Koshari
Ingredients:
- Brown Lentils - 1 1/2 cups
- Rice - 1 1/2 cups
- Coriander - 1/2 tsp
- Macaroni - 2 cups
- Chickpeas - Can
- Onion - 1 large
- Salt - Sprinking
- Vegetable Oil - 1/2 cup
Instructions
- Cook the lentils
- Bring lentils and 4 cups of water to a boil in a medium pot or saucepan over high heat
- Reduce the heat to low and cook until lentils are just tender (15-17 minutes)
- Drain from water and season with a little salt
- (Note: when the lentils are ready, they should not be fully cooked
- They should be only par-cooked and still have a bite to them as they need to finish cooking with the rice)
- Now, for the rice
- Drain the rice from its soaking water
- Combine the par-cooked lentils and the rice in the saucepan over medium-high heat with 1 tbsp cooking oil, salt, pepper, and coriander
- Cook for 3 minutes, stirring regularly
- Add warm water to cover the rice and lentil mixture by about 1 1/2 inches (you’ll probably use about 3 cups of water here)
- Bring to a boil; the water should reduce a bit
- Now cover and cook until all the liquid has been absorbed and both the rice and lentils are well cooked through (about 20 minutes)
- Keep covered and undisturbed for 5 minutes or so
- Now make the pasta
- While the rice and lentils are cooking, make the pasta according to package instructions by adding the elbow pasta to boiling water with a dash of salt and a little oil
- Cook until the pasta is al dente
- Drain
- Cover the chickpeas and warm in the microwave briefly before serving
- Make the crispy onion topping
- Sprinkle the onion rings with salt, then toss them in the flour to coat
- Shake off excess flour
- In a large skillet, heat the cooking oil over medium-high heat, cook the onion rings, stirring often, until they turn a nice caramelized brown
- Onions must be crispy, but not burned (15-20 minutes)