Egyptian Kushari
Often called the national dish of Egypt, Kushari is a hearty combination of flavors and textures all topped off with spicy tomato sauce and fried onions.
Middle Eastern Cuisine: A wealth of flavors
What do you think of when you hear Middle Eastern Cuisine?
What about Kafta? Shakshuka? Or a dish named after it's cooking vessel: a Tajine?
The Long Middle Eastern History
Digging back to grade school history, I remember learning that part of this region was originally known as the Fertile Crescent, and for good reason. Wheat was first grown here, followed by other crops like barley, pistachios, figs, dates, and pomegranates.
And, they discovered fermentation. So, we couldn't leaven bread or make beer without their genius!
Because of all this, you will find a lot of wheat, rice, and barley in Middle Eastern dishes. Other common ingredients are lamb, eggplant, and chickpeas.
Egyptian Kushari
Although it's located on the African continent, Egypt is culturally closer to the Middle Eastern countries, so many times, you will find it listed along side of Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the others.
Today, we're sharing Kushari (also spelled Koshari), a meal that some would call Egypt's national dish.
Kushari: A great way to use leftovers
This is a traditional dish that dates back to the 1800s when, at the end of each month, families would have a little of this and a little of that left in their pantries. The remnants were thrown together into a hearty meal that in recent years has become a widely popular street food.
Tim likened the Kushari to a Middle Eastern version of Cincinnati Chill: noodles, beans (lentils and chickpeas), and tomato sauce. And, it seems that each variation of Kushari can be a bit different: with chickpeas or not, with onions or not, spicier or milder, saucier or less so.
So, get ready for a mile-high pile of ingredients that comes together beautifully.
Making Kushari
If you are making kushari from the ground up, it does take a lot of pots and pans.
We have tried to simplify it as much as we can in our recipe below, but the best bet seems to be a little planning ahead. If you have some leftover rice and pasta, and a can of chickpeas, then the sauce and lentils become the only things that really need to cook.
And, it really is a great way to clean out the fridge!
More lentil recipes from around the world
If you love lentils, you will love these other recipes using lentils from other corners of the globe.
- Armenian Mshosh (lentil salad)
- Brazilian Lentil Soup with Kale
- Greek Fakes Lentil Soup
- Indian Broccoli Dal (Broccoli with Lentils)
- Lightened up Indian Dal Makhani (Kidney Bean and Lentil Stew)
Kushari
Often called the national dish of Egypt, Kushari (Koshari) is a hearty combination of flavors and textures all topped off with spicy tomato sauce and fried onions.
Ingredients
For the Sauce
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 small onion, minced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- ½ tablespoon cumin
- ¾ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ - ½ teaspoon cayenne, (depending on your heat preference)
- ¼ teaspoon ginger
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Pinch nutmeg
- Pinch cloves
For the Pasta
- ¾ c elbow macaroni, dry
- ¼ c spaghetti, dry, broken into 1” pieces
For the Fried Onion Topping
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 onion, sliced
- 2 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
For the Dish
- 1 ¾ c cooked lentils
- 1 ¼ c cooked chickpeas
- 1 ½ c cooked white rice
Instructions
For the Sauce
- Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the onion and garlic and sauté until soft, 2-3 min.
- Add the remaining sauce ingredients and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Simmer the sauce 20 minutes, until thick and fragrant, adding water if the sauce seems to be too dry.
- Taste the sauce and add more cayenne or salt if desired.
For the Pasta
- In another medium saucepan, bring 1 quart of water t a boil. Add pasta and cook, uncovered, 10 minutes. Drain pasta and toss with a little oil to keep it from sticking together while the rest of the dish is being prepared.
For the Onions
- In a small, non-stick frying pan, heat 1 teaspoon oil.
- Toss onion slices with 2 tablespoon flour and place floured onions into the hot oil.
- Fry over medium high heat until crisp and golden.
