Democracy Dies in Darkness

As Egypt’s economic crisis deepens, an affordable meal is hard to find

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December 26, 2022 at 2:00 a.m. EST
A customer eats koshary, a traditional Egyptian meal comprising pasta, rice, lentils, chickpeas, fried onions and tomato sauce, outside the Abou Tarek restaurant in Cairo on Dec. 21. (Siobhán O'Grady/The Washington Post)
6 min

CAIRO — The patriarch behind Abou Tarek, one of Egypt’s most famous restaurants, has always been able to depend on koshary.

A mix of pasta, rice, lentils, chickpeas, fried onions and spicy tomato sauce, koshary is one of the cheapest and most popular foods in Egypt, so packed with carbs and protein that it can keep even the hungriest customers full all day. Everyone here eats it — from the richest of the rich to the poorest of the poor.