Fill 'er up

Injy El-Kashef has that carbo craving
Koshari, or the Art of Bodily Sustenance: this will be the title of my first best-seller when I embark on my lucrative and prosperous career as a novelist. The reason I will choose koshari as my subject is not commercial -- who ever said money was important? -- but for the sheer pleasure of exploring this fascinating world of carbohydrates that have fed and nourished millions of stomachs and souls.
Due to the deep-rooted trust I have for all things Felfela, I found myself heading to Talaat Harb Street, where a branch catering mainly to koshari addicts has opened recently. As we all may have noticed, Felfela has been doing rather well, with outlets opening every few months and only metres away from each other. The one I visited, aside from providing very good "carbohydrate complex" dishes, is also supposed to be a fishy venue. However, although all the walls are lined with seashells glued in haphazard patterns (and the inevitable stuffed shark, mouth gaping, dominates the customers from atop a column) all I found on the menu that was even remotely related to the sea were three types of sandwiches: fish fillet, shrimp and calamari.
Koshari is the thing, then, I cleverly concluded, and proceeded to order what they call a Felfela koshari, which, in my expert and objective opinion, is composed of the exact same ingredients as any other koshari. Form aside, I now had to concentrate on content. Deconstructing a koshari dish is no easy task. First comes the pasta: bits of spaghetti and a lot of macaroni, well cooked (al dente does not work in such conditions) and nicely oily. Then comes the rice: at Felfela they mix it with those tiny delicious brown lentils and with vermicelli, all flavoured with a hint of garlic, it seemed, but delicious in any case. On top of that come the lentils proper, savoury, rich and filling. A few chickpeas are tossed over the whole lot, and two large ladlings of tomato sauce infuse the whole with that mouth-watering scent. I am saving the best for last, for nothing in the whole world is better than those crispy onions, fried to a golden brown and retaining an oniony sweetness that very few flavours can beat. With the onions you always need an extra serving -- that added dash makes all the difference.
The koshari was wonderful, but lacked one crucial ingredient: the vinegar sauce with garlic. Combined with the fried onions, that garlicky vinegar sauce is a whole philosophy that involves tricking the masses with an inexpensive dish that tastes truly wonderful.
The art, however, is not restricted to the dish itself, but to the man composing it. I have never met a koshari artist who did not put up a performance as he placed the different ingredients in your plate. He bangs, he scoops, he tosses, he keeps your eyes glued to his hands as they whiz across the huge carbohydrate mountains. In a flash, ta-da, a one-pound miracle has happened, just for you -- go get it.
Felfela Aladdin, 15 Talaat Harb Street, Downtown.
Tel: 392 2751
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