What is koshary?

I love Koshary. The hot (spicy and temperature-wise) mixture of macaroni noodles, spaghetti noodles, chickpeas, lentils, rice, fried onions, tomato sauce, vinegar, and as-much-hot-sauce-as-you-can-handle is an absolute necessity to try when in Egypt. I like it so much, I “try” it every time I’m in Egypt!

Koshary originated in Egypt in the mid-19th century and is an amalgam of Egyptian, Italian, and Indian cuisines. It is eaten by everyone, from kids buying cheap bags (yes, you can buy koshary in a plastic bag) of Koshary to eat after school, to wealthy families ordering koshary at a fancy restaurant in Cairo, to an Egyptian mother making her famous koshary for a group of family members and friends during a Ramadan iftar. I love Koshary because it’s a universal dish in Egypt, and everyone always has their unique preferences (how much hot sauce, vinegar or no vinegar, etc.) when digging into this heavenly comfort-food.

Where can I try koshary?

I have only seen koshary on the menu at a Middle Eastern restaurant once in the United States (and eating at Middle Eastern restaurants is something I do often), so koshary is really best experienced when coming to Egypt. Cairo is the king of koshary, so adding it to the menu when you visit Egypt’s capital is the best option.

If you want to experience what most say is the best koshary in Egypt (besides homemade, of course), head to one of the locations of Koshary el-Tahrir. This koshary-only restaurant has perfected the dish and most Egyptians I have asked say it is the one place koshary-lovers must go if they want the best koshary.

Here is the downtown location of Koshary El-Tahrir. There is also a Doqqi location, just across the river from downtown Cairo.

Another option is the koshary-only restaurant called Abo Tareq, located in downtown Cairo. I love this restaurant because they only have one location (a sign above the entrance brashly announces in English and Arabic, “We have no other branches”.), they serve up delicious koshary with flair (take out your phone to video your koshary, and a server may come over and fix the dish for you in front of your eyes, explaining each step as they go), and the atmosphere of the restaurant is classic Egyptian-dining-glamourous, complete with fish tanks, polished chrome handrails on the staircases for the multiple-level dining rooms, and an armada of staff slinging koshary from table to table.

Other options include getting koshary from a street vendor, from a fancier restaurant, or in a local home. If you want to try a street vendor, there are no set locations, but head a ways out of downtown to more local areas like Imbabah, Attaba, Giza, Ramses, or Hussein and you will most likely see someone with a cart or table set up with all the koshary implements sitting ready to be mixed up and served. Fancier sit-down restaurants that serve Koshary include Zooba, Cairo Kitchen, and Abo El Sid (multiple locations for all); these restaurants may not be as authentic an experience as trying koshary from one of the other places we mention, but they still serve delicious koshary and often have some interesting variations (whole-wheat koshary, anyone?). Last but not least, if you get invited to an Egyptian A’azooma (dinner party/feast), and are asked what you would like to eat, try suggesting koshary—it’s an amazing dish to try when it’s homemade!

So there you have it, our love letter to the delicious and filling koshary is complete, just after we make one final push to convince you to try koshary when you come to Egypt on your own Egypt adventure. Bon appetite, and “bil hana wuh shiffa” (Egyptian Arabic version of bon appetite).