Kushari ( كشري )

Kushari is a popular traditional Egyptian dish. It's a vegetarian dish that consists of rice, brown lentils, pasta, and a topping of spicy tomato sauce and Fried onions. Kushari is one of the most popular and common dishes in Egypt, and it's one of my favorites.

Ingredients:

For the rice:
2 cups rice
1 cup brown lentil
1 small onion chopped
2 tablespoon olive oil (you can use veg. oil or butter)
salt and pepper
water (about 4 cups)

For the sauce:
5 fresh skinned tomatoes
5 garlic cloves minced
1 chili pepper chopped (optional)
2 cups tomatoes sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons vinegar
2 cups short pasta (macaroni)
1 teaspoon cumin
salt
1 cup water

For the onion garnish:
2 onions cut in slices
2 tablespoon olive oil

Cooking instructions:

Rice:

• Soak rice in warm water for 30 minute.
• If you're using Egyptian rice you need to wash it very good.
• Wash the lentil and then boil them in 2 cups of water until they are half cooked.
• Keep the lentil water, you'll need it to cook rice (it will give the rice this nice brownish color).
• In a pot add the olive oil and fry the chopped onion until gold and then add rinsed rice.
• Add the lentil with the water. Add salt and pepper and then cook the rice as you usually do. Add more water if you feel that the lentil water is not enough to cook the rice.
• Boil pasta and rinse it.
  

Sauce:

• Add olive oil to the pan that you will use for making the sauce.
• Cut tomatoes in small pieces.
• Fry minced garlic and chili pepper in the oil until gold.
  
• Add tomatoes and let them them cook.
• Add tomatoe sauce, water, vinegar, salt, and cumin. Let them boil for few minutes.
  

Garnish:

• In a frying pan heat the olive oil
• Add the sliced onions and brown them.
  

Now in a serving plate put a first layer of rice, then another layer of macaroni, and then garnish them with onion. Serve with the sauce. Enjoy it!