Koshari is Egypt’s great democratic comfort food. A bowl layers rice, lentils, macaroni and chickpeas, then gets buried under crisp fried onions and finished with tomato sauce, garlic-vinegar daqqa and chilli shatta. It is filling, inexpensive and entirely its own thing.

Where to try it

Koshary Abou Tarek in Downtown is the famous first stop: a Cairo institution built around this one dish. For a second opinion, compare it with Koshary El Tahrir, another dependable downtown favourite.

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Start with a small or medium bowl, then add the sauces gradually. The garlic-vinegar and chilli are part of the ritual.