What is the history of the Egyptian food, koushari?

Question

What is the history of the Egyptian food, koushari?

Answer 1

It is a mix of several diferent influences, the pasta, lentil's, rice, the crispy onions and the hot spicey sauce over top, I had it once in London UK in and Egyptian take out place, and have a recipe I found on line I like to use, and now with the advent of tinned cooked lentils it is easier and faster to make.

If I am ever lucky to go to Cairo, I will seek it out were possible, I want to try it like then fish and chips in England to see the subtle differences and flavour contrasts. Here is the recipe I use, click on the link.

Answer 2

One of Egypt's most popular national dishes is koshari, a delicious mix of rice, lentils and various pastas, sprinkled with fried onions and topped with a generous serving of red-hot chilli sauce and vinaigrette. The dish's name had long stumped me and I had developed an elaborate theory that its name might derive from the Hebrew kasher (or kosher) because it somehow ticked all the boxes of what may be eaten.

But the probable explanation lies much further afield. Once, over a plate of koshari at a specialised spit-and-saw-dust eatery in Cairo, a British-Indian friend suggested that the name came from the Indian dish kitchari.