Description
Koshary is the national dish of Egypt and one of the great comfort foods of the Middle East — a pile of rice, lentils, and pasta topped with a spiced tomato sauce and a mountain of crispy fried onions. It sounds like a strange combination until you eat it, and then it makes total sense. Carbs on carbs on carbs, held together by a tangy, cumin-spiked sauce and the crunch of those golden onions.
Ingredients
Units
- 1 cup long-grain white rice
- 1 cup brown or green lentils, picked over and rinsed
- 1 cup elbow macaroni
- 3 large yellow onions, thinly sliced into rings
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil for frying
- 1 can (14.5 ounces) crushed tomatoes
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Instructions
- Cook the lentils in salted water for 20 to 25 minutes until tender but not mushy. Drain and set aside.
- Cook the rice in salted water according to package directions. Set aside.
- Cook the macaroni in salted water until al dente. Drain and set aside.
- Fry the onions: heat vegetable oil in a deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sliced onions and fry, stirring occasionally, for 12 to 15 minutes until deeply golden and crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Season with salt.
- Make the tomato sauce: heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add crushed tomatoes, vinegar, cumin, coriander, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Simmer 10 minutes until slightly thickened.
- Warm the chickpeas in a small saucepan with a splash of water.
- Assemble the koshary: layer rice, then lentils, then macaroni in bowls. Top with chickpeas, spoon the tomato sauce generously over everything, and pile the crispy fried onions on top.
Notes
- The fried onions are the soul of this dish — do not rush them. Low and slow turns them golden, sweet, and impossibly crunchy.
- The vinegar in the sauce is what cuts through all the starch and gives koshary its distinctive tangy kick.
- Each component can be made ahead and assembled to order, which is exactly how the street vendors in Cairo do it.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Cuisine: Egyptian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 460
- Sugar: 6
- Sodium: 620
- Fat: 14
- Carbohydrates: 70
- Fiber: 10
- Protein: 16