Kushari is Egypt’s national dish, made with pasta, rice, lentils, onions, garlic, tomato sauce, and spices. It is difficult to cook at home due to the different cooking times of the starches. It is often served in small local restaurants and with a spicy vinegar-based sauce.
Considered Egypt’s national dish, kushari is a type of pasta usually served with a tomato-based sauce. This dish is unusual because it not only includes pasta, but also includes rice and lentils, making the meal extremely starchy. Kushari can often be found in small local restaurants and is found in Egypt. While it can be made at home, this dish is best suited to mass production and professional settings.
Although macaroni pasta is often used for kushari, any type of pasta can be used, including long noodles. One type of long grain rice is usually included. Brown lentils are preferred in this dish.
In addition to starches, onions and garlic are used. Also included are chopped tomatoes or tomato sauce, as well as pepper flakes. Chickpeas are usually added and meat, often lamb or chicken, may be included. As in many dishes, salt and pepper are added to taste. Additional seasoning includes cinnamon or cumin.
To make kushari, onions are cut and fried in oil. Some versions cook the onions long enough to caramelize. Whether plain fried or caramelized, onions can be removed from the pan and allowed to drain on a paper towel after cooking. Some versions, however, included chopped onions in addition to the slices. These are fried in a separate pan and the other ingredients are added to them.
The garlic and pepper flakes, as well as the tomato sauce, are added to the pan after the onions have been fried. The mixture is left to simmer and water is added if necessary. Once cooked, salt, pepper and any additional spices are included.
The lentils, rice and pasta are all cooked separately. Each is simmered or boiled in its own pot of water. The main reason kushari is so difficult to cook at home is because of these starches. Not only does the cook need enough stovetop space to cook all three and the tomato sauce at once, but each element has a different cook time, so the finishing times of all four elements at once is almost an art.
If chickpeas are used, they are combined with cooked pasta. Once all the ingredients are cooked, the lentils, pasta and rice are combined in a bowl. The tomato sauce mixture is then poured over and the full dish is garnished with the fried onions. In Egypt, kushari is often served with a spicy vinegar-based sauce.
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