Some dishes Egyptians either love deeply or never touch, and trotters (kawareh) top the list. Those who love them see them as a mood dish and an irreplaceable winter food; those who have never tried them are often puzzled by the name. Either way, trotters hold a firm place in Egyptian popular cooking and in many people's memories.
What are kawareh?
Kawareh are the feet of a calf, cow or sheep, cleaned and prepared. In Egypt the word usually means beef or veal trotters, and there are also smaller lamb trotters.
They are not eaten for a lot of meat; trotters have little meat, but plenty of skin and tendons that, cooked slowly, turn very tender and give a thick broth that sets when it cools because it is rich in gelatin. That is the taste their fans look for.
A «nothing goes to waste» dish
Trotters belong to an old idea found in kitchens around the world: the whole animal is eaten and no part is thrown away. That is why similar dishes exist in many places:
| Place | Known as |
|---|---|
| Egypt | Kawareh |
| Parts of the Arab world | «Kara‘in» or «maqadem» |
| Turkey | «Paça» soup |
| Iran | «Kaleh pacheh» (head and trotters) |
The names and spices differ, but the idea is the same: long cooking turns a cheap, tough cut into a rich dish.
Trotters and Eid
In many Egyptian homes, trotters are tied to Eid al-Adha. When the sacrifice is divided, the trotters are cleaned and cooked in the days after the first day: hot soup, or trotters fatteh for the family. Fatteh itself, with meat or trotters, is one of Egypt's best-known Eid dishes, as we covered in Egyptian fatteh and its kinds.
A winter dish
Ask an Egyptian when trotters are eaten and they will likely say in winter. That thick hot soup is linked in popular feeling with warmth, and folk wisdom says it «warms you up» and «gives strength». These are inherited popular sayings, not medical facts, but they are part of the dish's story and standing.
Trotters shops
Beside homes, Egypt has popular eateries known for trotters, especially in old neighbourhoods, serving soup, fatteh and boiled trotters, many of them famous across their district or city. Many people say eating trotters at these places is an outing in itself, not just a meal.
Why do trotters turn so tender?
There is a simple scientific answer. The skin and tendons of trotters contain collagen, which makes them tough when raw. With long, gentle cooking in water, that collagen turns into gelatin, so the skin becomes very tender and the broth thickens. That is why the broth sets like jelly when it cools, and why trotters cannot be rushed.
Between love and hesitation
Not everyone loves trotters at first, and that is normal. What makes people hesitate is usually their look or their soft, gelatinous texture, the very thing their fans adore. If you are trying them for the first time, many fans advise starting with the soup, which gives you the taste without facing the texture straight away.
Trotters on the Egyptian table
- Trotters soup: the clear, thick broth with garlic and lemon.
- Trotters fatteh: toasted bread, rice, vinegar-garlic sauce and pieces of trotters.
- Trotters casserole: trotters slow-cooked in the oven.
- Grape leaves with trotters: the grape leaves cook over the trotters and take on their flavour; read about it in grape leaves and trotters casserole.
To learn how they are cleaned and cooked, read trotters the Egyptian way.
Trotters at Rokn Warda
At Rokn Warda in Al Khobar you will find trotters in more than one form: trotters soup (a rich, hearty broth with traditional Egyptian seasoning), trotters fatteh (toasted bread, Egyptian rice and tender trotters with garlic-vinegar sauce and broth) and a trotters casserole (tender trotters slow-cooked in an earthenware casserole). Order from the menu for delivery in Al Khobar and Dammam, or try them in our dining room. Not sure which to choose? Read trotters in Al Khobar. For more on festive food read Ramadan and Eid in Egypt.