About Koshary Chef
Koshary Chef is an Egyptian cooking game that shows you how to make Egypt's most famous street food from start to finish. The cartoon kitchen is warm and cozy, with blue tiles on the wall and a window with green wooden shutters looking out over a Cairo street with its buildings, a minaret and a white taxi. Every step has a short new action, so you never get bored.
The recipe has 7 steps: wash the rice until the water runs clear, put the rice, lentils and pasta into their pots and light the fire, stir in circles before the foam boils over, fry the onions and take them out while they're golden, make the tomato sauce and garlic dressing with tomatoes, garlic, cumin and vinegar in the order shown on the cards, then build the plate: rice with lentils, pasta, chickpeas, sauce and crispy onions on top. At the end the customer tastes it and gives you one to 3 stars.
Every instruction comes with a small picture for kids who are still learning to read, and an arrow points to the right spot if you get stuck. Mistakes are gentle here: the rice might stick a little or the onions get a bit dark, which costs a star but nothing upsetting happens. And because it's a kitchen game, it always reminds kids that real cooking is done with Mom or Dad.
How to play
- Press “Let's cook” and look at the strip at the top: it shows a picture and a short sentence telling you what to do, plus the step number out of 7.
- Wash the rice: rub or tap the bowl until the water meter fills up and the water is clear.
- Drag each bag to the pot with the same picture (or just tap it), then press each pot's knob to light the fire.
- Stir with the spoon in circles until the stir meter is full, before the foam boils over.
- Put the onions in the pan, and take them out when the marker reaches the golden part with the star.
- Add the sauce ingredients in card order (card 1 on the left), then build the plate in picture order and serve it to the customer.
Controls
| Keyboard | Arrow keys move between things and Space or Enter picks one. To wash the rice, press Space again and again; to stir, press ← and → one after the other. |
|---|---|
| Mouse | Click things or drag them to the pot and the plate. To stir, hold the button down and move the mouse in circles over the pot. |
| Touch | Tap things or drag them with your finger. To stir, draw circles with your finger over the pot. |
Tips to win
- When stirring, draw big circles around the middle of the pot: every full turn fills the meter faster and calms the foam.
- The onions brown slowly on their own: wait until they're golden and little stars sparkle around them, then take them out.
- Not sure what to do next? Wait a second and the orange arrow will show you where to tap.
- Classic Egyptian koshary goes rice with lentils at the bottom, pasta on top, then chickpeas and sauce, and crispy fried onions last.
Koshary Chef: questions and answers
What age is the koshary cooking game for?
It suits kids from 5. Every step has a picture and a pointing arrow, so young children can play even before they read well, and older kids can aim for 3 stars every time. Grown-ups enjoy it too, and the whole family can compete for the best plate.
Does the game really teach cooking?
It introduces you to the real steps, ingredients and layering of Egyptian koshary, but it's a cartoon game. In a real kitchen, kids should always cook with Mom or Dad and keep away from the stove.
How do I get 3 stars in Koshary Chef?
Stir quickly so the foam doesn't boil over, take the onions out while they're golden, and add the sauce ingredients and plate layers in the right order. One or two order slips still give you 3 stars.
Can I play on a phone or with a keyboard?
Yes. It works with touch on phones and tablets, with a mouse, and with a keyboard too: arrow keys and Space, and for stirring press the left and right arrows one after the other.