Flat dough buried under sand and embers, then brushed clean and cracked open. This ancient Bedouin bread is baked without ovens or pans and accompanies nearly every meal. ¹⁾

Meat (usually goat or lamb) and vegetables slow-cooked in a metal rack lowered into a sand pit covered with coals. The underground cooking produces smoky, tender flesh with minimal seasoning. ²⁾

Whole fish wrapped in palm fronds and buried under hot sand with charcoal. The method combines coastal fishing with desert cooking techniques. ³⁾

A simple soup of whole grains (often wheat or barley) simmered with desert herbs. It is filling, durable, and ideal for long desert travel. ⁴⁾

A meal in itself: strong tea brewed with wild sage (meramia) or habak, drunk with pieces of arbood bread for sustenance during herding trips. ⁵⁾

Rice cooked with small pieces of sun-dried salted goat meat, preserved for months without refrigeration. ⁶⁾

Vegetables stuffed not only with rice but with cracked wheat, herbs, and sometimes dried meat, reflecting grain storage practices. ⁷⁾

Lentils boiled with generous cumin and garlic, eaten thick with bread. The heavy spicing compensates for the absence of meat. ⁸⁾

A local fish-and-rice dish darker and more heavily spiced than other Egyptian versions, often using reef fish caught the same morning. ⁹⁾

Goat milk left to sour naturally in leather bags, shaken into a drinkable yogurt that withstands desert heat. ¹⁰⁾

Dates opened and filled with clarified butter, a compact high-energy food carried on long journeys. ¹¹⁾

In coastal camps, octopus is cleaned, tenderized on rocks, and grilled quickly over flame — a lesser-known Red Sea practice. ¹²⁾

Cracked green wheat cooked with foraged herbs like artemisia and wild thyme, giving the dish a distinctly Sinai aroma. ¹³⁾

Dried balls of fermented wheat and yogurt rehydrated into a tangy porridge or soup, valued for its long shelf life and probiotic qualities. ¹⁴⁾