- Koshary is rice, lentils and pasta under tomato sauce and fried onions; the street food tour lists it first.
- Falafel is called taameya in Egypt and is usually made from fava beans; ful is stewed fava beans.
- The street food tour is about 4 hours, afternoon or evening, private, with the tastings included.
- The cooking class lists no menu, only Egyptian home dishes: ask which are cooked on your date.
- Khan El Khalili is a separate evening walk and lists no food stop.
Egyptian street food rests on a few dishes: koshary (rice, lentils and pasta under tomato sauce and fried onions), falafel, which Egypt calls taameya, and ful (stewed fava beans). At home you also meet molokhia, a green leaf soup. Our Cairo street food tour tastes koshary, falafel and ful with a guide, then sweets and tea. The cooking class makes Egyptian home dishes.
The dishes, in plain words
Koshary
Koshary is a bowl of rice, lentils and short pasta, topped with tomato sauce, chickpeas and crisp fried onions. Most places add a vinegary sauce and a hot sauce, so you season it yourself. It is a meal in one bowl, and it is the first dish the street food tour's program names.
Falafel, called taameya
Falafel in Egypt is called taameya. It is a fried patty or ball, and the Egyptian version is usually made from fava beans (broad beans), where falafel elsewhere in the region is often made from chickpeas. Inside it is green from herbs. It is eaten in flatbread or on a plate.
Ful
Ful (also spelled foul; ful medames is the full name) is fava beans cooked slowly until soft, then dressed with oil, lemon and cumin. It is scooped up with flatbread and is a common breakfast dish, which is why it often shares a plate with taameya.
Molokhia
Molokhia is a soup or stew of finely chopped green leaves, cooked with garlic and coriander until it turns thick and slippery. It is served over rice or with bread, often next to chicken. It is a home dish more than a street one, which is why it belongs with the cooking class, whose page shows a plate of it.
Sweets and tea
The street food tour ends with "sweets and tea". The program does not name the sweets, so ask what the reply says about them before you go.
How our two food outings handle the dishes
| Cairo street food tour | Egyptian cooking class | |
|---|---|---|
| Start and end | Your hotel in Cairo or Giza | Your hotel in Cairo or Giza |
| What you do | Taste koshary, falafel (taameya), ful and other street food at local places downtown, then sweets and tea | Cook Egyptian home dishes with a local cook, then sit down to eat what you made |
| Length | About 4 hours, afternoon or evening | About 3 to 4 hours |
| Tour type | Private, just your group, with an English-speaking guide | Private, just your group |
| Food | The tastings on the walk are included | The class and the meal are included |
| Not included | Tipping and extras not in the program | Tipping and extras not in the program |
The street food tour is a walk with tastings, so you eat small portions of several dishes rather than one meal. The cooking class is the opposite: you make the food and then eat it. The class page lists no menu, only "Egyptian home dishes"; molokhia is one such dish and the class page's photo shows it, but ask which dishes are cooked on your date.
