Koshary #EattheWorld

This tasty one bowl meal is a popular street food in Egypt known as Koshary.  It is vegan, nutritious and delicious.  Perfect for a Meatless Monday meal.

Rice and Lentils topped with pasta and chickpeas in a fragrant tomato sauce and then a generous portion of fried onions......Pure Nirvana.  Join us as we Eat the World........

Each month our friend Evelyne of CulturEatz, invites us to join her in a different country to learn about their culture through food.  It is always a good time!!!

Check out all the wonderful Egyptian dishes prepared by fellow Eat the World members and share with #eattheworld. Click here to find out how to join and have fun exploring a country a month in the kitchen with us!

• Culinary Adventures with Camilla: Lahma Bil Basal (Egyptian Beef in Onion Sauce) 
• PalatablePastimeBedouin Stuffed Grape Leaves 
• SnehaDatar:Vegan Egyptian Koshari# Eat the World 
• Literature and Limes: Taameyya 
• Pandemonium Noshery: Ful Medames 
• Amy’s Cooking Adventures: Ghorayebah Cookies 
• The Gingered Whisk: Basbousa Cake Recipe 
• Margaret @ Kitchen Frau: Egyptian Fava Beans and Feta 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Koshary

We are actually visiting Egypt this month because of me.  You see, a while back I was on the hunt for Duck Breast for a meal I wanted to make for FoodnFlix.  It was quite the adventure, I did end up finding some, on line, and the meal of Pan Seared Duck Breasts was absolutely to die for!

But what a fiasco trying to find duck breast here in Michigan, I found everything but duck in every place I went.  One of the butchers even had ground camel.  That intrigued me so I asked Evelyne to take us to a country that served camel meat.

Hence, here we are in Egypt.  But, alas, I am not serving Camel.  When I went to that butcher to pick up the ground camel, I found bison, ox, alligator, turtle, wild boar and rabbit.  But no camel.  I asked the butcher about it and he said that his source was no longer selling camel.  So I said (reasonably, I thought) "What about the camel you had in the freezer?"  He replied he was sold out.  I said "Who the hell is buying camel meat?"  He looked at me, sighed and said "Well, you're asking for it".  

I understand that but, seriously, how many food bloggers can there be in my little neck of the woods?  We live in a tiny little rural area, I cannot find European wines.  I cannot find Duck Breasts.  I have to drive over an hour away to find lemongrass or starfruit.  But the local butcher runs out of camel meat?!!  

I came home feeling very dejected.  I contacted every butcher within 75 miles of me to see if any of them carried Camel meat.  It led to some very jocular conversation but no camel meat to be found.

Back to my old friend Google to search out another recipe.  When I found this recipe from Matters of the Belly, subtitled a Hungry Egyptian in Oz, I knew I had hit pay dirt.  The author of this blog, Noha, was born and raised in Egypt.  In 2013 she and her husband moved to Australia.  What a wonderful find for me as I looked for Egyptian recipes.

This recipe reminds me of Majadra, one of my favorite Lebanese dishes.  I knew I was going to love it and dare I say I like it even more?  This dish, with the addition of spiced tomato sauce, pasta and chickpeas has layers of flavor not found in Majadra while still having the base of Lentils, Rice and Fried Onions.  I fell in love with this dish immediately.

#Vegetarian, #vegan, #meatless, #rice, #lentils, #onions, #pasta, #spice,

Meatless Entrees, Vegetarian, Vegan

Egyptian

Yield: 6 servings

Author: Wendy Klik

Koshary

prep time: 20 Mcook time: 50 Mtotal time: 70 M

Rice and Lentils topped with pasta and chickpeas in a fragrant tomato sauce and then a generous portion of fried onions......Pure Nirvana.

ingredients:

Fried Onions

• Cooking oil, I used olive oil
• 2 lg. sweet onions, thinly sliced
• pinch of salt

Koshary Base

• 4 oz. lentils, soaked overnight
• 1 c. arborio rice, rinsed and drained
• 1 1/2 c. water
• pinch of salt

Tomato Sauce

• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
• 2 c. water
• 1/2 t. ground cumin
• 1/2 t. ground coriander
• 1/2 t. chili powder
• 1/2 T. sugar
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 T. vinegar
• 1/2 lb. Ditali pasta, cooked per package directions
• 1 (14 oz) can chickpeas

instructions:

How to cook Koshary

Fried Onions

1. Fill a medium pot with about 1" of oil and place over med high heat for a couple of minutes.  Add a slice of onion and if it sizzles add the remaining onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for 7-10 minutes until crisp and golden brown.  Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon or spider onto a paper towel lined plate and set aside.  Retain the oil in the pot.
2. Pour half of the oil into a smaller pot and set aside.

Koshary Base

1. Place the medium pot with half the oil remaining back onto the burner.  Add the lentils,  cook and stir for a couple of minutes.  Add the rice and cook for another couple of minutes until toasted.  Add the water, season with salt and bring to a boil.  Turn the heat to low, cover and cook for 30 minutes, until the water is absorbed and lentils and rice are tender.

Tomato Sauce

1. Heat the oil in the small pot, add the garlic and cook until fragrant.  Add the tomato paste and cook for a few minutes more.
2. Add the water, cumin, coriander, chili powder, sugar, salt and pepper, and vinegar.  Bring to a simmer and let cook while rice and lentils are cooking, until thickened slightly, about 25 minutes.
3. Remove from heat, stir in pasta and chickpeas

To serve

1. In a shallow bowl make a base of the rice and lentils, ladle the pasta and sauce over the top and then cover generously with the fried onions.

NOTES:

Adapted from a recipe found at Matters of the Belly.

Calories
248.52

Fat (grams)
6.38

Sat. Fat (grams)
0.65

Carbs (grams)
41.21

Fiber (grams)
5.03

Net carbs
36.19

Sugar (grams)
8.92

Protein (grams)
7.41

Sodium (milligrams)
176.28

Cholesterol (grams)
0.00

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