Traditional koshari: the Egyptian street dish of rice, lentils, pasta, chickpeas, tomato sauce and crispy onions

Koshari is modern Egypt on a plate: rice and lentils, a combination that came from India with British soldiers in the 19th century, pasta brought by Italian immigrants, chickpeas from the Levant and tomato sauce, all piled into a bowl and sold for coins in shops dedicated only to it, where the staff assemble the bowls in seconds with metal ladles, in a percussive rhythm.

Each component is simple. What makes koshari is the sum and the sauces: the tomato one, cooked with garlic, cumin, coriander and a little vinegar and chili; the dakka, a sour mix of vinegar, garlic, cumin and lemon poured over; and the shatta, the hot sauce for those who want it. And, over everything, onions fried until brown and crispy, whose oil also seasons the rice.

It is a vegan meal complete in protein, cheap, filling, and proof that street food can be a work of engineering. At home it takes a bit of work, because of the number of pots, but it makes a lot and all the parts can be made in advance.

Recipe card

• Origin: Cairo, Egypt
• Category: Vegan main course, street food
• Difficulty: Medium (many parts, all easy)
• Preparation time: 30 minutes
• Cooking time: 1 hour
• Serves: 6

Ingredients — base

• 1 1/2 cups short- or medium-grain rice
• 1/2 cup vermicelli (broken angel hair pasta)
• 1 cup brown lentils
• 1 1/2 cups short pasta (elbows or small penne)
• 1 can cooked chickpeas (400 g), drained
• 3 large onions, thinly sliced
• Oil for frying
• 2 tablespoons wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• Salt to taste

Ingredients — sauces

• 800 g chopped peeled tomatoes (or 3 cups blended fresh tomato)
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 5 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• Chili flakes to taste
• For the dakka: 1/4 cup vinegar, 2 crushed garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon cumin, juice of 1 lemon, 1/4 cup water, salt

Method

1. Toss the onion slices in the flour and fry in hot oil, in batches, stirring, until golden brown and crispy. Drain on paper towels, salt and reserve the oil.
2. Cook the lentils in salted water with the cumin for 20 minutes, until tender but whole. Drain.
3. Toast the vermicelli in 2 spoons of the onion oil until golden, add the rice, sauté for 1 minute, add 2 1/4 cups of water and salt and cook covered for 15 minutes.
4. Cook the pasta in salted water, drain and toss with a little of the onion oil.
5. For the tomato sauce, sauté the garlic in the oil for 1 minute, add the tomato, tomato paste, cumin, coriander, vinegar, chili and salt and cook for 20 minutes, until thick.
6. Mix the dakka ingredients in a jar and set aside.
7. Heat the chickpeas in a little salted water and drain.
8. Assemble each bowl in layers: rice with vermicelli, lentils, pasta, chickpeas, tomato sauce on top and the crispy onions crowning it. Drizzle with dakka at the table and offer hot sauce.

Tips and variations

• The flour on the onions is the Cairo shops' trick for lasting crunch.
• All the parts can be made the day before and reheated; only the onions should be fried on the day.
• Thin tomato sauce ruins the dish: cook until thick.
• A pinch of cinnamon in the tomato sauce is common in Alexandria.
• Assembled leftovers reheated in the microwave are still great.
• Brown lentils hold their shape; red ones fall apart and do not work here.
• Serve with a salad of chopped cucumber and tomato with lemon.

Koshari is the bowl that feeds Cairo for a few coins: carbs on carbs, tangy tomato sauce, garlic and crispy onions. Make it at home and understand the line.