... Throw out the old year, literally …!

OUT WITH THE OLD…. AND IN WITH THE NEW!

Many of us know this saying, but when it comes to the New Year in Egypt, in many places an interesting (if not dangerous) custom has been literally to see the old year out by throwing things out…. the window!

FESTIVITIES

New Year in Egypt follows the usual patterns of a celebration day… bearing in mind that there are different New Years: the Islamic New Year for 2016 will be October 1 and 2 but the more commonly used these days is the Gregorian New Year, which is December 31st (Eve) and January 1st (New Year’s Day).

The usual things that can be seen during the celebrations:

• fireworks (from steel wire set alike and swung around like a lasso, to bug spray cans with the nozzle forced down and the spray set alight….. to imported fancy fireworks)
• loud music (with its powerful rhythm and beat echoing in the back of your head)
• people wearing new clothes, usually beautiful bright colors 
• gatherings of friends and family for food and more food
• choruses of “Kol sanne wi inta tayeb” and “mabrook” (the Arabic words of celebration meaning: congratulations, every year you are kind)
• and for the fancier homes and hotels, glorious displays of fireworks!

AND THEN SOME

One thing that we did find surprising was discovering that people throw old things out of their windows at the turn of the new year: cups, plates and even an old toilet or 2! These are thrown out of the apartment windows onto the road below.

When asking around to try and find out where this tradition came from and what it means, I managed to find out there is a rather interesting saying:

When you have a visitor that you don't really want to return, when they leave, you say:

“Break the water jar behind him” (literally throw the simple clay water jar that is prevalent here in Egypt, on the floor and break it). This is thought to make sure that this unwelcome visitor will not return.

A similar thinking appears to have emerged for seeing the old year leave: to make sure that the bad things that may have happened during the old year do not return for the coming year, you break things behind him, by throwing old stuff out your window. You break the plate, cup, ceramic toilet, pot, behind the old year, making sure that the new one will only be filled with good things!

WHAT ELSE?

Not every one agrees with this custom, and several will say it is nothing more than superstition, but mothers will warn their children not to go outside for fear that something will fall on their heads. The more modern youngsters have started throwing water balloons around, as they view this as more fun and less harmful.

SO…. HAPPY NEW YEAR.

So whenever you happen to read this, we hope that the year ahead of you will be a good one, and that every year will indeed find you being kind, respectful and considerate!

... The most famous Egyptian meal ...

In Egypt, it is difficult to define what is:

• THE national meal
• THE favorite dish of the people
• THE staple food of the land

Egyptians love food, and lots of it… particularly carbohydrates: no meal is usually complete without at least 3 of them!

So it is not surprise that the dish of food known here as KOSHARI (Kusharee, or any other spelling you like) is among one of the many “most famous” Egyptian meals!

WHERE DOES IT COME FROM?

There are a few histories of the dish, my favorite is that of the progressive improvement of the dish as it passed through many nationalities:

• It is said that the origins of this dish were from India: a lentil and rice dish called Khichiri.
• It appears to have become known in Italy (1900s) who then added… pasta (of course) in macaroni form.
• During the First World War, it is said that Egyptian soldiers got hold of this dish, and passed it on to their Egyptian families.
• At this point it was made thoroughly Egyptian: with the addition of Chick peas and crispy onions.

So a truly international, multi-layered, added on dish, culminating in a uniquely Egyptian taste, flavor and design!

WHAT IS IN KOSHAREE?

This is a single dish, with many ingredients:

• the base layer is a starch lover’s heaven: pasta (macaroni, and a very thin spaghetti) and rice… and lots of this!
• then is added lentils (usually dark)
• this then has a lovely tomato/onion/garlic sauce poured over it
• the final garnish is chick peas and crispy delicious caramelized onions.
• optional is a garlic sauce, or a zingy hot sauce (added to taste)

This may sound quite bizarre, but almost all of our guests have found this to be a memorable meal.

THE SERVING OF IT:

As with many meals in Egypt, the preparation is tedious: many ingredients and lots of time required. How it is then served is almost an elegant dance, so fluid are the “chef”, whether it be from a food cart or in one of the specialized kosharee restaurants.

The various food items are stored in large metal (silver) bowls, and traditional served on metal (silver in color) plates.

As the arm of the server sweeps and swoops gracefully and in a flurry of motion up and down the line of carefully created mounds of pasta, rice, lentils, tomato sauce, peas and onions, the pleasant sound of the metal plates beating against each other create a sound and rhythm that gets your mouth watering…. even standing watching them serve is mesmerizing!

If you are in a restaurant with a group, it can be alarming when you see how many plates one waiter is able to carry at a time: but the service is usually brisk and efficient, as there are often people waiting to be seated. So service is quick, eating is a serious business, and then move on to allow the next hungry customers the pleasure of eating their meal!

THE NATION LOVES IT!

Although there are some thoughts that this is a meal for the “poor/common folk” it is a widely popular dish, beloved by almost every Egyptian I know… and fast growing in acclaim with our foreign guests.

So when you come, ask around and find a good place to go to, and watch how they dish up the food, look at people’s faces, and then tuck in and enjoy this uniquely Egyptian meal: one that shows how we can combine many cultures in one and all enjoy it together.