koshari

Koshary, kushari or koshari ( ) is Egypt's national dish and a widely popular street food. It is a traditional Egyptian staple, mixing pasta, Egyptian fried rice, vermicelli and brown lentils, and topped with chickpeas, a garlicky tomato sauce, garlic vinegar, and crispy fried onions. Sprinklings of garlic vinegar and hot sauce are optional.

==History== In the Egyptian Books of Genesis, the Ancient Egyptian term "Koshir" meant "Food of the rites of the Gods", the Koshir was a breakfast dish that consisted of lentils, wheat, chickpeas, garlic and onions cooked together in clay pots. It has been claimed that the original account of the book goes back to Manetho. However, in the collected works of Manetho, no mention of Koshir could be found. The word is not related to the Jewish dietary laws known as Kosher. A priest from Heliopolis described it as a food to eat after fasting on the 11th day of Pachons, a month in the ancient Egyptian calendar. Koshary is known as "The food of the Poor"; it consists of fried onions, lentils, rice, macaroni and a red sauce. It is somewhat related to Mediterranean cuisine, but the Egyptian dish has different ingredients and flavors, especially the local Egyptian lemon sauce, which gives it the unique taste for which the dish is popular.