how to make the egyptian koshary meal ?

Answer 1

Kosheri -- Lentils and Rice With a Tangy Tomato Sauce

1 1/3 cup(s) uncooked brown or white rice.
2/3 lbs.lentils
1 1/3 Tablespoon(s) vegetable oil, divided.
2/3 Tablespoon crushed garlic.
1 1/3 can(s) of tomato sauce.(16-ounce)
1/3 cup(s) water.
1/6 cup(s) vinegar.
2/3 medium onion.


Preperation:
Cook rice according to directions. Rinse lentils and put them in a pot, covering them with water and bring to a boil. Then simmer on a low heat until almost all water is absorbed and lentils are well cooked. Add extra water if longer time is needed. To make the sauce, first sauté the garlic in 1/2 of the oil until golden. Add all of the tomato sauce and simmer 10-15 minutes. Add water and vinegar and bring to a boil. Remove from heat immediately and add salt to taste. Finally, slice onion in thin, small pieces and sauté in the remaining half of the oil until brown and crispy.

The dish should be arranged as a layer of lentils (on the bottom), followed by a layer of rice, then another layer of lentils and another layer of rice. Sprinkle the onions and the sauce on top before serving.

Answer 2

Imagine, mixing into a single dish, pasta, rice, lentil, chick peas, onions and garlic and adding to this chili sauce. The idea sounds horrific, until one tries out an Egyptian favorite called Koshary.

“I had always heard about Koshary, and its importance to Egyptians. You can see it in movies and you would hear Egyptians in Saudi Arabia describe it as the most delicious traditional dish, so I was keen to try it the moment I came to Egypt. Now I’m an addict,” said Wael Fawaz, a Syrian medical student at Misr (Cairo) University for Science and Technology. “You can’t visit Egypt and not eat Koshary, you’ll miss a lot,” he added.

Koshary is a traditional Egyptian meal that consists of a strange combination of macaroni, spaghetti, rice, black lentils, chick peas, garlic sauce and a spicy tomato chili sauce, all topped with fried onions. It is sold from carts by street vendors, in restaurants or even made at home and each is considered a different taste experience.

ingredients for KosharyThe Koshary man stands in front of the large containers that hold each of the dish's ingredient. Usually, there is a line of people waiting to be served. Once you place your order, you stand in a row waiting to give the Koshary man your receipt that states the price of your dish. At the moment you give him the receipt the Koshary man grabs a bowl, and scoops a little of each ingredient into the bowl and sends it to your table. Each Koshary dish takes about five seconds to prepare (of course, after the ingredients are cooked).

His speed can be surprising to you. “I have worked here since we opened 10 years ago, and before that I sold Koshary on a street cart, so I have to be fast. My hands are accustomed to the same movements I do all day everyday, so you can say that I memorized the movements rather than think about them,” said Aziz Awad, a Koshary man in one of the restaurants downtown.

As the Koshary man scoops, he knocks his metal spoon against the sides of the bowls, making the Koshary symphony that you won’t hear elsewhere. When the Koshary man prepares an A table laiden with Koshary order of more than four the restaurant fills with sound as if it was a rehearsal for a concert. “The restaurants of Koshary are very noisy. One sits to eat while the Koshary man practices his drums in your ears. It's weird but I guess it’s a part of the Egyptian identity which you get used to in time,” said Fawaz.

At the table, all the dishes are aluminum except the two glass bottles that contain two different kinds of sauce, one made from vinegar and oil, the other from spicy red pepper. “The chili is a whole new dimension for the meal. You can eat Koshary and it would taste good, but for it to be this delicious you have to use chili. That creates all the taste,” said Waleed Abdullah, an office boy.

Tourists enjoying KosharyKoshary is considered a meal that is inexpensive yet fills up the stomach of an average Egyptian. “Koshary is something I love; I can have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It’s eaten anytime, anywhere. I can eat it standing, sitting, at work or at home,” said Abdullah. “It’s a meal that is both affordable and delicious.

Answer 3

A typical Egyptian streat Koshary dish is combined of 6 layers of ingrediates served on top of each other in a deep plate not mixed. You then have the option to add two sauces that are served on the side, mix your plate..and DIG-IN

So in total we are talking about 8 components for an authentic Koshary meal, which you can mostly prepare the day before.
Please find some tips at the end to make your Koshary compete with the best restaurant in Egypt!!! Promise

From Bottom up, the 6 layers of the koshary dish are:

1 Pasta
2 Rice with Vermicelli noodles
3 Boild lentils
4 Tomato Sauce with GArlic
5 Fried onions
6 Chickpeas

the two sauces servec on the side are:

Hot Paprika Sauce
Garlic lemon sauce

Following is simple recipes for each of these components:

for 4 persons

PASTA 250 gms
Use the smallest "Penne" you can find for this recipe, the perfect pasta is called "Ditanlini", which is a short straight tube no longer than 1/4 inch. Boil the pasta, seive it and mix it with 1 table spoon of oil and 1/2 tsp salt.


Rice (1 1/2 cup) with Vermicelli noodles(1/4 cup)
In a pot, stir fry the Vermicelli in 1 spoon of oil until dark brown, add the washed rice, stir for two minutes. Add 2 cups of boiling water, salt and paper. put on very low heat and cover for 20 minutes.

Boiled lentils (1 cup) -can be prepared the day before and heated in the microwave before servig.
Use Black or green whole lentils for this recipe. Boil the lentils in 4 cups of water, strain and season with salt and peper.

Tomato Sauce with Garlic - can be prepared the day before and heated before serving
Stir-fry 1 minced onion with two garlic cloves in a pot with one spoon of oil. When yellow, add two cans of whole tomatoes or 1 KG of fresh ripe tomatoes cut to small pieces. Add a cup of water and simmer for 15 minutes. Blend the sauce until smooth and put back on heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Salt + pepper

Fried onions - can be prepared the day before.
This is the most anoying part of making a Koshary, because of the smell that fills the house when frying the onions. You may find in a Chinese Deli ready fried onions that can serve well for this recipe. just mix 1 cup of it with 1 spoon oil, 3 spoons water and 1/2 tsp salt. microwave for 2 minutes and here you go.
If you want to be authentic (recommended) cut two large onions very small, season with 1/2 tsp of salt and mix well to separate the onion. Fry in the widest pan you have in 1/4 cup of hot oil , keep stiring until very dark brown. Almost black. Pick the now fluffy and crunchy fried onions to absorbent paper. Don't get rid of the remaining oil - see my tips

Chickpeas - the easiest part of the recipe -
buy a can of chickpeas, open it and rinse it under running water!!!!

Hot paprika Sauce - can be prepared the day before no heating needed.
heat 3 spoons of oil in a small pan, remove from heat, mix two spoons of hot Paprika , add 3 spoons of tomatoe sauce which you already prepared. serve in a small bowl on the side

Garlic Lemon Sauce - again ..prepare the day before...
Mix 3 minced garlic cloves with 1/8 cup white viniger, 1 big lemon juice, 1 tsp cumin powder and 1 tsp coriander powder.


Tips:
Do not use Olive oil for this recipe, it will change the taste
Use the oil you used for frying the onions to mix with the Pasta.