Bowls of steaming deliciousness

As I write this, it is the beginning of the hot season in Egypt. The cold temperatures are rising steadily, and people are packing away their dark, heavy winter clothes for taking their lighter and brighter summer clothing out of the cupboards. We are also heading towards the end of the month of Ramadan, and this reminded me that it is a good time to write about some soups. Egyptians do like their soups, wether it is hot or cold, a soup is a welcome and often expected starter to any meal.

Types of Soups

1. Birds’ tongue soup

This is a very popular soup for Iftar, the breaking of the fast at sunset during Ramadan. It is also a favourite with many of our guests, once they have got over the name of the soup! The name of the soup in Arabic is lisaan asfor, literally translated to tongues of birds. If you have a quick imagination, as you glance into the steaming bowl, it can be rather off-putting. It is usually a clear broth-type liquid, brownish in colour, with hundreds of little tongues of birds floating around in it. But let me assure you that these are not tongues of many, many little birds. It is orzo pasta, which when cooked looks suspiciously like a bird’s tongue!
The ingredients in this simple soup, are chicken broth (or if you want to go quick and easy, many people choose to use chicken stock cubes) with cumin, the orzo pasta, and then just before eating, add some lemon and a touch of freshly ground black pepper.
If you can get over the unfortunate images conjured up by the name and actually swallow a spoonful of the soup, you will find that it is very tasty.

2. Lentil soup

This is our favourite soup, but only available in winter. It is a thick pureed soup, with the orange lentils as the base ingredient. It will have loads of garlic, carrot and even potato added, making it a thick and extremely tasty soup. Usually our guests sound like the famous Dickens character Oliver Twist:
‘Please Sir, may I have some more?’

3. Fish soup

Because Alexandria lies along the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea, fish is a big favourite among the people. Fish soup is enjoyed by many. If you are having fish as a main course, many restaurants bring you a small bowl of clear fish broth as a starter. It doesn’t look like much, but it is delicious.

4. Other popular soups

Egyptians do enjoy the “creamy” soups: you can usually find a creamy chicken and a creamy mushroom soup. In my opinion these tend to be more cream than soup, so I usually go for the first 2 options listed above. And then finally you can find a tomato soup, which is usually pale red in colour, not as bright as some famous European tomato soups.

These soups will invariably be accompanied by some fresh Egyptian bread. The balady bread (local flat breads) and the sun-bread of southern Egypt are our absolute first choices. Grab a piece, tear off a chunk, dip and eat.