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Koshari
Jan 13, 2015 3:08:28 GMT -5
Post by mach12 on Jan 13, 2015 3:08:28 GMT -5
Here's a good recipe for Koshari, one of my favorites. Most people say that Koshari is similar to chili. It is made of lentils, rice and tomato sauce and can be spicy. Koshari is a fast food meal in the Middle East, and is offered by street vendors in cities like Cairo. There are variations, but this recipe is excellent!
INGREDIENTS: 1 cup lentils (optional - add cumin to water while cooking) 1 cup white rice 1 cup uncooked macaroni (orzo or elbows) 1 large onion, diced 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 cloves garlic, crushed 2 1/2 cups tomato sauce 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper or teaspoon hot sauce
PREPARATION: Place lentils in saucepan and bring to a boil. Allow to simmer on low for 30 minutes, or until tender.
While, lentils are cooking, also cook white rice in 2 cups of water, or according to package directions.
Also, cook macaroni noodles in until al dente.
Combine lentils, rice and macaroni in large pot.
Saute onions and garlic in pan in olive oil until browned.
Add tomato sauce to onions and garlic and heat until bubbling. Remove from heat.
Place a serving of lentil mixture on a plate and cover with sauce. Sprinkle red pepper on top and serve.
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Koshari
Jul 18, 2015 12:15:00 GMT -5
Post by vaporvac on Jul 18, 2015 12:15:00 GMT -5
Do you use brown, green or red lentils, or doesn't it matter? This sounds delicious. You mention variations... are those in the grain, type of macaroni or does that mean additional ingredients? I'm thinking some cracked wheat instead of the rice, maybe.
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Koshari
Jul 19, 2015 1:11:53 GMT -5
Post by mach12 on Jul 19, 2015 1:11:53 GMT -5
Green lentils are the most common in Egypt but it doesn't matter. I just use what's available. In the shops they mix several types of pasta (elbow macaroni, ditalini and vermicelli mix is the most common in Cairo) but if you go to Alexandria you'll see some flat pasta mixed in. I've never tried anything in lieu of the rice but there's no reason in the world not to. The cracked wheat sounds good whether it replaces the rice or is just an added ingredient. They serve it in metal bowls and layer the ingredients but that's pretty much presentation. Then they put on some garbanzo beans and top it with fried onion. For those who like extra flavor they serve it with two small bowls, one with red hot sauce and the other with a liquid garlic sauce called tomaya (tome is garlic, tomaya garlic sauce). One of my co-workers wife made the best garlic sauce so I asked him for the recipe and this is what he sent:
Garlic Sauce for Koshary
1- minced garlic (7-10 big pecs) 2-Latency (2 small spoons) 3-lemon(juice of one or 2 pecs) 4-Vinegar(2 small spoons) 5-1/2 liter of water 6-Coriander powder(1/2 small spoon) 7- salt and you mix all together.now it is ready
Translate Latency to Cumin, pecs to pieces and small spoon to teaspoon. I just toss the ingredients in a blender and hit the button. For the red hot sauce I just use the stuff that comes in the jar in the Asian section of the grocery store.
Here's a picture I just pulled off the internet - exactly what koshary looks when it's served. Tomorrow's my son's birthday and I think I just figured out the meal!
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Koshari
Jan 27, 2017 17:14:40 GMT -5
Post by nana on Jan 27, 2017 17:14:40 GMT -5
I can make this tonight! But I think I might make it tomorrow because the only ingredient I'm missing for the garlic sauce is coriander, and I can get some at the co-op and it sounds like something I would really like. This is the kind of meal that you almost always have the fixin's lying around. I can't believe I didn't jump on this before!
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Koshari
Jan 28, 2017 1:56:46 GMT -5
Post by mach12 on Jan 28, 2017 1:56:46 GMT -5
Dang, now I'm hungry for some too! That covers one meal for this weekend...
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Koshari
Jan 28, 2017 15:38:59 GMT -5
Post by cinnabar on Jan 28, 2017 15:38:59 GMT -5
To grow your own, let some, not all of cilantro go to seed, save it and dry it. It is the best coriander you will ever have. I have quart jars in the pantry from the prolific years. I grind it as needed for Indian, Creole, Mexican, Chinese, Bean dishes, soups, vegetables, almost anything . Nice thing is that the seed has very little resemblance in flavor to the cilantro leaf, a totally different.
