CAIRO: Koshary – a spicy dish of lentils, rice and pasta available at countless Egyptian food stalls – won recognition as a cultural treasure from the UN’s cultural agency on Wednesday, as Cairo makes a broad push to promote its cultural and historical identity abroad.
Egypt’s nomination of koshary for UNESCO’s “Intangible Cultural Heritage” list comes a little over a month after its opening of a sprawling new antiquities museum – another move officials hope will highlight the country’s rich history and lure more tourists.
One popular legend claims koshary originated in northern India and was brought to Egypt by soldiers during the British occupation. But the dish’s origins can in fact be traced through a farther-flung, millennia-old lineage of migration, trade and conquest, food researcher and archaeobotanist Hala Barakat said.
EGYPTIAN DISH, WITH GLOBAL INFLUENCES
Lentils arrived from the Fertile Crescent more than 5,800 years ago, and rice was introduced from East Asia. Tomatoes and chilli peppers were brought from the Americas centuries later, while pasta noodles were a more modern addition.
