Koshari is a delicious vegan street food recipe from Egypt. It's the national dish of Egypt and is very popular in other parts of the world too.
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What? You don't know what Koshari is?” asked my husband’s friend with a shock on his face as if we had committed a crime by not knowing the existence of Koshari. That was the first time I had heard about today’s dish - Koshari during a get together with friends, a few years back.
After the initial shock, he explained the dish to us in detail. It was clear that he was addicted to the dish. Honestly, initially, I felt that the combination of lentil, rice, pasta, chickpeas, sauce, and the spicy dressing was weird. But that made me even more eager to try this strange combination.
The next morning I searched about it online and got to know that it’s the national dish of Egypt and a very popular street food there. Everybody who had tried it was praising the dish - not only Egyptians but other nationalities too.
The most interesting fact is that the national dish of a meat-loving country is Vegan.
Another interesting story that I discovered about Koshari is that it is inspired by the simple comfort food of India – Khichdi a dish made with rice and lentils. It was brought to Egypt from India by the British during the British occupation of Egypt. It was then modified by the Egyptian soldiers who added local flavors to it and thus Koshari got created.
Don’t get overwhelmed by seeing the long recipe. It looks exhausting as there are different layers of the dish which are required to be prepared separately, unlike Khichdi in which everything is cooked together. However, the individual recipe for each layer is super simple so you can make all of them simultaneously.
To save time, you can also prepare some layers in advance. For e.g., I keep my Birista (fried onions) ready in advance and store it in the fridge. I also boil the chickpeas in advance or use the canned ones. Similarly, you can also simplify the recipe by doing some advance planning.
Interested to check the vegan version of National dish of some more countries? Don't miss to check out the following recipes on this blog:
1. Vegan Nasi Goreng ( National dish of Indonesia)
2. Fasolada (National dish of Greece)
3. Pad Thai (National dish of Thailand)
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Step by step photo instructions
Recipe
Koshari-Vegan National dish of Egypt
Ingredients
Layer 1 -Rice & Vermicelli
- ⅔ cup long-grain rice
- 4 tbsp vermicelli
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1.5 cups water adjust as required to cook the rice and vermicelli
Layer 2-Lentil
- ⅔ cup brown lentil
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 cups water approximately
Layer 3-Pasta
- ⅔ cup elbow macaroni
- Water to boil macaroni
- Salt as per taste
Layer 4-chickpeas
- 1.5 cups boiled/ canned chickpeas
Layer 5- tomato sauce
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1 large tomato finely chopped
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- ½ tablespoon coriander powder
- ½ tablespoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon chili flakes
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- Salt as per taste
Layer 6-Birista (fried onions)
- 1 large onion thinly sliced
- ½ teaspoon cornflour
- Oil for frying
Koshari dressing
- 1 cup water
- 2 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- Salt as per taste
Instructions
Layer 1 -Rice & Vermicelli
- Heat olive oil in a pot, fry onion till it starts turning brown. Add vermicelli and fry for 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Wash rice nicely and drain the water. Add rice to the vermicelli pot and fry for 2-3 minutes. Now add in the salt and water. Cook till the rice is done. Keep aside.
Layer 2-Lentil
- Wash and soak lentil in warm water for 15-20 minutes. In a pot add soaked lentil, water, bay leaf, and salt. Cook till the lentil is 90% done. We don’t want mushy lentil for Koshari.
- Drain out the excess water with a strainer. Don’t throw away the water. It can be used to cook the rice layer which will add extra flavor to the rice. However, if you are planning to use this water, cook lentil before cooking the rice.
Layer 3- Pasta
- Add pasta to the boiling water and cook al dente. Keep aside.
Layer 4- Chickpeas
- Take the boiled/ canned chickpeas in a bowl and warm it in a microwave before serving.
Layer 5- Tomato sauce
- In a saucepan put all the ingredients of the sauce and cook for around 15 minutes. Switch off the gas and keep the sauce aside.
Layer 6 – Birista (Fried onions)
- Thinly slice one onion, sprinkle some cornflour, and mix well. Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the onions till they turn golden brown.
- Take out the onions on a tissue paper and spread the onion strings when they are still hot otherwise they will stick together. Let them come to room temperature.
Serving
- Take a serving plate and spread a layer of rice & vermicelli on it. Put lentil on top of it followed by pasta, chickpeas, sauce, and fried onions. Pour dressing at the end depending on your taste.
- Serve warm and enjoy the awesome national dish of Egypt. While eating dig into the lowest layer and ensure that each spoon has a bit of every layer and dressing on it.
Nutrition
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