Hey guys, hope everyone had a good weekend!
I’ve been attempting to relax and refuel after a very stressful week – final year of university is proving to be a lot more challenging that I had originally anticipated and at two weeks in, I’m already feeling pretty drained. Nothing a little rest and good old fashioned comfort food can’t remedy.
To some, that would mean a Sunday roast with all the trimmings, but yesterday I treated the roommate to my healthified version of the ultimate Egyptian comfort food: Koshary.
Earlier this month I blogged about the quintessential Egyptian breakfast , but Koshary is by far the most popular Egyptian dish, and is in fact considered by many to be the national dish.
This simple combination of rice, macaroni, lentils, tomato sauce and fried onions is often regarded as a blue-collar meal, but is enjoyed by all regardless of social class. I’ve yet to meet an Egyptian who is “too good” for Koshary – and I’m pretty sure I won’t any time soon.
It’s sold in restaurants and vendors all over the country and has even been dubbed “the food that fed the revolution”.
It’s hearty, fragrant and filling.
To me, it tastes like home.
Brown Rice Koshary
- Serves 4 (plus leftovers)
- 1 cup of brown rice
- 1 cup of brown lentils
- 2 cups elbow macaroni (you can use GF macaroni also)
- 3-4 medium tomatoes – roughly chopped
- 2 medium red onions
- 1 tbsp coconut oil (or desired cooking oil of choice)
Spicy Chili Sauce
- 3-4 cloves of garlic – finely chopped or crushed
- 2-3 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 2 tsp cumin powder
- 1-2 tsp chili powder (or as much as is desired)
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
- To a pot of water, add the lentils along with a clove of garlic, half an onion, some cumin powder and salt and pepper if desired. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer until cooked. Make sure not to over cook – you want them slightly al dente and not mushy.
- Add the macaroni to a pot of boiling water, cook and drain.
- Cook brown rice until perfectly fluffed.
- Make a tomato sauce by blending the chopped tomatoes with about a 1/4 cup of water and cook according to this recipe, but without the onions (ie. add the tomato sauce to just the oil to reduce). Season with salt and pepper to taste (I like a lot of pepper when making this for Koshary). Feel free to use ready made sauce or chopped tomatoes to save some time.
- While the sauce simmers – chop up the remaining onions into thick strips. Spread on a baking tray greased with coconut oil or some cooking spray and grill on medium heat till edges are crispy.
- To make the chili sauce, combine the garlic, vinegar, cumin and chili powder with 1-2 tablespoonfuls of the base tomato sauce.
- And with that, the laborious process of cooking al the separate components is over.
- Serve by layering the rice, macaroni and lentils and top with a generous serving of the tomato sauce then top with grilled onions.
Add however much chili sauce you would like – or do what I did and leave it at the table for diners to add at their own risk 🙂
Served with a lush salad of mixed greens, carrots, walnuts and raisins (can you tell I love that combination in a salad?)
Have you ever had Koshary or any other ethnic street food?
What home cooked meal is your ultimate “comfort food”?
Here’s to a good week.
I am trying to make this recipe (MoFo #11) and it says to cook the tomato sauce according to “this recipe.” What is “this recipe” referring to? Does it just need to simmer?
Hello Larisa – I will fix the link, but essentially the sauce is fresh blended tomatoes cooked in batches with some cooking oil, salt and pepper and tomato paste (a small anount)
Hey, quick question, isn’t Koshary (the one sold in the streets of Egypt) already vegan (just wondering, I mean it has no milk/eggs)?
Also, what foods do I consume and what foods do I stay away from when I am in Egypt as a vegan? (I speculate “laser 2asab is vegan since its just cane sugar, but what else) Also, what drinks? <3
Hi Jojo, yes Koshary is already vegan thankfully. As is foul and ta’amiya (falafel), so any traditional restaurant or food stall should have you covered vegan option wise. Most traditional restuarants will also make mahshi and wara’ enab (vine leaves) but be sure to ask if they contain meat or not (most don’t, but there’s always the exception. Aseer asab and carrot juice are both vegan and most restaurants will have a wide array of fresh fruit juices as well. If you’re a caffiene fan, Turkish coffee is also great.
As for foods to avoid, fatta, any veg dishes with meat cooked into them like Bamya (okra), cake and pastries like feteer meshaltet are made using a lot of ghee so best to steer clear. That’s all I can think of off the top of my head but if you have any more questions feel free to ask.
Thank you for this recipe – it passed the husband test 😀. Having trouble finding fava beans in my little UK town, but when I do, I’ll definitely be trying your fool recipe 😀
Check out any ethnic food stores nearby, I used to buy mine at a large ethnic store in Nottingham!
Sabah el kheyr ya Nada. I am travelling to Egypt soon inshallah. Please can you tell me any how to explain that I vegan?
Hi Nada,
I want to ask you in regards to cooking Koshary with brown rice. Did you use the long or short grain? I feel like the short is closer to the Egyptian rice; however, the long one doesn’t leave starch behind and I don’t want starch. Let me know what you think please.
Hi Sarah – I would recommend short-grain and just give it a good wash or soak beforehand to help reduce the starch!