My Egyptian Grandmother's Mother Kitchen: Traditional Dishes Sweet and Savory [Paperback]

Magda Mehdawy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 28, 2006

In this beautifully illustrated volume, Magda Mehdawy has gathered in one book the most complete collection of Egyptian recipes ever assembled. Drawing on the traditional recipes she learned from her grandmother and other members of her generation, Mehdawy offers a surprising range of sumptuous recipes and unusual flavors that are part of Egypt's millennia-long cultural heritage. She also reveals the historical depth of the national cuisine, beginning with a section on food and wine-making techniques used by the ancient Egyptians. For readers interested in more recent traditions, Mehdawy provides lists of typical menus served on Islamic holidays and feasts, and a fascinating overview of traditional beliefs regarding vegetables and spices. While covering regional dishes from all over Egypt, Mehdawy emphasizes the cuisine of her native Mediterranean city of Alexandria, providing a wide selection of seafood dishes, such as baked sardines and shrimp kufta with rice. Grouped by food categories - including Broths and Soups, Stuffed Vegetables, Poultry, Pickles, Jams, and Desserts - the book helpfully lists detailed health information as well as practical advice on shopping for the best-quality ingredients, and where to find them. Even chefs already familiar with Egyptian cuisine will find new dishes here. With copious illustrations in full color throughout, this compendium is a great introduction to the rich flavor and variety of the traditional Egyptian kitchen.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Magda Mehdawy holds a degree in archaeology from the University of Alexandria. In 2004, she was awarded the Al-Ahram Appreciation Prize for the original Arabic edition of My Egyptian Grandmother's Kitchen. She lives in Alexandria.

Product Details

• Paperback: 236 pages
• Publisher: AUC Press (November 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9774249275
• ISBN-13: 978-9774249273
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #711,266 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars P Shaker, March 10, 2007

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P. Shaker - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Egyptian Grandmother's Mother Kitchen: Traditional Dishes Sweet and Savory (Paperback)

The four star rating I gave this book is for the beautiful colored pictures - they are on each and every page! The range of recipes is quite encompassing but I do have some concerns in regard to the directions and flavoring of the dishes. You will need to have some basic knowledge of Middle Eastern cooking/spice mixes, etc., to have these recipes come out as they should. The pictures are a great help to show the completed product. One example of poor instructions/spices is the recipe for Macaroni Bechamel. It originally is quite a tedious recipe and the recipe contained in the book is not clear. Also, there are problems with translations; tomato juice is listed in numerous recipes when it should probably read "tomato sauce", the recipe for veal sweetbreads is shown as "thyroid glands" instead of thymus glands. Also, it lists ingredients like "gullash", "rugag" and "quata'if". Gullash would be the same as our phyllo (filo) dough. But, rugag is a type of cracker bread and quata'if is a small pancake. It's too bad that she didn't include recipes on how to make these. Fortunately, I have recipes for both these items but the reader new to this cuisine would be confused. I would only give two stars for the recipes themselves. It's a wonderful book to read for the "armchair cook". I am happy with my purchase!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, But Not Really For The American Market, July 24, 2009

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Mayflower Girl "amazon-junkie since 1996" (Albany, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: My Egyptian Grandmother's Mother Kitchen: Traditional Dishes Sweet and Savory (Paperback)

I'm married to an Egyptian (and am not Egyptian), so I've been collecting Middle Eastern cookbooks for some time. I was quite excited to find "My Egyptian Grandmother's Kitchen" because it is a translation of an award-winning Egyptian cookbook. I guess I expected more from the AUC translation...as they did not really translate it for a non-Egyptian market.

Pros:
1. Photos of nearly every recipe. A definite change from most Middle Eastern cookbooks, including Claudia Roden.
2. Very authentic recipes...although some may be too authentic for the average American. Tripe, brains, spleen, tongue, etc. are all included.

Cons:
1. Not specific directions. Lists spice mix, but doesn't tell you how to make it. If you have a Middle Eastern market, you may be able to find some premade spices...but they vary based on Brand and the country of origin (Lebanese is not the same as Egyptian--although it's better than nothing.) Claudia Roden, Sally Elias Hanna's excellent "Dining on the Nile," and May Bsisu's "Arab Table" all can give you ideas of which spices you really need.

2. No specific oven instructions. Perhaps in keeping with her Grandmother's way of doing things, she says "medium-hot" oven rather than 350 degrees or whatever. Rather frustrating, but you can get cooking times/temps from other cookbooks. Some rough estimates:
Hot 425 degrees F
Medium 350 degrees F
Warm 325 degrees F
Low 300 degrees F

3. Some recipes include Arabic names, some do not. Some ingredients are translated (often poorly so, making things more difficult), some are not.

In general, I would not recommend this cookbook for the average American cook. Instead, I'd recommend Sally Elias Hanna's "Dining on the Nile." For Lebanese cuisine, "Kibbee 'n Spice and Everything Nice" by Janet Kalush is easy and good. "The Arab Table" is more of Gulf cuisine and is excellent, although has very time consuming recipes. For Syrian Jewish cuisine, "The Aromas of Aleppo" can't be beat. And of course, anything by Claudia Rodin is fabulous.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Awkwardly presented english cookbook, February 9, 2011

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Brie - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: My Egyptian Grandmother's Mother Kitchen: Traditional Dishes Sweet and Savory (Paperback)

Unfortunately this book just did not deliver. I was looking for an Egyptian specific cookbook to make traditional dishes for my father-in-law. This book has no instruction and odd amounts of ingredients. I am a fairly advanced cook, and I do a lot of Lebanese cooking. This book literally feels like ingredients were poorly translated from grandma's memorized recipes without being adjusted and tested for english readers. This seems to be a common problem with Arabic cookbooks written in English. I'm sure there are countless recipes for Kushari but this one is just ridiculous and how can this be a good Egyptian cookbook without an amazing recipe for Kushari?? Best general Arabic cookbook I own so far is The Arab Table by May S. Bsisu.. No Kushari but a solid cookbook with very traditional recipes and excellent cultural information.