Koshari or Kushari is a very popular Egyptian dish made of rice and lentil, served with a spicy tomato sauce and caramelized onions. We first ate this dish in one of the local Middle Eastern restaurants. I was amazed to find many vegetarian dishes on their menu and this one, in particular, caught my eye. I have never eaten a dish that has rice and also pasta. Once we ordered it we fell in love with it. The dish was layers and layers of flavors. I tried to mimic the flavors that I ate in the restaurant and came up with this recipe. If you are looking for a one-pot meal, this one sure should make your list.
History of Koshari -
I also want to share a little bit of information that I found about the history and origination of this dish. Koshari originated in the mid-19th century, during which Egypt was a multi-cultural country and economically developing country. Lower-class people’s pantry which is usually very limited, at the end of the month, always has little of many different ingredients like rice, lentils, pasta, tomato sauce, garlic, and onions. Someone came up with the idea of putting all these ingredients together in one dish and thus originated the Koshari, which eventually became very famous among the laborers and the working class people. It is often found as a street-side food apart from also being made at home. This dish is usually entirely vegetarian. I have made this dish with regular masoor dal (orange lentil) and have seen that it cooks a little too soft for my liking. Lately, I have been using whole masoor dal with skin and it works perfectly. This is the perfect lentil to use for the dish. The restaurant I ate this first at has a very spicy tomato sauce. I make mine spicy as well but to the extent that the boys can eat it and enjoy it. Caramelized onion is very vital for Kushari and hence make sure you make them. It is a time-consuming process to make the caramelized onion, but the sweetness from the onion is just delicious in the dish. Make sure you make enough as people will definitely come for more onion. Also, check out my other Middle Eastern recipes - Preparation time – 20 minsCooking time – 1 hrDifficulty level – easy
Procedure to make Kushari –
Heat a wide pan and add about 3 tablespoon of oil. Sauté the onions until well caramelized and dark brown.
Remove almost ¾th of the caramelized onions and drain it on a paper towel and keep aside.
To the remaining onions in the pan, add about 3 cups of water and bring it to a boil.
To this add the washed and drained lentils.
Once the lentils are ½ way done, add the rinsed and drained rice.
Add the cumin powder and nutmeg powder to the boiling rice and lentil along with salt.
Cook them until done (about 30 mins). Keep aside.
In another pan boil about 3 cups of water and cook the elbow pasta until al dente. Drain and keep it aside.
To make the sauce –
Heat a pan with about a tablespoon of oil. Add the chopped onion to it and sauté until translucent.
Now add the garlic and sauté for 2 more mins.
To this add the vinegar and bring it to a boil. Once the vinegar boils, add the canned tomato sauce along with salt and the rest of the seasonings.
Let the sauce boil and then simmer and reduce until it is thick (about 20 mins).
To assemble the Kushari–
Layer the rice and lentil on the bottom of the plate.
Then add a layer of pasta.
Add a layer of spicy tomato sauce.
Top with caramelized onions and boiled chickpeas.
Scoop a big spoonful of everything together and enjoy this tasty and delicious dish!!!
More Middle Eastern Recipes
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