COUNTRY: EGYPT
DISH: KOSHARI
CONTRIBUTED BY: Dina Zeidan Spouse to the Ambassador
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups of short grain rice
1 pkt (16 oz) dry pasta, preferably Ditalini or elbow.
2 tablespoon oil
salt and pepper to taste
For the lentils
2 cups dry brown lentils
water to cover lentils
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion chopped
1 can (16oz) tomato sauce
1 teaspoon ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste
For the vermicelli
1/2 packet (15.87oz) vermicelli
3 tablespoon olive oil or butter
1 cup water
salt to taste
For the chickpeas
1 cup dry chickpeas or 1 can chickpeas
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
water if using dry chickpeas
For the tomato sauce
1 1/2 teaspoon garlic crushed
2 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup white vinegar
* 2 cans (16oz tomato sauce)
salt to taste
For the cumin sauce (kamouneyah)
1 teaspoon garlic crushed
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup vinegar
salt
FOR THE FRIED ONION: 3 Large onions sliced. Oil for frying
8Put lentils in a colander and wash with running cold water. Place lentils in a pot and cover with water 2-3 inches. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to minimum and simmer for 25-30 minutes until almost done. Drain. In the same pot add oil, chopped onion and suate until fragrant. Add semi-cooked lentils, cumin, salt and tomato sauce. Cook for 15 minutes on medium or until tender but not mushy. Set aside. Preparing pastas and soaking chickpeas for Egyptian KoshariSave Save Prepare short grain rice as directed on the package or in your rice cooker. Traditionally, short grain rice is used. Some people like using Basmati rice or even Jasmine rice, this is ok but not the traditional way to prepare this dish. Making Koshari with vermicelli is not traditional but highly recommended. I have a motto that anything is better with vermicelli. So go get some from the store and make it, you’ll never regret it I promise. Roast vermicelli in some oil, then gradually add water until it absorbs the water and becomes tender and not clumpy or mushy. This steps depends greatly on the kind of vermicelli you are getting. Cook Pasta according to package directions, drain then mix in salt and pepper and oil. You should have soaked chickpeas overnight or if you forgot you can soak for an hour in hot water and baking soda.
We need to prepare two types of sauces, tomato sauce which is a must and kammuneyah or cumin sauce which is highly recommended but for those serious Koshari eaters. To make the tomato sauce: Saute garlic in oil until fragrant, about one minute. Add vinegar, tomato sauce, salt and pepper then bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes to thicken it a bit. To make cumin sauce: again we’ll need to saute garlic and ground cumin in oil until fragrant, add vinegar, water and salt. This sauce will separate as it cools down, you’ll notice that the cumin and garlic will stay at the bottom while water and vinegar rises to top. It is recommended to pour this sauce in a bottle and give it a good shake before using. Frying onions and cooking chickpeas for Egyptian KoshariSave Save Now we will prepare crispy onion by simply frying onion wedges in oil. Some people like powdering onions with flour or tossing them with salt first. I do not like that, and I come up with very crispy onion slices and you can hear that clear in the video… No salt… No flour. Just take them out on a plate with kitchen paper towel. Please see notes below for the use of the frying oil. Cook chickpeas by first draining the soaking water and washing them well then place in a pot, cover with water add some salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook 60-90 minutes until it reaches the desired tenderness.