Thankfully, no matter wherein you travel (and dine) along the Silk road change route, there are positive to be comforting carbs to include on your meal.

Ramsha Baig

Koshari is a comforting meatless dish of pasta, rice, and lentils in highly spiced tomato sauce. Make this recipe for Egypt’s countrywide dish- a primary or side dish that everyone will love!

Ask 25 people what they take into account to be the perfect consolation food and also you’ll in all likelihood find 20 of them who say it’s a carbohydrate of some sort. what’s it approximately pasta, rice, bread, potatoes and different starchy foods that soothe and satisfy us like other foods can not?

While journeying through the Middle East, you might revel in dishes of Arabic kabsa (chicken and rice), Moroccan couscous, or Lebanese hashweh. Don’t leave the region without a forestall in northern Africa to visit Egypt. it is one of my all-time favorite nations to visit and discover! i am making plans a trip for a January 2022 go to and can’t wait (third experience)!

Koshari

Cuisine: Egyptian

Ingredients Notes And Substitutions

Fried Onion Topping
You’ll be making a batch of crispy, fried onions for the top of the koshary. if you’d like a faster option, you could simply bake frozen onion rings, but the flavor and texture aren’t almost as right as fresh fried onions.

if you stay within the States, every other option is to use organized fried onions that come in a can. I’m now not certain if the ones are sold out of doors of the U.S., but it’s viable.

Rice
classic koshari recipes call for Basmati rice, which is an extended grain, aromatic rice that generally doubles in size while cooked. if you need another option, any long grain rice may be best. you may even use lengthy grain brown, wild, or black rice in case you choose. simply notice that they take quite a chunk longer to cook dinner.

Lentils- both brown or inexperienced lentils may be used

Pasta- Elbow macaroni is normally used, however Orecchiette (shells) and Ditalini also are good options

Chickpeas (garbanzo beans)- you could use canned or purchase them dried and cook dinner them your self. if you want instructions, test out my post on how to cook dinner chickpeas.
Tomato Passata – Passata could be very similar to tomato puree. The primary difference is that the tomatoes in passata are typically raw, and had been skinned, seeded, and strained. in case you’re unable to locate tomato passata to your local grocery keep, tomato puree is a good alternative.
Baharat Spice- This Arabic spice blend adds a great smoky-sweet flavor to the tomato sauce. i’ve a baharat spice recipe you could make, or look within the notes of the recipe card below for a quick spice blend you can replacement for the baharat.

Recipe Instruction

Koshari is a pretty directly-forward dish, and now not tough to make in any respect. here’s a precis of the basic steps:

Make the fried onions.
Toss the onion slices in flour and pan fry them till they’re crispy. It’s that simple!

cook the rice, lentils, and macaroni.
You’ll need to prepare dinner each of these one after the other. in case you’d like to store a while, feel free to prepare dinner any of them an afternoon or beforehand of time.

If making a decision to cook anything ahead, simply allow the food to chill first, then place it into a covered container or zip top plastic garage bag. preserve it inside the fridge until you’re prepared to gather the koshar. just re-heat the whole thing before layering.

Make the passata sauce.
This is easy as well; just place the passata or tomato puree right into a saucepan with the spices and add the cooked chickpeas. Simmer for a couple of minutes and also you’ll be correct to head.

Layer the ingredients in a massive bowl.
Koshari is a beautiful dish when all the ingredients are layered, but this step is non-compulsory. in case you’d rather, just combine everything collectively in a large serving bowl and sprinkle the fried onions on top.

How to serve Koshari

If you have experience turning cakes out onto a platter, plating the koshari ought to be very smooth for you. If no longer, don’t worry, it’s no longer difficult, but I advise looking the video inside the recipe card to see precisely the way it’s done.

Layer the ingredients into a big bowl, then use your palms to gently press down and compact them.

Place a platter the wrong way up over the top of the bowl.

Invert the plate. maintain the bottom of the bowl in one hand and place your other hand on top of the plate. Then, invert it in order that the platter is on the bottom and the bowl is on top.
Put off the bowl. lightly carry the bowl off of the koshari and then garnish the top with fried onions.
apart from a few pickled lemon and shatta hot sauce, there is not a lot else you may need to serve with this carb and calorie encumbered delight. bring your appetite!