Authentic Arabic & Levantine Recipes
Koshari Recipe: Egyptian Rice, Lentils, Pasta and Spiced Tomato Sauce
Koshari is Egypt's iconic street food dish, layering Egyptian short-grain rice, brown lentils, toasted vermicelli, macaroni and chickpeas in a single bowl. It is crowned with a tangy garlic-vinegar tomato sauce and crisp fried onions, with cumin-garlic vinegar (dakka) and hot chilli sauce (shatta) served on the side.
Also known as:Egyptian kushariKoshary recipeEgyptian lentil and rice bowl
Servings6
Prep time20 min
Cook time45 min
Ingredients
Add all ingredients to cart- 300 g Egyptian short-grain rice, rinsed
- 200 g brown lentils, rinsed and soaked for 20 minutes
- 100 g vermicelli noodles and 250 g small elbow macaroni
- 1 tin cooked chickpeas (400 g), warmed
- 3 large onions thinly sliced into rings, 1 tbsp cornstarch and vegetable oil for frying
- 500 g passata or crushed tomatoes, 4 minced garlic cloves, 2 tbsp white vinegar and 1 tsp ground cumin for the tomato sauce
- For the dakka: 4 crushed garlic cloves, 60 ml white vinegar, 60 ml water, juice of 1 lemon, 1 tsp ground cumin and 1 tsp ground coriander; plus hot shatta chilli sauce
Preparation Steps
- 1Toss the sliced onions with the cornstarch and fry in hot oil for 10 minutes until deep golden and crisp, drain on a wire rack and reserve the fragrant onion-infused oil for cooking the rest of the dish.
- 2Parboil the brown lentils in water for 10 minutes; in a pot, toast the vermicelli noodles in 2 tbsp of the reserved onion oil until golden brown, stir in the rinsed rice, parboiled lentils, cumin, salt and about 650 ml hot water (or the lentil cooking water), and steam covered over low heat for 15 minutes.
- 3Meanwhile, boil the macaroni in salted water for 8 minutes, drain and toss with 1 tbsp onion oil; for the tomato sauce, sizzle the garlic in 2 tbsp onion oil, splash in the vinegar, add the tomatoes, cumin and salt and simmer for 12 minutes.
- 4Whisk the dakka ingredients together in a jug; to serve, mound the lentil-vermicelli rice in bowls, top with macaroni, ladle over the hot tomato sauce, scatter with chickpeas and crispy onions, and pass the dakka and shatta at the table.
