Egypt | Recipe

Hawawshi

Egyptian baladi bread stuffed with spiced minced beef, onion, pepper, parsley, and chili, then baked until crisp.

Country
Egypt
Region
North Africa
Time
50 min
Serves
6
Level
easy
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Recipe overview

What to know before you cook

Hawawshi is Cairo comfort in a pocket: spiced meat pressed inside bread and baked until the outside crisps and the juices season the loaf from within. Alexandrian versions may use a dough casing, while many homes use baladi or pita bread.

What the dish tastes like

Egyptian baladi bread stuffed with spiced minced beef, onion, pepper, parsley, and chili, then baked until crisp.

When to cook it

Best for quick dinners, street-food spreads, and game-day plates.. Plan on a easy cook and about 50 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

Pickles, tahini, tomato cucumber salad, or chili sauce.

Regional lane

Egypt national table. A structured Egypt dish in the AfroKitchen archive.

Chef watch-outs
  • Rushing the rest or fermentation period.
  • Rushing the base before the raw edge has cooked out.
  • Adding all seasoning early and forgetting to adjust at the end.
How you know it is ready
  • The bread or batter should smell pleasantly fermented, toasted, or nutty rather than floury.
  • The aroma should smell rounded rather than raw or sharp.
  • Oil, sauce, broth, or steam should look settled and deliberate.
Recipe photos

See the dish before you cook

Each recipe supports one main image and up to four extra prep, serving, or step photos when they are available.

Hawawshi recipe from Egypt
Hawawshi finished dish
Chef board

Build the table around Hawawshi

Pickles, tahini, tomato cucumber salad, or chili sauce.

Best route from here

Egypt national table

Collections to keep cooking
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Servings 6

Scale the dish before you shop, then use the checklist while you cook.

How to cook it

Step-by-step method

Keep the rhythm calm, watch the texture, and adjust seasoning at the end.

Back to Egypt
4 steps 25 min prep 25 min cook 50 min total easy
1
Mix the filling
Combine beef, onion, peppers, parsley, spices, salt, and pepper until evenly seasoned.
mix 08:00
2
Stuff the bread
Open each bread pocket and spread a thin layer of meat all the way to the edges.
stuff 10:00
3
Bake until crisp
Brush with oil and bake on a hot tray until the bread crisps and the beef is cooked through.
bake 22:00
4
Rest and slice
Rest briefly so the juices settle, then cut into wedges and serve hot.
rest 05:00

Cairo hawawshi is often stuffed into bread, while Alexandrian hawawshi can be baked in fresh dough with a hotter spice profile.

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