Koshari
Middle Eats · ♥ 16.8K likes · 517.7K views · 16 min video
Read about chickpeas in the BrightCulinary Book
Timestamp
Ingredients
Method
Techniques
- 225 g dried chickpeas
- 750 g canned chickpeas
Soak 225 grams of dried chickpeas in a bowl covered with a large amount of room temperature water for up to 12 hours; the longer they soak the faster they cook. Drain and set aside.
- water
- 1 whole plum tomato
- 2 cloves garlic cloves
- 1 whole onion
Bring a large amount of water to nearly boiling on high heat, then add the chickpeas, a whole large plum tomato, two garlic cloves and both halves of a peeled onion.
Season with a teaspoon of ground cumin, a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of cayenne chilli powder and mix.
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp cayenne chilli powder
Boil one to two hours, topping up the water as it evaporates; start checking after one hour and stop when they crush easily between the fingers and are soft throughout.
- 2 l water
Fill a pot with about two litres of water and bring to a boil, then season with a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of ground cumin.
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 250 g brown lentils
Add 250 grams of brown lentils and boil 30 to 60 minutes, checking from 30 minutes, until almost al dente and crushable but not mushy.
Peel about 22 garlic cloves: cut the end off the head, cut the root off each clove, press them with the side of a knife and the skin slides off.
- 4 tbsp oil
Garlic tomato sauce: heat four tablespoons of oil or butter in a saucepan on medium high heat.
- 10 cloves garlic cloves
- 4 tbsp white vinegar
Mince 10 garlic cloves, add them and fry about a minute until fragrant and bubbly; just as they start to brown add four tablespoons of white vinegar and mix to deglaze.
- 800 g crushed tomatoes
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
Once the vinegar has evaporated add 800 grams of crushed tomatoes, mix, and when it boils season with a teaspoon of salt and a quarter teaspoon of pepper.
- 1 whole spicy green chili
- 4 tbsp oil
Spicy tomato sauce: slice a spicy green chili into thin circles; heat four tablespoons of oil in a saucepan on medium high heat and add five minced garlic cloves.
- 5 cloves garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp white vinegar
Add the chopped chillies and fry with the garlic a few minutes until fragrant, then add two tablespoons of white vinegar and stir to deglaze.
- 400 g chopped tomatoes
Add 400 grams of chopped tomatoes, stir well and simmer about 20 minutes until thick and chunky.
- 7 cloves garlic cloves
- ⅓ cup white vinegar
- ⅓ cup water
- ¼ cup lemon juice
Da'a: put seven minced garlic cloves in a jug with a third of a cup of white vinegar, a third of a cup of water and a quarter cup of lemon juice.
Da'a garlic vinegar sauce
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp salt
- 6–8 whole large onions
Season with two teaspoons of ground cumin, a teaspoon of ground coriander, half a teaspoon of cayenne pepper and half a teaspoon of salt, whisk together and taste.
Halve six to eight large onions before peeling off the first layer, then lay each flat and slice against the grain for longer strips and more flavour.
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp salt
Put all the onion strips in a large bowl with two teaspoons of ground cumin, a teaspoon of black pepper and two teaspoons of salt; mix thoroughly and separate every strip.
- vegetable oil
Heat vegetable oil about one and a half centimetres deep in a large pot on high heat, using the pot the rice will be cooked in.
Squeeze the excess liquid out of a handful of onions, add them to the hot oil, stir, and fry 8 to 12 minutes per batch, stirring every few minutes.
Spread them evenly on a paper towel lined tray, then after a few minutes move them to a tray with clean paper towels so they cannot reabsorb the drained oil.
Fry all the onions except a handful, which is kept for the rice base.
Toasting vermicelli and rice in onion oil
- 175 g vermicelli
Add the reserved handful of onions and fry on medium high a few minutes until they just start to brown, then add 175 grams of vermicelli and stir.
- 175 g Egyptian rice
Keep frying the vermicelli three to four minutes until it turns from yellow to golden brown.
Add 175 grams of washed and dried Egyptian rice and mix until rice and vermicelli are evenly distributed.
- tomato sauce
Mix in a few large tablespoons of the tomato sauce, then the cooked lentils.
Layering flavor into the base
- lentil cooking liquid
- 1 tsp salt
Pour in all the leftover lentil liquid plus enough water to just submerge the rice and vermicelli, add a teaspoon of salt, mix and cover with a tight fitting lid.
Bring to a boil on high heat, then once the water has evaporated from the bottom of the pot turn the heat to low and steam covered 20 to 30 minutes.
If it is still wet after 20 minutes leave it uncovered to evaporate; if too dry add a little water and steam 10 minutes more.
- 250 g pasta
Boil 250 grams of pasta in heavily salted water to al dente by the packet instructions, then drain.
Mixing pasta into the rice
Mix half the pasta into the rice pot without much pressure so the rice does not break, and without scraping the burnt layer off the bottom.
Spoon a few large serving spoons of the tomato sauce over the base, then stir the da'a and add a few tablespoons of it.
Add a few tablespoons of the chickpeas across the centre, then a generous serving of the crispy fried onions over the top.