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Egyption koshari on a platter

Egyptian Koshari - Egypt’s beloved street food

Safira
Egyptian Koshari- Koshari is Egypt’s beloved street food. Essentially it is a bowl of comforting Rice, Pasta, Brown Lentils and Chickpeas that is drenched with a rich spiced Tomato Sauce, a second sauce known as Dukka (a Cumin and Garlic Sauce) and fried savoury crispy Onions. Similar-ish to Mujadara, this recipe uses pantry staples. If you’ve ever wandered through the bustling streets of Cairo or seen videos of street vendors ladling steaming helpings of layered grains and sauces into bowls, you’ll know exactly what I mean. This is a recipe that is enjoyed throughout the day - lunch, dinner or even as an inbetween. Koshari is easy to make but it does take time to put together.
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Course Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine Egyptian
Servings 12
Calories 483 kcal

Ingredients
  

For the Fried Onions

  • 4 large Onions Sliced
  • 3 tablespoon Cornflour
  • 125 ml Oil For Frying (½ cup - Vegetable or Sunflower Oil)

Pasta and Spaghetti

  • 250 g Pasta Macaroni, Elbow or Ditalini
  • 200 g Spaghetti (or add more Pasta)

For the Lentils

  • 2 cups Dry Brown Lentils

For the Rice


  • 2 cups Short Grain Rice *see note 1
  • 2 teaspoon Salt
  • 4 cups Water if long grain, or 2 cups for shortgrain

For the Chickpeas

  • 400 g Tinned Chickpeas
  • Water Enough to cover plus an extra inch
  • 2 teaspoon Cumin Powder
  • ½ Lime juice only

For the Tomato Sauce


  • 3 tablespoon Reserved Onion Oil
  • 10 cloves Garlic Crushed or 1 ½ tablespoon Garlic Paste
  • 2 ½ tbsp White Vinegar
  • 800 g Tomato Passatta or pureed Plum Tomatoes (2 tins)
  • 2 tablespoon Tomato Puree or Paste
  • 1 teaspoon Salt to taste
  • 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
  • 1 teaspoon

    Cumin powder


  • 1 teaspoon Coriander powder
  • 1 teaspoon Paprika (I like Smoked Paprika)
  • 1 teaspoon Red Chilli Flakes
  • 1 tablespoon Baharat Optional
  • ½ teaspoon Sugar

For the Cumin Sauce (Kamouneyah or Dukka or Daa)

  • 2 tablespoon reserved Oil from Onions
  • 5 Garlic Cloves Crushed or 1 teaspoon Garlic Paste
  • 1 flat tbsp Cumin Powder
  • 1 tablespoon White Vinegar
  • ¼ cup Water
  • Salt to taste
  • ¼ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
  • ½ teaspoon Smoked Paprika

Instructions
 

For the Fried Onions

  • Add Onions and Cornflour to a bowl and mix together with your hands. Heat Oil in a large pot, wok or deep frying pan over medium high heat. Once hot, add sliced Onions and cook till they are a deep golden brown. Drain the Onions on a plate lined with kitchen paper.

Pasta and Spaghetti

  • Cook Pasta and Spaghetti in enough salty water according to package directions for 8 minutes, drain then add 2 Tablespoon of oil.

Lentils

  • Place Lentils in a colander and wash thoroughly under cold water. Place in a pot covered with cold water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Cook for 35-30 minutes. Set aside.

Cook Vermicelli and Rice

  • Rinse the pre soaked rice in a fine mesh strainer over running cold tap water until the the water is no longer cloudy. 
Discard the water, rinse the rice once more, and drain well.
  • In a medium pot over medium high heat, add 3 tablespoon Onion Oil.
  • Stir in Rice and add Water. If using Egyptian short grain rice, the ratio is 1:1, if using long grain the ratio is 1:2. Add Salt and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Some of the water should have evaporated. 
Reduce to a simmer then cover with a tight fitting lid. Leave it to cook until all the excess water evaporates, about 10 to 15 minutes. 
Remove from the heat and keep the rice covered for 5 minutes. Then open the lid to reveal perfectly fluffy rice.
  • Stir Pasta and Lentils into Rice. (You can keep them seperate if you prefer).

Cook Chickpeas

  • Place chickpeas in a pot, cover with cold water and add Cumin and a pinch of Salt. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and cook for 10 minutes. Then stir in the Lime. Boil a few more minutes, then drain.

Make the Tomato Sauce

  • In a medium sauce pan, add oil, then stir in Garlic. Saute for 1 minute. Add Vinegar, pureed Tomatoes and Tomato Paste, Salt and Pepper, Cumin, Coriander, Paprika, Red Chilli Flakes, Baharat and Sugar. Bring to a boil and then simmer on medium high for 10 minutes.

Make Cumin Sauce

  • In a small sauce pan, add Oil. Once hot, add Garlic and Cumin and saute till fragrant. Around 30 seconds.Add Vinegar, Water, Salt, Black Pepper and Paprika. Bring to a simmer, then remove from the heat.

To assemble

  • I usually pile everything together on a huge platter or let everyone take some of each ingredient in this order:
    Fried Onions
    Chickpeas
    Lentil, Rice and Pasta
    Tomato Sauce
    Cumin Sauce
  • You can also make a tarabeesh (a dome). This is done by packing ingredients tightly in a small (often metal) bowl and then inverting it on to plates.
  • Top with lots of crispy fried Onions and the 2 Sauces. It is also great served with Garlic Sauce and Shatta.

Notes

Tips and Variations

  • If using long-grain rice, add twice the amount of water to rice. Calrose riceor Egyptian Rice is recommended but long grain also works. Water quanitities do differ. If using long-grain rice, add twice the amount of water to rice. If using Egyptain rice, the ratio is 1:1. 
  • Always reserve Onion Oil. It has lots of flavour and can be used (and is used) in various other elements of this recipe.
  • Add Onions to the Tomato Sauce. You can brown some Onions as a first step to making the Tomato Sauce. I don’t think this is necessary as there are so many fried Onions on top of the dish already!
  • Whole wheat pasta works well as a substitute.
  • The nutrition information does not take into account the oil that is soaked in by the Onions when fried, as this is difficult to quantify.

How to serve it

Traditionally, with Koshari, everything is layered on top of each other.
Spoon the Rice, Lentils and Pasta onto a platter or into a bowl. Add the chickpeas, ladle over the Tomato sauce and the Cumin Sauce, then add a handful of crispy Onions.

What to serve with Koshari

Normally, koshari is served as it is but it goes well with some cooling yoghurt and a salad such as Shirazi as well as hot sauce such as Shatta, a Garlic Sauce like Toum and Pickles.

Storage

Store Koshari in the fridge for up to 3 days. 
If all the elements are kept separate, it will keep for 5 days.

FAQ

Is Koshari time consuming to make?

Yes it is. It is easy to make but it takes around 2.5 hours to make.

Nutrition

Calories: 483kcalCarbohydrates: 77gProtein: 9gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0.1gSodium: 207mgPotassium: 299mgFiber: 4gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 164IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 51mgIron: 2mg
Keyword egyptian koshari, egyptian street food, koshari, koshary
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