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Koshari
Kushari: Cairo's rice, lentil and pasta bowl with spiced tomato sauce, garlic vinegar and crisp onions
Koshari is the dish of Cairo's streets: whole shops, from Abou Tarek downtown to small corner counters, sell nothing else, and office workers queue for a metal bowl of it at lunchtime. Brown lentils and rice are cooked together, then piled with macaroni, vermicelli and chickpeas, drowned in a sharp cumin-tomato sauce and finished with dakka (garlic vinegar), shatta (chilli sauce) and a heap of dark fried onions. It is cheap, filling and naturally vegan, and every Egyptian eats it differently, so put the sauces on the table. Chef's tip: fry the onions first and cook everything else in their oil; that onion-scented oil is what makes koshari taste like the shops' and not like a plate of separate leftovers.
- Total time
- 75 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the crispy onions
For the rice, lentils and pasta
For the tomato sauce
For the dakka (garlic vinegar)
To serve
Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Toss 3 onions with 1 tbsp cornflour and a pinch of salt. Heat ¾ cup sunflower oil in a wide pan over a medium-high heat and fry the onions in two batches, stirring, for 10–12 minutes until deep mahogany brown and crackling. Lift onto kitchen paper; they crisp as they cool. Keep the oil.
20 minStep 2: Put 7 oz brown lentils in a pan with 1 litre of water, bring to the boil and simmer for 12 minutes, until just tender but not split. Drain.
15 minStep 3: In a heavy pot, heat 2 tbsp of the onion oil over a medium heat and fry 1 ¾ oz vermicelli for 2–3 minutes, stirring all the time, until evenly golden brown and nutty-smelling. Watch it: it goes from gold to burnt quickly.
3 minStep 4: Stir in 7 oz short- or medium-grain rice (Egyptian rice), the lentils, 1 tsp ground cumin and 1 tsp of the 1 tsp salt. Pour in 500 ml boiling water, cover tightly and cook on the lowest heat for 18 minutes, until the water is absorbed and the rice is tender. Rest off the heat, covered, for 10 minutes.
18 minStep 5: Meanwhile, boil 7 oz small macaroni (elbows or ditalini) in well-salted water (use the rest of the 1 tsp salt) until just tender, drain and toss with 1 tbsp of the onion oil. Warm 8 ½ oz cooked chickpeas in a little of their liquid.
10 minStep 6: For the sauce, heat 2 tbsp onion oil over a medium heat and cook 5 cloves garlic for 1 minute until fragrant but not brown. Add 1 tbsp tomato paste, 1 tsp ground cumin, ½ tsp ground coriander and ½ tsp chilli flakes and stir for 30 seconds, then add 2 cups passata (sieved tomatoes), 2 tbsp white vinegar, 1 tsp sugar and 150 ml water. Simmer for 15 minutes until slightly thickened, glossy and sharp; season with salt.
16 minStep 7: For the dakka, mix 4 cloves garlic, ¼ cup white vinegar, ¼ cup water, ½ tsp ground cumin and 1 tbsp lemon juice with a pinch of salt in a jug. It should be thin, sour and very garlicky.
Step 8: Fluff the rice and lentils with a fork. To serve, layer each bowl: rice and lentils, macaroni, chickpeas, a ladle of tomato sauce, then a big handful of crispy onions on top. Pass round the dakka and 2 tbsp chilli sauce (shatta) so everyone can add their own. A common mistake is pouring the sauce on hours ahead: the pasta soaks it all up, so keep everything separate until the last minute.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 640 kcal
- Protein
- 22 g
- Carbs
- 108 g
- Fat
- 14 g
- Fibre
- 13 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does koshari take?
- About 75 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 50 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- What can I use instead of onions?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of cornflour?
- Arrowroot or potato starch, same amount.
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