Koshary and its ingredients

Some were adopted very quickly and others took time to be integrated into the Egyptian cuisine. Scroll on to trace back some a traditional Egyptian dish and understand the origins of their ingredients and how and when they became part of the modern Egyptian food heritage.

Lentil is one of the oldest cultivated crops in Egypt. Remains of lentils were found in predynastic sites occupied 6,000 years ago. It has been continuously used since.

Rice was brought in with the Muslims from South East Asia (ca. 640 A.D) and might have continued to be imported for sometime until Egyptians started cultivating it first in Fayoum then in the marshlands North of the Nile delta where it is still widely cultivated today.

Onion and garlic were known from the earliest ancient Egyptian dynasties during the Old kingdom (age of the pyramids) some 4,500 years ago. The depictions of onion, garlic and leek could be seen on walls of tombs in Saqqara ( e.g: 5th dynasty Ptah Hotep tomb).

Tomato is a New World crop, brought to Europe by the 16th century, long after the Americas were discovered, and is one of the plants that took a long time to be integrated and consumed by Europeans. It was probably introduced into Egypt by the 18th century when its cultivation spread to the East Mediterranean region.

Chili pepper is another New World crop. Brought to the Old World by the 15th century, it quickly replaced the much sought after "black peppers" and became an important condiment in many cuisines around the world. 

Macaroni is a wheat-based product. Although there is a history of pasta-like products in Egypt, the type used in koshary is definitely of Italian origin.