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Koshari
Jan 28, 2017 20:47:14 GMT -5
Post by nana on Jan 28, 2017 20:47:14 GMT -5
Winner, winner, chicken dinner!!! This came out great. My meat loving hubby even said he would eat this again. And he will, because as written it makes quite a lot! I cut the garlic sauce recipe in half and still had a cup. It seemed like a lot of water, but it is very flavorful and a little goes a long way.
My version: I cooked the cup of lentils and a cup of brown rice together with a quart of chicken broth and a generous pinch of cumin seeds in the thermowell, following the procedure for rice. We went to the brewery and played cards with a neighbor and after three hours the lentils and rice were kind of solidly melded(but tasty). I made the tomato sauce and garlic sauce while the macaroni cooked. I did have chickpeas, but I didn't have any fried onions, and I was in no condition to start making them from scratch, but it would have been good to have them. I may have to lay in a supply. But dang, this was good and filling and it feels very virtuous eating it, too.
If you leave out the brewery factor and have the rice and lentils separate, I think it would lend itself to a taco/koshari bar kind of thing--what with the sauces and toppings. We thought chopped cukes, avocados and red or green peppers would be fun as toppings too. Are there any typically Egyptian garnishes that go with this? I know next to nothing about Egyptian food.
I think I will make patties out of the leftovers, since it is a pretty solid mass, and fry them in olive oil. Thanks for the recipe, Mach 12!
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Koshari
Jan 28, 2017 20:54:27 GMT -5
Post by nana on Jan 28, 2017 20:54:27 GMT -5
I typed the above post before I saw yours, Cinnabar. My cilantro all goes to seed every year and I just kind of let it do its thing and re-seed itself. I try to freeze as much of the greens as I can because by the time the tomatoes come on, the cilantro is all bolted. I do the same with my dill, because it's always gone to seed right when I'm inundated by cucumbers. I will definitely grab some coriander this year though!
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Post by nana on Jan 30, 2017 20:23:00 GMT -5
Yes, this tastes great as patties fried in olive oil. I recommend mixing an egg in so that they hold together better. We topped them with the tomato sauce, chickpeas, chopped cukes and avocado, and the garlic sauce. A delicious vegetarian meal. And the garlic sauce mixed with some olive oil makes a great salad dressing, too!
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Koshari
Jan 30, 2017 22:36:35 GMT -5
Post by mach12 on Jan 30, 2017 22:36:35 GMT -5
That sounds good! I'll have to give it a try. Our son showed up just as I was finishing the koshary so we didn't have any leftovers this time (funny how that works)so maybe next time.
Have you ever tried making falafel? It's also a good vegetarian meal that meat eaters like me also love. It's basically a patty made from chick peas or broad beans (most commonly with fava beans in Egypt) and cooked in a pan of oil (basically deep fried). Street vendors sell sandwiches where they put the falafel in the pocket of a piece of pita bread along with some salad and some plain yogurt dressing. It's normally served with assorted pickled vegetables on the side. It should be an easy recipe to find if you're interested in trying it but if you can't find it I can scan in the recipe from one of my Egyptian or Mediterranean cookbooks.
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Koshari
Jan 31, 2017 17:00:39 GMT -5
Post by nana on Jan 31, 2017 17:00:39 GMT -5
Not only have I tried making felafel, but I used the recipe on this very site, about two titles down from this one on the list! And so did you, because I just checked. It was good too. I'm glad you brought it up though, since I haven't tried making pita in Marilyn yet. I'll put it on the list, along with the sous vide steak.
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Koshari
Jan 31, 2017 19:13:50 GMT -5
Post by mach12 on Jan 31, 2017 19:13:50 GMT -5
Not only have I tried making felafel, but I used the recipe on this very site, about two titles down from this one on the list! And so did you, because I just checked. It was good too. I'm glad you brought it up though, since I haven't tried making pita in Marilyn yet. I'll put it on the list, along with the sous vide steak. I remember doing that now that you mention it! I almost always try a Mediterranean recipe when I come across it. It's my weakness, or one of the bigger weaknesses anyway.
I've been really looking into sous vide too. I want to be sure that I do it right though. Going through the sites I see some pretty strong warnings about food safety and keeping it above a certain temperature and how sometimes you need to sear meat cook this way to kill some common bacteria. Once I know I have it right I'm going to be all over it!
