As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Egyptian Koshary is not something you want to eat weekly or even monthly if you’re watching your figure, but as a special treat why not try it out?
Koshary, kushari or koshari is Egypt’s national dish and widely popular street food. A traditional Egyptian staple, mixing pasta, rice, and brown lentils, and topped with a zesty tomato sauce, garlic vinegar, and garnished with chickpeas and crispy fried onions,
This Egyptian Koshary is a huge comfortable bowl of lentils, rice, and chickpeas, with a delicious tomato sauce and savory crispy onions on top! This is really a HUGE carb overload but oh so yummy.
Khadija said: Koshari is not something you want to eat weekly or even monthly if you’re watching your figure. I look at a plate of it and I gain 10kgs. Hope you will nevertheless try it and treat yourself to this outstanding-looking meal!

Egyptian Koshary
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Koshari, Rice & Pasta Time: 1 hours
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 8–10 servings depending on size 1x
- Category: Dinner Recipes
Description
Khadija adapted this meal from a Mediterranean cooking page and tweaked it a bit to make his own! He said: This is really carb overload but oh so yummy!
Ingredients
Crispy Onion Topping
- 1 large onion, sliced into thin rings
- Salt
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cooking oil
For Tomato Sauce
- Neutral cooking oil
- 1 small onion, minced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2–1 tsp crushed red chili
- 1 can 28-oz tomato sauce
- 1 tsp. of sugar
- Salt and pepper
- 1–2 tbsp. (white vinegar
For Koshari
- 1 1/2 cup brown lentils
- 1 1/2 cup medium-grain rice, rinsed, soaked in water for 15 minutes, drained
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp coriander
- 2 cups elbow pasta
- Neutral cooking oil
- Water
- 1 15–oz can of chickpeas, rinsed, drained, and warmed
Instructions
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 pan or flat pot, heat the cooking oil over medium-high heat, and cook the onion rings, stirring often, until they turn a nice, caramelized brown.
- Onions must be crispy, but not burned (15-20 minutes).
Make the Tomato Sauce
- In a saucepan, heat 1 tbsp cooking oil.
- Add the grated onion, and cook on medium-high until the onion turns a translucent gold (do not brown).
- Now add the garlic, coriander, and red pepper flakes, if using, and saute briefly until fragrant (30-45 seconds more).
- Stir in tomato sauce and a pinch of salt.
- Bring to a simmer and cook until the sauce thickens (15 minutes or so).
- Stir in the distilled white vinegar and turn the heat to low.
- Cover and keep warm until ready to serve.
Make the Koshari
- 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 1½ 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 the 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.
Put it All Together!
- To serve, fluff the rice and lentils with a fork and transfer them to a serving
platter. - Top with the elbow pasta and ½ of the tomato sauce, then the chickpeas, and finally ½ of the crispy onions for garnish.
- Serve, passing the remaining sauce and crispy onions separately.
Notes
Prepared, tried, and tested by Khadija from The Recipe Hunter: Tried and Tested Recipes from Home Chefs
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 311
- Sugar: 8
- Sodium: 727
- Fat: 9
- Saturated Fat: 2
- Unsaturated Fat: 6
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 46
- Fiber: 8
- Protein: 14
- Cholesterol: 10
Thanks for stopping by
As always, if you make this recipe please leave me a comment, rate the recipe, and tag me @_esmesalon on Instagram so I can feature you. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!
Let’s keep in touch, so please sign up for my newsletter to get delicious homemade tried and tested recipes delivered to your inbox. And don’t forget to follow us on Pinterest, Instagram, & Twitter as I would love to connect with you there!
If you require a wonderfully tried and tested recipe book for yourself, or as a gift, please visit the shop and look at all those excellent Recipe eBooks.