Koshari

About This Recipe

Koshari is Egypt's national dish and one of the world's great street foods — a bowl layered with small pasta, rice, brown lentils and chickpeas, topped with a spiced tomato sauce, crispy fried onions and a fiery garlic vinegar sauce (dakka). Cheap, filling, deeply satisfying and entirely plant-based, it has been sold from koshari carts in Egyptian cities for over a century. Each bite is a different combination of textures and flavours.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 300 glong grain rice
• 200 gbrown or green lentils
• 200 gsmall pasta (ditalini or elbow)
• 400 gcanned chickpeas(drained)
• 3 largeonions(thinly sliced)
• 400 gcanned tomatoes(blended)
• 4 clovesgarlic(2 for sauce, 2 for dakka)
• 1 tspground cumin
• 1 tspground coriander
• 0.5 tspchilli flakes
• 3 tbspred wine vinegar
• 3 tbspvegetable oil
• 1 tspsalt

Instructions

1. 1

   Fry onions

   Fry sliced onions in 2 tbsp oil over medium-high heat, stirring often, until very dark brown and crispy — about 25 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

2. 2

   Cook lentils and rice

   Cook lentils in salted water 20 minutes until just tender. Drain. Cook rice separately. Combine with lentils and keep warm.

3. 3

   Cook pasta and chickpeas

   Cook pasta until al dente. Drain. Warm chickpeas separately.

4. 4

   Make tomato sauce

   Fry 2 cloves garlic in 1 tbsp oil. Add blended tomatoes, cumin, coriander, chilli and salt. Simmer 15 minutes until thick.

5. 5

   Make dakka and serve

   Mix 2 cloves minced garlic with red wine vinegar and a pinch of salt for dakka. Layer bowl with rice-lentil base, pasta, chickpeas, tomato sauce and crispy onions. Serve with dakka on the side.

Variations

• •

  Add a fried egg on top for a more substantial meal.

• •

  Use macaroni instead of ditalini for a common variation.

Storage

Each component keeps refrigerated for 3 days. Assemble fresh; crispy onions lose texture in advance.

Frequently Asked Questions