The last few years have been witnessed a veritable war on carbs and starches. For someone who grew up eating pasta almost daily and rice on other days when we made traditional Arabic stews, the idea of not being free to eat rice and pasta as I please makes me inexplicably sad. I am serious when I say that I could eat a bowl of pasta for breakfast (left over from yesterday's dinner), lunch and dinner (left overs to be had tomorrow at breakfast). Nothing as deliriously delicious than the moment when I drain those steaming golden threads of spaghetti and throw them into a simple aglio-olio-pomodoro-basilico sugo, dust them generously with freshly grated parmiggiano reggiano and poise my fork to begin twirling.
I revolted against Atkins. Not a single gram of guilt, inspite of a good 120 grams of spaghetti.
I am liberated and ready for the next culinary carbfest. And this morning, I woke up dreaming of a carbfest so magnificent, it would make dieters everywhere convulse with envy and drool with anticipation.
Nothing says carbfest more than the famous, or should I say infamous, Kushari. This simple, rudimentary dish finds its origins in Egypt, where it is a staple for many, the fast food of the masses, the gastric pacifier of young and old. Every home will make a slighly different version, each unique, each authentic to its origins.
I find it the perfect dish to use up the remains of packets of pasta, those last few grammes that are barely enough for one person, yet thrown together will feed a hungry family. The pasta need not be cooked al dente, in fact, a little overcooking works better here.
The use of brown lentils in this dish is perfection, as not only are they really good for you, they deliver a deep smokey flavour to the rest of the ingredients. As an added bonus they also do not require soaking and can be prepared on the spot.
Enter rice. Yes. Rice. Good old Australian calrose short grain (also known as Egyptian rice) to add yet another dimension to this parade of starches. Of course, if you have any leftover plain rice, this is a great way of using it.
Onions and garlic are a key ingredient to make this dish successful. If you worry that you might have garlic breath, this dish is not for you. I would throw all caution to the wind and indulge with your loved ones. No one will complain.
Finally, kushari without its salsa is like a cupcake without frosting. This tangy, spicy, dressing is essential to bring all these unlikely ingredients together into a beautiful explosion of flavours and textures, satisfying to both palate and
stomach.
Here is my interpretation of Kushari, it will serve about 4-6 people depending on level of hunger and gluttony. Enjoy the carbfest!
Note: most of your time will be spent on preparation of ingredients. Assembly takes minutes and it can be enjoyed warm or cold.
Ingredients:
- 250-300gms cups of cooked pasta (eg. broken spaghetti, maccheroni)
- 1 cup of calrose rice, cooked
- 1 cup of brown lentils, cooked till soft but not mushy
- 3 large brown onions
- 500 ml crushed, strained tomatoes (e.g. Pomi)
- 4-5 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 heaping tsp of Bharat (mixed arabic spices)
- 2 heaping tsps of coriander powder
- 2 tsps of sweet paprika
- Olive oil for dousing as required
- 250ml Chicken stock or vegetable stock (optional, I use Kalo Garlic & Herb bouillon)
- 4-5 tablespoons of Sunflower oil
- salt and black pepper to taste
For the salsa:
- 2 lemons, juiced
- 4 cloves of garlic, crushed/grated
- 1 level tbsp cumin powder
- hot sauce/chilli paste to taste
- reserved tomato sauce (prepared in first part of process)
- a large deep serving dish (I used a lasagna dish, but any shape will do)
Method:
- boil the pasta till well done, 2 minutes beyond recommended cooking time, rinse and drain the pasta, set aside
- boil the rice in 1 1/4 cup of water, bring to the boil for 2 minutes then reduce heat to very low, cover and leave undisturbed on low heat for 20 minutes. The rice should have absorbed all the water and cooked through
- wash and boil the lentils till well done but not mushy, drain and set aside
- reserving half an onion for the sauce, finely slice the onions on a mandolin
- shallow fry the sliced onions till they turn a deep golden brown, transfer to drain on kitchen paper
- finely chop the remainder half onion and set aside
Preparing the tomato sauce:
- Pour the sunflower oil into a saucepan and on medium heat, saute the chopped onions till soft and transluscent and just beginning to brown
- Add the coriander powder and stir till amalgamated, adding the strained tomatoes and stirring through till the mixture is homogenous.
- As it starts to bubble, add the tomato paste followed by about 250 ml of boiling water (you can also dilute the tomato paste and bouillon together in the boiling water before adding)
- Cover and allow to simmer gently for about 10-15 minutes or till reduced and flavours become concentrated
- Sprinkle in the Bharat, a touch of freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste and finally, stir through a couple of tablespoons of olive oil for gloss and flavour.
- Set this sauce aside for assembly of dish later
Preparing the salsa:
- In a glass bowl, mix the lemon juice with the garlic and add the cumin stiring thoroughly
- Add 2-3 of ladles of the tomato sauce prepared earlier to achieve a light, tangy salsa. Taste it and adjust the tomato ratio according to your preference
- Add the chilli paste/hot sauce to taste (I like it quite hot to contrast with the relatively tame ingredients).