- Remove the fried onions from pan and place onto a paper towel lined plate
To Serve
- Start each plate off with a layer of mixed noodles. Top the noodles with rice, lentils, and chickpeas. Spoon the tomato sauce over the beans, and finish everything off with the fried onions.
Notes
This recipe was updated in February 2017. We made the kushari even better!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
3Serving Size:
3 peopleAmount Per Serving: Calories: 558Saturated Fat: 0.7gCholesterol: 4mgSodium: 138mgCarbohydrates: 102.4gFiber: 21.8gSugar: 9.2gProtein: 24.8g
More Middle Eastern recipes to try:
Mezze {Appetizers}
- Muhammara - Supper for a Steal
- Homemade Labneh Cheese - The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen
Salata {Salads and Sides}
- Burnt Eggplant and Chickpea Soup - The Wimpy Vegetarian
- Lebanese Rice - Cindy's Recipes and Writings
Main
- Chicken Biryani - Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen
- Beef Tagine Over Couscous - Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
- Grilled Red Snapper with Cilantro and Onion Stuffing or حمراء مشوية مع حشوة - Food Lust People Love
- Falafel with Israeli Salad - Webicurean
- Israeli BBQ Chicken - From Fast Food to Fresh Food
Halwa {Desserts}
- Fried Honey Citrus Cakes - Neighborfood
- Ghraybeh - That Skinny Chick Can Bake
This is one of the recipes from the early days of Curious Cuisiniere. We've updated our pictures since we first made it, but we've left the original images here as a fun throwback and shout out to how far we've come. Enjoy!
Sarah founded Curious in 2010 as a way to save her recipe creations and share culinary experiences. Her love for cultural cuisines was instilled early by her French Canadian Grandmother. Her experience in the kitchen and in recipe development comes from over 10 years working in professional kitchens. She has traveled extensively and enjoys bringing the flavors of her travels back to create easy-to-make recipes.
What a unique and interesting dish!
I'm going to bet I had this in Egypt but don't remember. I look forward to trying it at home now!
I've never heard of this dish, but I love the sound of it!
I love that you provided a map to chart out the Middle East. It really gives us a sense for why there's such a range in the food, but shares a similar core. I've never heard of Kushari and am always open to new Middle Eastern foods - thanks for sharing this one.
Koshari is one of our favorite meals. I was first introduced to it by an Egyptian friend when I was living in Kuala Lumpur. She made it for my leaving party when we were moving to Cairo, and she included the typed-out recipe. Of course, while we lived in Egypt, we ate it many more times, both at home and in restaurants. I love that you have shared this with the Sunday Supper crowd and all of your readers. Despite the many pots it takes, I hope that everyone will try this delicious meal.
I've never heard of this before, so I appreciated the comparison to Cincinnati Chili--gave me a way to picture it in my head! I have a feeling I would like this Middle Eastern version better. 🙂
Thank you for the map, the reminder about the Fertile Crescent and the burgeoning business of good food! Your kushari looks and sounds great. Wonderful recipe to have when one (like yours truly) has leftover pasta or rice =)
This looks really good! I've never heard of this recipe before but it sounds really interesting.
Interesting how different areas have their certain dishes made to clean out the fridge. It sounds worth it to go through the steps if you don't have all of those leftovers ready to be used. Nice flavors in it.
This looks delicious! Great recipe
I was so excited to be pushed out of my comfort zone this week as well 🙂 I am loving all of these fantastic dishes and can't pin them fast enough! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!!
I love that this is kind of like Egyptian chili...it sounds amazing!!!
I love all the names of the Middle Eastern Cuisine.... and kushari just makes me want to try this dish. I bet my kids would love this beautiful meal.
This looks really good, and I love all the spices in there.
This is one of my very favorite dishes, that I don't get to eat often enough with having a celiac in the house. It's so filling and really comfort food at it's best. I'm so glad you're enjoying cooking Middle Eastern foods!