CAIRO: This may sound shocking to some and gastronomically challenging to others, but for some Egyptians, those small grey sparrows that nestle in ventilation pipes and populate the few trees in our sprawling capital, are nothing short of a coveted delicacy.
Some people eat two or three birds at a time, each one gobbled whole, bones and all.
But not all Egyptians are familiar with this cheap source of protein and it’s not easy to find people who sell sparrows. There maybe one or two venues in some of the densely populated districts. You ll only find one place carrying the inexpensive snack in Sayeda Zeinab Square, Sayeda Aisha Crossing and Attaba.
While people get their bowls filled with piles of fried sparrows, two or three could be filling.
“Sparrows are a delicacy, said Samy Wahid, a sparrow seller in Attaba. “Some people take two or three while others are content with having one bird plus two or three heads, added Wahid as he coned a piece of paper with three pieces for a young man.
“Sparrows purify the blood and are a good treatment for hemorrhoids, Wahid argues. “They are also fresh and wholesome; suppliers provide their catches to the dealers in the popular poultry markets on a daily basis.
“We clean the birds with flour and salt after we empty them of their tiny bowels. They are then fried and served hot.
Three sparrows cost LE 1, a single bird will cost 50 piasters. If the vendor is generous, he will add two or three heads to the order.
At the poultry market in Attaba, Khalil Abdou places a bucketful of sparrows in front of his stand in the middle of the market. Initially, you shudder at the population of the red-fleshed birds with their black feathers.
“Don’t look at them in disgust, noted the wholesale trader. “Like other birds, we kill them by cutting their throat. They are halal according to sharia, he said.
“Those are a range of small and big sparrows but it doesn’t make any difference once they are cooked, he explained. “They all shrink to the size of your thumb. So many chefs use them to stuff turkey and other bigger birds. The supply is sold out before the day ends.
The birds are trapped in large nets in rural areas in Sharqeya, Qaliubeya and Daqahlia. There, the sparrows are considered a nuisance to farmers. They catch them to stop their encroachment on the fields of grain.
This full-scale business is, however, astonishing to some. “Sparrows are only there to fly, flutter and sing on the trees. They are to be seen, not eaten, said Dr Afaf Ezzat, professor of biochemistry and nutritionist at the National Research Center in Cairo. “You would only be forced to eat them if you’re stuck in the desert and can t find anything else to eat.
Trying to look at the issue more objectively, she said, “Some would tell you sparrows are edible while canaries aren’t. Both are, but people prefer the former because they are cheaper and available in big numbers.
“The practice, however, is not widespread enough to constitute a phenomenon and this is why it hasn’t shown up on the radars of researchers, she added.
“But like all birds, sparrows are rich in protein, she explained. “But we haven’t analyzed them to know what type of protein they carry. But before we conduct any research, we have to face two possibilities: either that sparrow protein will be neutral and won’t be absorbed by our system, or it will start to interact, in which case it could be either absorbed or rejected, causing complications.
