Five years ago I decided to take a break from university and move half way around the world to teach english.  I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into but during my time in Egypt I not only learned a world about myself but I also met my husband while traveling in the region.

While living in Cairo I fell in love with some of the most common street foods such as ful, ta’mijja, shwarma and koshari.  These are the dishes I would pick up on the way home for a quick and easy lunch or dinner but since being home have never found a place that makes it like I remember.

Of these dishes my favorite by far was koshari, who wouldn’t like a dish that is heavy on carbs with a spicy tomato sauce on top.  I was beside myself when flipping through the newest edition of Cooking Light and came across a recipe for koshari.  It was instantly added to my plan for the week and I just couldn’t wait to try making it as it had been 4 year since I have had any.

Taking my first bite brought me back to the stall near the metro station in Ghamra where I enjoyed my koshari.

The end result was a great lighter recipe that still had many of the elements that I enjoyed while in Egypt.  Where the original had crispy fried onions this one was a more reasonable pan fried onions, all of the elements were there and made for a wonderful first attempt at recreating a dish I loved so much.

Koshari

Sauce:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 cup finely chopped onion

1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add chopped onion to pan and cook for 15 minutes or until golden, stirring occasionally.  Add garlic, cook for 2 minutes.  Stir in 1/2 teaspoon of salt, peppers and tomatoes; cook 10 minutes or until slightly thick.  Transfer tomato mixture to a food processor; process 1 minute or until smooth.  Keep warm.

Koshari:

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 cups thinly sliced onion

1/2 cup uncooked vermicelli, broken into 1 inch pieces

5 cups water

1 1/4 cups dried lentils or yellow split peas

2 1/2 cups hot cooked long grain rice

1 teaspoon salt

Heat 3 tablespoons oil in pan over medium heat, add sliced onion; cook 15 minutes or until deep golden brown, stirring frequently.  Remove onion with a slotted spoon to several layers of paper towels, set aside.  Return pan to medium heat and add vermicelli, saute 2 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently.  Set aside.

Combine 5 cups water and lentils in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes or until lentils are tender.  Remove from heat and add vermicelli, stirring well to combine.  Wrap a kitchen towel around the lid and cover lentil mixture; let stand for 10 minutes or until vermicelli is tender.  Add rice and 1 teaspoon salt to lentil mixture, fluff with a fork.  Serve immediately with sauce and onions.