The best Egyptian dishes for lunch and dinner in Saudi Arabia: ideas from grills, mahshi and casseroles

In many Egyptian homes, lunch is the main meal of the day: eaten in the afternoon when everyone is back from work and school, usually with a stew in sauce, rice and salad, plus meat or chicken. Dinner is usually lighter: something simple before bed.

This is a common custom, not a rule; every home has its own routine. And with work hours and late evenings, many families now make dinner the big gathering. So we have grouped the ideas by the kind of meal, not just the time.

The classic Egyptian lunch is a dish in sauce with rice beside it. Here are ideas from Rokn Warda's menu, with the menu's own descriptions:

Casseroles: home lunch in a clay pot

• Okra and beef casserole: okra and beef in a rich tomato sauce, served with Egyptian rice.
• Potato and beef casserole: beef and potatoes in tomato sauce and Egyptian spices, a taste young and old know.
• Molokhia casserole: molokhia in a rich broth with garlic and coriander «taqleya», naturally eaten with rice.
• Chicken and potato casserole: for those who want chicken instead of meat.

To learn all the casseroles and how they differ, read Egyptian casseroles: the best-known kinds and how they are served.

Mahshi: the Friday lunch

Mixed mahshi (cabbage, grape leaves, peppers, zucchini and eggplant) is tied in many homes to Friday lunch and holidays, because it takes time and a gathering. It is best next to a meat dish or a casserole. The differences between the kinds are in Egyptian mahshi: grape leaves, cabbage, zucchini and mombar.

Main dishes with rice

• Dawood Basha kofta: kofta balls in a rich tomato sauce, with white rice.
• Waraqet lahma, the baked beef parcel: beef cooked with potatoes, vegetables and spices.
• Lamb shank with freekeh: slow-cooked lamb shank with seasoned freekeh, for a hearty holiday lunch.

From the Egyptian home table (not on Rokn Warda's menu)

Some well-known Egyptian lunch dishes are mentioned here as food culture only; they are not on our menu: peas with meat, white beans, taro and zucchini in sauce. All follow the same idea: a stew in sauce with rice beside it.

A light dinner

• Lentil soup (marked «vegetarian» on the menu) or orzo soup: warm and not heavy.
• Meat hawawshi or sausage hawawshi: baladi bread stuffed and crisp, eaten by hand.
• Alexandrian liver: with garlic and hot pepper, and marked «spicy».
• Stuffed grape leaves with arugula and pomegranate salad: a dinner without meat.

A dinner out or a late evening

When dinner is an outing with the family or friends, charcoal grills are many people's choice: mixed grills (kebab, kofta and chicken shish), or kebab, kofta or chicken shish, with rice and salad.

The traditional Egyptian home dinner (culture)

In many Egyptian homes a simple dinner is ful, taameya, cheese, eggs and baladi bread. These are not on Rokn Warda's menu; for their story read street food in Egypt.

A dinner for guests works differently from lunch: guests come after work, the evening runs long, and tea and dessert are part of it. The simple idea in four steps:

1. One star dish: stuffed pigeon with rice or stuffed pigeon with freekeh, or the Rokn Warda platter (grills, stuffed pigeon, shish, sausage, chops, kebab, kofta and tarb with rice).
2. A supporting stew: mixed mahshi or a casserole in sauce.
3. Rice and salad: Egyptian vermicelli rice and the salad buffet.
4. Dessert with tea: warm om ali or kunafa with cream.

A tip: grills and pigeon go on the table last, while hot. For bigger gatherings read the best Egyptian dishes for family gatherings in Saudi Arabia.

We will not tell you how many people a dish feeds, because that depends on size, appetite and how many dishes you order. Give your number and ask when you order; each dish's size and description are on the menu.

Rokn Warda is in Al Khobar, on Al Yarmouk Street, open from 12 noon to 1 am, so both lunch and dinner. Our meat arrives fresh, never frozen, and our grills are over charcoal.

• Dine in: a family hall, outdoor seating by the fountain, screens for matches and parking. Book a table; for groups and companies see the events page. More in a lunch restaurant in Al Khobar and a dinner restaurant in Al Khobar.
• Delivered home: order from the menu to Al Khobar and Dammam districts (the available districts show when you order), track your order and pay on delivery. Choose «at a time I pick» so lunch arrives on time. If you prefer apps, we are on HungerStation, Keeta and Ninja. How to build a complete meal for delivery is in ordering Egyptian food in Al Khobar and Dammam.

If you are in another city, the same ideas work with any Egyptian restaurant: ask about casseroles and mahshi for lunch, and grills for a dinner out.

What is the lightest Egyptian dinner? Lentil soup or orzo soup, or stuffed grape leaves with salad. For something a little more filling, hawawshi.

Can a casserole be dinner? Of course, there is no rule. But for a light dinner choose a casserole in tomato sauce such as okra rather than rich dishes such as the trotters casserole.

Which Egyptian lunch do children usually like? The macaroni béchamel casserole, or kofta or chicken shish with rice. But every child has their own taste.

Should I order lunch early or at the time? If you have a set time, order early, choose «at a time I pick» and set the hour.

Choose by the meal: stew and rice for lunch, something light or grills for dinner, and a star dish and dessert for guests. If you want to know what makes Egyptian food distinctive in the first place, read what makes Egyptian food different from other cuisines?. Then open the menu and choose, or book a table and come for lunch or dinner with us.