Author: Alaa Adel Elsayed
Koshary
is one of the dishes that is invented entirely by Egyptians. Its history of
invention is what makes it unique. Egyptians are said to collect all the
remaining uncooked food ingredients at the end of every month and cook them all
together. This historical story, in my opinion, has an economic value as well
as a cultural and traditional value. Economically, the story highlights a way
through which middle-class households sustain their living during the last days
of every month when their monthly salary is over as the case with almost all
working classes. It also served as an investment in what they have remaining
instead of throwing it away in the trash.
The story of inventing koshary has also a strong cultural meaning as it
shows how working-class Egyptians tended to handle their living when they are
almost out of money at the end of each month. Additionally, it highlights some
of the differences between social classes in Egypt. It would not be surprising
for upper-class people to throw these ingredients away and not to care much
about their possible uses. But the perceptions that the working classes have
for things are always different, which is shown through the Egyptians’
investment that yielded in a new Egyptian dish.
Although
koshary was originally invented by middle-class Egyptians, it has gained huge
popularity and become one of the favorite dishes for all Egyptians. In specific,
it is one of my family’s favorites. It is a family tradition that my mother
cooks koshary for special events, such as Eid al-Fatr and Sham El-Nassem (the
spring day). Although it is common for Egyptians to eat a certain type of fish
during this last feast, my family eats koshary, the tradition that has become a
traditional celebration of Sham El-Nassem. Accordingly, this year my mother has
decided to cook koshary for us as part of our celebration of this day.
Furthermore,
the process of cooking koshary is interesting to examine. It is one of the
dishes that has many components used to decorate the final dish. Not only that,
these decorative components are also to be cooked first as the cooking process
starts before cooking the main ingredient which is rice.
The
presented slideshow shall illustrate more closely the process of cooking
koshary for lunch for my family in celebration of Sham El-Nassem.
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