Egyptian Hawawshi Recipe

posted on: Aug 17, 2022

By: Caroline Umphlet / Arab America Contributing Writer

Hawawshi (حواوشي) is a common Egyptian lunch or dinner street food. It is incredibly easy to cook and has affordable ingredients. Hawawshi is essentially baladi bread or Egyptian (pita) bread stuffed with seasoned minced beef. It is very personalizable; if you like it more spicy, more onions, a thicker amount of meat, hawawshi is very easy to customize. It can served by itself, with plain yogurt, or of course tahini sauce. 

This recipe will make about 6-8 sandwiches.

Ingredients:

• ½ kilo or about 1 pound of minced meat
• 1 large onion 
• 1 green pepper
• 1 jalapeño (optional for spice)
• Parsley
• Buharat spice mix (can be replaced with Allspice or equal parts black pepper, paprika, cumin, coriander, and a pinch of cinnamon)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Paprika (optional)
• Bread (عيش بلدي) 
• Butter or oil (either one) 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit or around 200 Celcius
2. Grate the onion, green pepper, and jalapeño (if you’re choosing to add it) 
3. Dice/cut up the parsley very finely
4. Add all the seasonings, onion, and peppers to the meat 
5. Mix well in a large bowl
6. You can either cut each bread piece in half, or make a small opening to stuff the meat mixture inside
7. Lather oil or butter on the outside of the bread, both sides
8. Place the sandwiches in the oven for about 20 minutes or until they look fairly browned

Enjoy this super easy Egyptian meal!

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