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Koshari
Feb 1, 2017 17:44:45 GMT -5
Post by nana on Feb 1, 2017 17:44:45 GMT -5
A quick sear under the broiler should take care of any germs, plus give it a nice browned crust. I believe you can safely eat a raw roast (although why would you want to!) as long as the outside surface somehow reaches a temperature high enough to kill any bacteria that might be on the surface. A dunk in boiling water (or even clorox--eeew!) would do the trick. Things like chopped meat, where surface bacteria have been mixed all through, or cubed steak, where they have been pushed deep into the meat need to be thoroughly cooked all the way through to be certain. I don't eat any meat from the supermarket for both health and philosophical reasons. CAFO raised meat from factory slaughterhouses is food poisoning waiting to happen, as well as being cruel in my opinion. Luckily I live in a rural area where I can get locally raised meat processed at a local slaughterhouse that does one animal at a time safely and humanely. Care in processing goes a long way in preventing contamination of meat.
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Koshari
Apr 12, 2020 10:05:27 GMT -5
Post by mach12 on Apr 12, 2020 10:05:27 GMT -5
I commented about the above recipe in a post on a way I learned to cook rice when I was working in Egypt and Chuckie asked about the chickpeas (or garbanzo beans, depending on what whoever canned or dried them labeled them) and I hadn't noticed the recipe didn't include them so will add that to the recipe. I posted the full, by the book way of doing it that I learned in Egypt. Here's that info and recipe for anyone interested:
Things to Know about Koshary:
• Alternate names/spellings include Kushari, Koshari, Kosheri, Kusharee, Koushari and probably a few others. All are correct and perfectly acceptable.
• When prepared in the restaurants in Cairo, Koshary contains 8 separately prepared components:
1. Rice w/Vermicelli 2. Pasta 3. Lentils 4. Tomato Sauce 5. Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans) 6. Fried Onion Garnish 7. Spicy Tomato Sauce topping 8. Garlic-Lime (Lemon) Sauce topping
• In Egypt, how Koshary is prepared and served is considered a cooking art, so the preparation and steps in the restaurants are often embellished to demonstrate mastery of the art.
• When served, Koshary is assembled in layers with each layer a bit smaller in diameter so that it forms a slight dome on the plate or in the bowl.
1. Rice w/vermicelli is first, so will be on the bottom; 2. Pasta is second; 3. Lentils are third; 4. Tomato Sauce is fourth: scoop at least a few tablespoons (more with bigger servings) onto the top; 5. Chickpeas are fifth: sprinkle on according to preference (a couple of tablespoons); 6. Fried Onions are on the top – again according to preference.
• On the table should be a container of warm tomato sauce so that each person can add some if they wish. There should also be some of the hot tomato sauce and the garlic-lemon sauce for each person to add, again according to their preference. There should be a shaker of cumin, another of salt (they’re actually in small bowls on the table in Egypt and you pinch out how much you want and sprinkle it on). Finally, there should be a large pitcher of cold water and glasses or cups. Traditionally, the plates, bowls, pitcher and glasses or cups are metal.
• No matter what you hear or read, Olive Oil is never used making koshary. The Cairo shops all seem to use corn oil.
Koshary Recipe
Serves 4 (Large servings):
Ingredients:
Hot Sauce:
1 ½ Cups Water 6 oz. Can Tomato Paste 2 Tablespoons Oil 1 Teaspoon (or more to taste) Cayenne Pepper 1 Teaspoon Cumin Powder ½ Teaspoon Coriander Powder 1 Teaspoon Dried Parsley Flakes
Garlic Lemon Sauce:
8 Cloves Garlic, crushed 1/4 Cup White Vinegar 1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil 1/2 Cup Water Juice from 6 to 8 Limes (golf ball size) or 2 Large Lemons (limes are traditional) 2 Heaping Teaspoons Cumin Powder Pinch of salt
Lentils:
1 Cup Dry Brown Lentils, Washed (Black or Green Lentils Optional) 1 Tablespoon Cumin 1 Clove Garlic, Crushed 4 Cups Water 2 Tablespoons White Vinegar (Optional)
Rice/Vermicelli:
1 ½ Cup Rice (Short or Medium Grain) Egyptian (short) or Calrose (medium) are most common) ¼ Cup Vermicelli Noodles, Crushed to short pieces) 1 Tablespoon Corn or Sunflower Oil 1 Chicken or Vegetable Stock Cube (Optional) (Note – for Vegan koshary do not use chicken stock) 2 Cups Water Salt & Pepper
Onions:
2 Large Onions, diced ½ Teaspoon Salt ¼ Cup Corn or Sunflower Oil *Note – Reserve Oil for Use with Pasta
Pasta:
2 Cups Ditanlini Pasta (Elbow Macaroni Optional) and Broken Up Vermicelli Pasta 2 Quarts Water, salted Oil from Frying of Onions
Chickpeas:
1 Can Chickpeas, rinsed -Or- 1 Cup Dried Chickpeas, rinsed and then soaked 8 hours
Red Tomato Sauce:
1 Onion, diced 2 Cloves Garlic, diced or crushed 1 Tablespoon Corn or Sunflower Oil 2 Cans Tomatoes, juiced 1 Small Carton Tomato Juice Concentrate 1 Cup Water Pinch of Cayenne Pepper
-Or-
1 Can Tomato Sauce (about 2 cups) (29 oz. can/1 lb. 13 oz/822 grams) 1 1/2 Cup Water 2 Tablespoons Corn or Sunflower Oil 1 Large Onion, diced 2 (or more, up to 7) Cloves Garlic, crushed 1 Tablespoon White Vinegar Salt & Pepper Dash of Cayenne Pepper
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Koshari
Apr 12, 2020 18:24:40 GMT -5
Post by nana on Apr 12, 2020 18:24:40 GMT -5
Nevertheless, I will use olive oil. I don't use corn oil, ever. And I'll bet dollars to donuts the traditional Egyptian oil was olive, not corn! Unless this is a dish invented only in the past few decades...
