Saidi kishk soup with garlic and samna
The best-known kishk dish in Upper Egypt: soaked kishk, garlic fried in baladi samna, and a creamy soup with a light sourness.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Serves
- Serves 4
Ingredients
- 1 cup Saidi kishk (about 150 g)
- 4 cups water or chicken stock
- 6 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tbsp baladi cow samna
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- 1 tsp ground cumin (optional)
Method
Soak the kishk in a cup of lukewarm water for 10 minutes, until it softens and breaks up.
Add the remaining water or stock and whisk well until smooth, with no lumps.
Simmer over low heat, stirring constantly, for 20 minutes. The stirring matters — kishk catches on the base the moment you leave it.
In a small pan, melt the samna and fry the garlic until it turns golden and fragrant, without browning.
Pour the garlic and samna over the soup, season, stir for a minute and take it off the heat.
Notes
Saidi kishk is fermented milk with bulgur, sun-dried, so it is sour by nature. Less kishk and more liquid softens that; the reverse sharpens it — start with one cup and adjust after tasting.
The baladi samna is what gives the dish its aroma. Oil works, but it becomes a different dish.
Products used
FAQ
- Can I make it with water instead of stock?
- Yes, and that is the original Saidi version. Stock gives more depth; water leaves the kishk itself in front.
- Is your kishk dried or soaked?
- Dried, and it is soaked before cooking as in the first step. We sell it by the kilo and in a 500 g pack.
- Why did my soup go lumpy?
- Kishk added to hot liquid before soaking. Soak it in lukewarm water first, and whisk before it goes on the heat.