FOR those readers who aren't Egyptian, imagine that you're eating a bowl filled with rice, brown lentils, chickpeas, macaroni and a topping of Egyptian garlic and vinegar with spicy tomato sauce, all finally topped off with fried onions. I know you think it's probably heavy on the stomach and the idea sounds strange, but this is one of Egypt's most popular traditional dishes - koshari. When it's well made and clean, it's quite delicious. Koshari is an inexpensive yet filling dish for the average Egyptian. You can have it for lunch and dinner. In fact, it can be eaten anytime, anywhere. There are koshari shops all over Egypt. These restaurants are easily to spot because of the large, silver-coloured, stainless steel vats in the window, holding the various ingredients. There is always a man standing in the midst of the vats, frantically filling the pots with all the ingredients for a huge crowd of customers. Once you place your order, you stand in the queue waiting to give the man your receipt with the price on, indicating what size pot of koshari you're going to get. It's then that he starts scooping up the ingredients into your plastic take-away pot. If you're going to eat at one of the tables in the restaurant, he serves the koshari in an aluminium bowl for you. On the table, there are two glass bottles containing two different sauces: one made from vinegar and garlic, the other from spicy red pepper. (If you're getting take-away koshari, the man gives you a small quantity of each sauce in two small plastic bags). At any koshari restaurant, there's an irresistible smell and a terrible racket of metal spoons clashing against the bowls. It's a symphony without words, as everyone's too hungry to talk. "Every Egyptian loves koshari. Most Egyptians eat it at least twice a week," says Ahmed Abdel Karim, a koshari seller in the upmarket district of Mohandiseen. It's often found in fast-food establishments that also serve fuul (fava beans) and taamiya (falafel), although the smaller restaurants tend to serve just koshari or just fuul and taamiya. Although the ingredients are the same, the taste varies from place to place. The prices start at LE2 for a small pot/bowl up to LE5 for a much bigger one. "It's tasty and filling, keeping you going most of the day," Abdel Karim adds. Though the alarming price rises have hit every basic commodity, including of course the ingredients of koshari, it is still considered affordable by millions of poor people, who cannot resist it. And the same is true of the rich. "Koshari with all its ingredients is considered an integrated and balanced meal," says Fawzi el-Shobki, a professor of nutrition at the Cairo-based National Research Centre. He says it consists of rice which is full of carbohydrates, giving the body energy. Koshari also consists of brown ads (lentils), which are 26 per cent protein. They also contain dietary fibre, vitamin B1 and minerals. Lentils, when mixed with grains such as rice, are considered to make a complete, protein-rich dish. Chickpeas (or hommus as Egyptians call them) are also 23 per cent protein. The garnish of crispy brown onions on top is a good source of minerals, containing chemical compounds such as quercetin, believed to have antiinflammatory, anti-cholesterol, anticancer and antioxidant properties. Apart from the two sauces in the bottles, there is the above-mentioned, mildly spicy tomato sauce called taelia, made of tomato, vinegar, cumin, cinnamon and garlic, which the man standing in the midst of the vat pours over the onions in the pot/bowl. Professor el-Shobki adds that, if you want to be really healthy, "you can eat your koshari with a yoghurt or an egg to compensate for the lack of plant protein. Don't forget some green salad while you're at it and enjoy!"
