Koshari

Ingredients

Rice and lentils

• 300 gEgyptian short-grain rice, rinsed and soaked 20 min
• 200 gbrown lentils, rinsed
• 50 gvermicelli, broken up
• 3 tbspvegetable oil
• 1 tspground cumin
• 1 tspsalt
• 600 mlwater

Other starches

• 200 gsmall elbow macaroni or ditalini
• 250 gcooked chickpeas, drained
• salt, for the pasta water

Tomato sauce (salsa)

• 4 tbspvegetable oil
• 6garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 800 gpassata or blended tinned tomatoes
• 2 tbsptomato puree
• 2 tspground cumin
• 1 tspground coriander
• 1 tspchilli flakes
• 3 tbspwhite vinegar
• 1 tspsalt

Taqleya and crispy onions

• 4large onions, sliced into thin rings
• 500 mlvegetable oil, for frying
• 2 tbspcornflour
• 6garlic cloves, crushed
• 4 tbspwhite vinegar
• 1 tspground cumin

Da’a (chilli sauce)

• 4 tbspof the tomato sauce
• 2 tbspvinegar
• 1–2 tspchilli flakes or hot chilli paste

Directions

1. Start the onions, which take longest. Toss the rings in cornflour, shake off the excess, and fry in 500 ml oil at 170°C (350°F) in three batches for 8–10 minutes each, until deep mahogany and rigid. Drain on a rack and salt. They must be genuinely crisp and slightly bitter at the edges.
2. Simmer the lentils in plenty of unsalted water for 15–18 minutes until just tender but still holding shape, then drain, keeping the lentil water.
3. Fry the broken vermicelli in the 3 tbsp oil until nut brown, add the drained rice and stir 2 minutes, then the lentils, cumin, salt and 600 ml of the reserved lentil water. Boil hard, then cover and steam on the lowest heat 18 minutes. Rest 10 minutes covered.
4. Boil the macaroni in salted water until just past al dente, drain, and toss with a spoonful of oil so it does not clump.
5. For the sauce, fry the garlic in the oil until it is just turning gold, add the cumin, coriander and chilli for 30 seconds, then the tomato puree for 2 minutes, then the passata and salt. Simmer 20–25 minutes until it darkens and thickens.
6. Stir the vinegar into the sauce at the end. That sharp vinegar edge is the taste people recognise as koshari, and it must not be cooked away.
7. Make the taqleya: fry the crushed garlic in 2 tbsp oil until fragrant and pale gold, then stand back and pour in the vinegar with the cumin. It will spit violently. Boil 30 seconds and pour into a jug.
8. Warm the chickpeas through in a little of the sauce. Mix a few spoonfuls of the tomato sauce with extra vinegar and chilli to make the da’a.
9. Layer in bowls: rice and lentils at the bottom, then macaroni, then chickpeas, then a ladle of hot tomato sauce, then the taqleya, and finish with a heaped handful of crispy onions. Serve the da’a on the side for people to add their own heat.

Technique

• Koshari is Egypt’s great street dish, eaten from bowls at koshari houses in Cairo where cooks assemble it in seconds. Its layered starches probably come from Indian khichri by way of British-era Egypt, crossed with Italian pasta and local rice and lentils.
• Vinegar in three places, in the sauce, in the taqleya and in the da’a, is what stops a plate of four starches tasting heavy. Under-acidify and it is stodge.
• Fry the onions dry and low enough to dehydrate them fully. Onions pulled out pale go limp within minutes under the hot sauce.

Substitutions

• No Egyptian short-grain rice: any short or medium grain works; basmati gives a looser, less traditional result.
• Shop-bought crispy fried onions will do at a pinch, but they are sweeter and thinner than the proper thing.

Variations

• Koshari Iskandarani, the Alexandrian version, served much wetter with extra sauce.
• Some houses add a spoon of hot butter-fried tomato paste on top; purists object.

History

Assembled in Cairo in the late nineteenth century, combining Indian khichri brought by British-Indian troops, Italian pasta and Egyptian rice, lentils and chickpeas.

Frequently asked questions

What is Koshari?

Koshari is a main from Egypt: rice, lentils, macaroni and chickpeas under spiced tomato sauce and crispy onions. Assembled in Cairo in the late nineteenth century, combining Indian khichri brought by British-Indian troops, Italian pasta and Egyptian rice, lentils and chickpeas.

How long does Koshari take to make?

Koshari takes 45 min of preparation and 1 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Koshari?

Yes, within limits. No Egyptian short-grain rice: any short or medium grain works; basmati gives a looser, less traditional result. Shop-bought crispy fried onions will do at a pinch, but they are sweeter and thinner than the proper thing.

What is the most important thing to get right in Koshari?

Start the onions, which take longest. Toss the rings in cornflour, shake off the excess, and fry in 500 ml oil at 170°C (350°F) in three batches for 8–10 minutes each, until deep mahogany and rigid. Drain on a rack and salt. They must be genuinely crisp and slightly bitter at the edges.