smooth with spoon.

Take a butter knife and make diagonal lines from left to right and complete to make diamond shapes. Place an almond in the center of each diamond. Bake for 25 minutes.

Remove cake from oven and pour syrup over cake until no more can be absorbed. Allow to cool for 20 minutes.

Serve immediately with a dollop of whipped cream.

Modern Henna Formulas for Hair

Looking for an ancient hair coloring?

Try this formula featured in our Henna Workshops:

What do you need to mix a simple henna paste? Not much! You’ll need a container, a plastic spoon, henna powder, and lemon juice. Keep stirring and adding the sour liquid. Some henna needs a lot of liquid, some needs less, so there’s no way to say “add precisely THIS amount of liquid.” Add whatever sour liquid you want to use, a little bit at a time, stirring it in. When your henna paste is a little thinner than mashed potatoes, you’ve stirred in enough sour liquid for a start. Cover the henna paste with plastic wrap, press out all the air, and let it rest for a while. Mix ingredients to make a thick paste. Leave overnight in plastic baggie for dye release. Apply evenly to hair and leave in for 2-4 hours, wrapping hair if desired.

Ingredients

For light orange/red hair:
1 Tbsp henna
1 Tbsp Amla
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp apple juice
½ c. vanilla yogurt
OR
120 grams henna
lemon juice
red tea (rooibos, or raspberry)
2 Tbsp ground cloves

For bright red hair:
100 grams henna
orange juice
slight dash of white vinegar
15 drops of tea tree oil
¼ c. paprika
OR
100 grams henna
250 ml red wine
3 ½ capfuls tea tree oil
lemon rooibos tea
25 grams powdered pectin

For dark red hair:
100 grams henna
lemon juice
lavender water
strong black tea
OR
100 grams henna
2 spoonfuls lemon juice
Madagascar red vanilla tea
1 capful dark green olive oil

For Dark Henna/Indigo hair:
Mix your favorite henna paste formula and set aside overnight. Mix indigo with water and set aside. Mix indigo and henna together and then apply to hair.

You can get other formulas like this by participating in our Henna Workshop the first Sunday of every month.