for koshary

i had the craziest bike ride.

the young guy didn’t speak english and kept trying to show off—riding the motorcycle hands-off on the highway, weaving through traffic like a snake. even though i told him repeatedly to stop, his attitude didn’t change. worse, he didn’t even know the way and kept asking me which turn to take. at some point, it occurred to me that this would be a very ordinary way to die. i asked him to stop, got off, and found my way to the metro instead.

all of this—for a koshary dish in downtown cairo. the price wasn’t really the dish itself, but the spicy oil—what the place is actually famous for—which did, at least, give me a proper kick.

koshary, egypt’s national dish, is a reflection of the country’s layered history. rice and lentils form the base as staples in egypt and the middle east. pasta arrived through roman influence, tomato sauce adapted from ottoman-era, chickpeas from the levant. it isn’t ancient cuisine—it’s accumulated. a dish assembled from what passed through, and what stayed.

downtown, cairo