Koshari
A Meatless Egyptian Version Of Chili
I wasn’t going to post
another African dish so soon but I felt it was time since everyone is turkeyed
out by now that we needed a good vegetarian dish to make for dinner.
This one will more than
fit the bill and it is Egyptian in origin and was a favorite of my ex.
Patrick my ex was Egyptian,
French, and American. So he was well experienced in the foods of Africa.
I like exotic independent
men and that is what first attracted him to me when we met in Canada at
the Bank of Montreal. That’s a long story but that’s where we first met.
Patrick had a great
sense of humor and after we talked and I found a little more about him, and he
about me, he joked and said tell me one
thing that we have in common that most couples would not.
The first thing that
came to mind was that a lot of the things I cooked were African inspired. He laughed
and said well that is a good starting point! I was thinking to myself as far as
I was concerned his brilliant blue eyes were a great starting point for me!
Over the ten years we were
together I fixed us many meals and he did the same for me and he taught me how
to make several African dishes. This one was a favorite of his mothers who was Egyptian
and French.
I am fussy about what I
eat and if he was here he would tell you I don’t experiment much with different
foods. I think I have a wider range of things I enjoy than most. After all I do cook Italian, Jewish, German, African, and Southern foods. But I will admit it took him taking me on a cruise down the Seine to get me to try frog
legs.
In case you are a
careful eater that does not stray far from what you grew up eating this will be
just fine don’t worry about where it comes from just that it is really good.
This is really just
simply a vegetarian chili. Nothing strange in it.
Here is the recipe:
Koshari
Ingredients:
½ cup brown lentils
1/2 cup basmati rice (I
will explain what this is below)
½ cup uncooked pasta
(small shells or elbow macaroni is best)
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons oil
1 16 oz can chopped
tomatoes
1/8 teaspoon crushed red
chili pepper flakes (I use Franks Red Hot)
Salt and black pepper
Directions:
1 Cook the lentils in
just over a quart of salted water.
2 Bring to a boil,
reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 15-30 minutes, depending on the type of lentils
you are using.
3 When the lentils are
quite tender, add the rice to the lentils and continue simmering until the rice
is cooked, adding water if necessary.
4 Cook the macaroni in a
separate pot.(I do this in the microwave)
5 Rinse and strain when
done.
6 Meanwhile, fry the
onions and garlic in the oil until golden.
7 Add the tomatoes, chili
flakes, salt and pepper to taste to the onions and garlic and let it bubble for
10-20 minutes or until thickened and sauce like.
8 Put sauce in a food
processor until smooth or just leave as is your choice I like it chunky myself.
9 Mix the lentils, rice
and macaroni together in one pot.
10 Place some of the
lentil mixture on each plate and top with tomato sauce.
11 Sprinkle with more
hot chili powder or salt and pepper, if desired.
This is like an Egyptian version
of chili if you think about it.
It also tastes so good
and you never miss the meat. It’s very filling and satisfying!
Give this a try it will be a nice
break from turkey.
Substitutes: popcorn rice (slightly milder than basmati) OR jasmine rice ( has shorter grain than basmati, somewhat stickier; cooks slightly faster) OR long-grain rice (less expensive) OR wild pecan rice. In other words until you have the money and time to search out this rice use what you have.
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