You Say Kushari

• Variations in spelling and specifics don’t matter. Kushari -- also spelled kushary or koshari -- is one of the nation’s definitive dishes. This traditional Egyptian street food has been a lunchtime standby for Egypt's workers for decades. The basic recipe calls for macaroni or penne pasta, rice and tangy tomato sauce, topped with crunchy fried onions. Variations include garlic chickpeas or lentils.

Two Carbs Are Better Than One

• The most common way Egyptians serve rice is with vermicelli, a thin, long pasta that's broken up into short sections. The vermicelli is browned with oil or butter, giving the dish a nutty flavor. Once the vermicelli is cooked, rice is added, along with liquid, and simmered until the rice is cooked and the liquid absorbed. Called roz bill shaareyya, this dish is often served in place of bread with stews.

Bechamel -- The Other White Sauce

• Bechamel pasta, pronounced bashamel in Egypt, is made from pasta -- usually penne -- ground meat and a basic white sauce of clarified butter, flour and milk. Many recipes also call for topping with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese, giving the dish an Italian flair. The meat makes this an Egyptian dish: Onions, ground beef or lamb, allspice and cinnamon are ingredients in the traditional Egyptian dish kobeba, which is wheat minced together with meat prepared in this way.

Couscous, of Course

• Made from semolina flour, couscous is a coarsely ground pasta used in many cuisines of the Mediterranean basin. Instead of mixing the semolina with water or egg to form dough as is common in most pastas, couscous is made by rubbing the semolina flour between moistened hands, forming hundreds of small grains in the process. It can be simply and easily prepared by adding water in equal portions and cooking for about 10 minutes, or cook it in stock and serve as a side to be combined with meats or vegetables.