Christmas is here and along with the presents and lights and all around good cheer comes what could very well be the best part of all, traditions. Each family has traditions of their own, in our family we always went to my Grandparents house on Christmas eve, ate honey baked ham (which was the only time I have ever eaten ham by choice, not really a fan, weird I know), bean salad and relished in the fact that my sister and I were the only grandchildren. Christmas eve seemed to be all about us and I'm not going to lie, it was awesome. The drive home was filled with possible sightings of Rudolph and Santa's sled and promises of staying in bed until at least 7 am. Christmas day at home was filled with the usual gifts and family time and was always finished off with my mom's amazing prime rib and twice baked potatoes. It really was perfect and was what I always thought was the way I would spend every Christmas, but, I was wrong. In 2006 I met Ayman and in September of that same year we were engaged. The following Christmas we decided would be spent in Egypt. I knew that an Egyptian Christmas would be different from our good old fashioned American Christmas, but, little did I know how different. Ayman's family is wonderful and celebrates Christmas like many Coptic families. First and foremost Christmas is celebrated on January 7th, for the 45 days prior they do not eat meat or dairy, there are no gifts exchanged, Christmas trees or lights, but, there is an overwhelming feeling of love, humility and faith. At midnight on the night of the 6th the "fast" is broken and the feast begins. We ate and laughed and truly celebrated. It was different from any Christmas I had ever known and it was wonderful. One of the traditional foods we ate were hard boiled eggs fried in ghee. They are absolutely fantastic. It is almost like a fried egg and a hard boiled egg had a super secret and delicious love child. I have since asked Ayman what they are called and he has told me he's not sure how it is spelled in English or what it is even called, but I will give it a shot...baid mezzahl. Once a year we make Ayman's family's traditional Christmas meal and these eggs are always included. They are part of his tradition and are now a part of mine. I love them and hope you do too.
Fried Hard Boiled Eggs
Ingredients:
1 dozen hard boiled eggs
1/2 cup of Ghee
2 Tbs. Salt
2 Tbs. Pepper
1 tsp. Cumin
Directions:
- In a medium sized skillet, heat your ghee until it is melted and hot, turn the heat on your stove down to medium.
- Mix your salt, pepper and cumin together in a small bowl and sprinkle it on your hard boiled eggs.
- Carefully place your eggs in the hot ghee and allow them to brown on all sides. Allow them to sit on one side for about 2-3 minutes before rolling them. They should be a dark, golden, reddish brown when they are done. If the temperature gets too hot the eggs with pop and you can get burned so be careful. If this starts to happen, turn the heat down to medium low.
- Serve with pita or alone and enjoy! Oh, and be sure to serve them with the ghee from the pan, and dip your pita or Arabic bread in it, mmm mmm good!
Merry Christmas, however you celebrate!