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Koshari
Apr 12, 2020 23:58:17 GMT -5
Post by mach12 on Apr 12, 2020 23:58:17 GMT -5
I haven't tried olive oil but I really don't see what the problem would be. If it's Olio Nuovo the flavor might stand out a bit but I'd think it would go well with the Koshari. What is the problem with Corn Oil? I always thought of it as a pretty neutral oil that didn't really have a lot of benefits or risks but am not sure where I got that impression.
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Koshari
Apr 13, 2020 7:25:10 GMT -5
Post by nana on Apr 13, 2020 7:25:10 GMT -5
For me, it's not the flavor, but the product itself. All regular corn oil comes from GMO corn doused in glyphosate. Eeeew, no thanks! I've never seen organic corn oil, but I imagine it would be hideously expensive.
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Koshari
Apr 13, 2020 12:52:54 GMT -5
Post by mach12 on Apr 13, 2020 12:52:54 GMT -5
We have a local market here, Spud's Produce, that primarily sells locally produced products and what they sell that's not locally produced is fully vetted. Their prices are competitive so they've become very popular. The corn oil they sell is labeled maize oil and is pressed from corn grown in Eastern WA from non-GMO or glyphosate treated corn. It is a bit more expensive but no more than about $1 a bottle (I think it's a quart bottle). I've tried to sort out all the stuff on different oils, GMO vs. non-GMO, glyphosate risks and so on and sorting out the fear from fact and all of that is near impossible, so just go with not overdoing any of it. It's probably too late for me anyway.
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Post by nana on Apr 14, 2020 10:26:50 GMT -5
You're very lucky to have a place like that, convenient and trustworthy!
To me, the jury is out on the possible dangers of genetic modification itself. We may not know the full story on that for a generation, maybe two. But why risk it? Glyphosate (Round Up) is the scarier thing to me. It is a known poison. It is a carcinogen, kills all kind of beneficial microorganisms in both the soil and in our own guts, and the weeds it is supposed to kill develop resistance to it and it requires ever more and stronger applications to do the same job it used to do, which is just the way Monsanto-Bayer likes it. We allow ourselves to believe that it's OK to douse the very food we eat with poison, and then we wonder at the ever increasing rates of cancer and other metabolic diseases. That's why I am willing as much as I financially can, to pay extra for organic and non-GMO, since most GMO things are made that way to withstand the glyphosate. Or to go without if I can't find an alternative to conventionally grown. And even then, you need to be careful, because there are fakes and scams out there. Buy local, and know your farmers, that's the best advice I can give!
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Koshari
Apr 14, 2020 13:30:54 GMT -5
Post by vaporvac on Apr 14, 2020 13:30:54 GMT -5
Produce may not succomb to the glyphosate, but it does absorb it.
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Post by nana on Apr 14, 2020 17:18:23 GMT -5
The farmer I buy my chicken feed from does not use gmo seed or glyphosate. He showed me one time after a big thunderstorm how his field had come through with no damage. A neighbor's field, conventionally grown with gmo seed and glyphosate had big gullies worn into it from the runoff. He said healthy soil is the only thing a farmer should be concerned about. And glyphosate does not create healthy soil. The midwest is our breadbasket, and he said mark my words, we are destroying it and it may take centuries to build it back up.
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