Koshari is Egyptian street food – and, really, isn’t street food always the best part of any cuisine? It’s based on kitchery – a very simple rice and lentil mixture served in Pakistan and India. When Desi workers came to Egypt, they brought kitchery with them, and I really have to say that the Egyptians perfected it.

It’s really very simple. Lentils are cooked in a savory tomato sauce, and then the dish is served in layers: rice, tomato-y lentils, then caramelized or fried onions on top. It’s eaten spicy, so hot sauce is served alongside. Fancier versions have chickpeas and other legumes too. I added extra veggies by putting eggplant in the rice.

I made this over at Amy Aziza’s house at a mini housewarming party to break in her new kitchen. Angela made empanadas, because she’s Puerto Rican and awesome like that. Natasha brought Charlie Chaplain. Emilie was beautiful and smiling. It was great!

Koshari

2 cups lentils (I like brown lentils Koshari, the same as for this Eggplant and Lentil Stew)
1 large can tomato sauce (28 oz I think?)
2 cups rice + 4 cups broth or water to cook it in
1 eggplant
A lot of garlic (a lot)
A lot of onions (a lot)
Salt, pepper, hot sauce
Paprika or cayenne, depending on your heat tolerance
Cinnamon
Olive oil
Hot sauce to serve

1. (before you do anything else, start this, because onion caramelization is best if it is done over a long period of time. If you forget, cheat and add sugar). Dice or slice a lot of onions and put it on a medium low heat with a bit of olive oil. Let it go. Keep coming back and stirring it. Add some sugar if you want to help the onions along. At the end, before you serve, turn up the heat so the onions get crispy on the edges.

2. Chop one or two onions and a bunch of garlic and saute in some olive oil until soft-ish. Add the lentils and an equal part of water and boil until the lentils are almost soft. Drain any excess water, and then add more garlic and the tomato sauce. Simmer until lentils are soft. Salt and pepper it.

2. Cut the eggplant into chunks and put it in a colander. Salt it and let it drain for 15 min at least (this gets the bitterness out). Pat dry, sprinkle with cayenne, black pepper, and cinnamon, and fry in batches.

3. Sautee an onion and garlic until soft. Add the eggplant, stir. Add the rice and stir. Add some cinnamon (this is a Magrebi – Moroccan – touch that I really like, but the cinnamon is entirely optional) and black pepper. Add the liquid (water or broth) and cook the rice normally.

To serve: Put down a layer of rice, then a layer of tomato lentils, then top with caramelized onions. Add hot sauce to taste!

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