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Koshari Recipe

Egyptian street food classic

Course Main Course
Cuisine Egyptian, Middle Eastern
Keyword Comfort food, Crowd pleaser, vegan
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Author Zaatar and Zaytoun

Ingredients

For the cumin vinaigrette

  • 1 cup hot water
  • 1-2 garlic cloves minced
  • 2 tablespoon white vinegar
  • 1 lemon juiced
  • pinch cumin
  • pinch dried coriander
  • pinch paprika
  • pinch salt

For the lentil rice

  • 1 cup vermicelli
  • 1 cup brown lentils
  • 5 cups cold water
  • 1 cup short grain rice
  • 1 teaspoon salt approx
  • ¼ teaspoon cumin
  • ¼ teaspoon 7 spice

For the tomato sauce and pasta

  • 4-6 fresh tomatoes
  • small squeeze tomato concentrate
  • pinch dried oregano
  • salt
  • 2 cups macaroni

For the crispy onions

  • 3 onions thinly sliced
  • 3 tablespoons cornflour
  • vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

For the cumin vinaigrette

  1. In a small pot add a small drizzle of oil, sauté the minced garlic for 2 mins on low heat, then add the hot water, white vinegar, cumin, salt, paprika and dried coriander

  2. Simmer for five minutes then taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Set aside.

For the lentil rice

  1. In a small pan, add a good drizzle of vegetable oil to the vermicelli and sauté until golden.

  2. In a large pot, add 5 cups of cold water to 1 cup of lentils and bring to the boil

  3. After 25 minutes add the rice and vermicelli, along with the cumin, salt and 7 spice. Lower the heat to a simmer for around 20 minutes until the rice is cooked.

For the tomato sauce and pasta

  1. In a small pot, add a drizzle of mild olive oil with the roughly chopped tomatoes, tomato concentrate, salt, black pepper and oregano, cook on medium heat

  2. After 20 mins, blitz the sauce with a hand blender until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Set aside.
  3. Cook the pasta in a separate pot according to packet instructions. Drain and add a little oil to prevent sticking, then set aside.

For the crispy onions

  1. Toss the sliced onions in the cornflour. Heat up a deep pan with vegetable oil and once the oil is hot, deep fry the onions until crispy. Drain on a paper lined plate and set aside.

To assemble

  1. On a platter, add a layer of rice, then pasta, then tomato sauce and top with the crispy onions. Finally drizzle on a little cumin vinaigrette and enjoy.

Recipe Notes

You can also add chickpeas. Simply heat up a can of chickpeas and drain before adding a layer on the pasta.