- Drizzle a couple of tablespoons of olive oil into the salsa for flavour and gloss
To assemble:
- Pour the pasta into the bottom of the dish and spread out to achieve an even layer and then sprinke one ladle of sauce over this, but just enough to tint the pasta
- Sprinkle with a little olive oil
- Spoon the rice over the pasta and spread out in an even layer and sprinkle with one more ladle of sauce
- Spread the lentils over the rice and cover the entire layer of lentils with the remainder of the sauce. It should cover the dish and be quite generous as this will be responsible for making the dish moist
- Finally, reserving some for individual portions later as an extra treat, sprinkle some fried onions over the last layer of tomato sauce
- Upon serving the kushari, spoon some salsa on the individual portions depending on taste and preference (as it is quite spicy and tangy) and top with more fried onions for crunch.
Enjoy!
I revolted against Atkins. Not a single gram of guilt, inspite of a good 120 grams of spaghetti.
I am liberated and ready for the next culinary carbfest. And this morning, I woke up dreaming of a carbfest so magnificent, it would make dieters everywhere convulse with envy and drool with anticipation.
Nothing says carbfest more than the famous, or should I say infamous, Kushari. This simple, rudimentary dish finds its origins in Egypt, where it is a staple for many, the fast food of the masses, the gastric pacifier of young and old. Every home will make a slighly different version, each unique, each authentic to its origins.
I find it the perfect dish to use up the remains of packets of pasta, those last few grammes that are barely enough for one person, yet thrown together will feed a hungry family. The pasta need not be cooked al dente, in fact, a little overcooking works better here.
The use of brown lentils in this dish is perfection, as not only are they really good for you, they deliver a deep smokey flavour to the rest of the ingredients. As an added bonus they also do not require soaking and can be prepared on the spot.
Enter rice. Yes. Rice. Good old Australian calrose short grain (also known as Egyptian rice) to add yet another dimension to this parade of starches. Of course, if you have any leftover plain rice, this is a great way of using it.
Onions and garlic are a key ingredient to make this dish successful. If you worry that you might have garlic breath, this dish is not for you. I would throw all caution to the wind and indulge with your loved ones. No one will complain.
Finally, kushari without its salsa is like a cupcake without frosting. This tangy, spicy, dressing is essential to bring all these unlikely ingredients together into a beautiful explosion of flavours and textures, satisfying to both palate and
stomach.
Here is my interpretation of Kushari, it will serve about 4-6 people depending on level of hunger and gluttony. Enjoy the carbfest!
Note: most of your time will be spent on preparation of ingredients. Assembly takes minutes and it can be enjoyed warm or cold.
Ingredients:
- 250-300gms cups of cooked pasta (eg. broken spaghetti, maccheroni)
- 1 cup of calrose rice, cooked
- 1 cup of brown lentils, cooked till soft but not mushy
- 3 large brown onions
- 500 ml crushed, strained tomatoes (e.g. Pomi)
- 4-5 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 heaping tsp of Bharat (mixed arabic spices)
- 2 heaping tsps of coriander powder
- 2 tsps of sweet paprika
- Olive oil for dousing as required
- 250ml Chicken stock or vegetable stock (optional, I use Kalo Garlic & Herb bouillon)
- 4-5 tablespoons of Sunflower oil
- salt and black pepper to taste
For the salsa:
- 2 lemons, juiced
- 4 cloves of garlic, crushed/grated
- 1 level tbsp cumin powder
- hot sauce/chilli paste to taste
- reserved tomato sauce (prepared in first part of process)
- a large deep serving dish (I used a lasagna dish, but any shape will do)
Method:
- boil the pasta till well done, 2 minutes beyond recommended cooking time, rinse and drain the pasta, set aside
- boil the rice in 1 1/4 cup of water, bring to the boil for 2 minutes then reduce heat to very low, cover and leave undisturbed on low heat for 20 minutes. The rice should have absorbed all the water and cooked through
- wash and boil the lentils till well done but not mushy, drain and set aside
- reserving half an onion for the sauce, finely slice the onions on a mandolin
- shallow fry the sliced onions till they turn a deep golden brown, transfer to drain on kitchen paper
- finely chop the remainder half onion and set aside
Preparing the tomato sauce:
- Pour the sunflower oil into a saucepan and on medium heat, saute the chopped onions till soft and transluscent and just beginning to brown
- Add the coriander powder and stir till amalgamated, adding the strained tomatoes and stirring through till the mixture is homogenous.
- As it starts to bubble, add the tomato paste followed by about 250 ml of boiling water (you can also dilute the tomato paste and bouillon together in the boiling water before adding)
- Cover and allow to simmer gently for about 10-15 minutes or till reduced and flavours become concentrated
- Sprinkle in the Bharat, a touch of freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste and finally, stir through a couple of tablespoons of olive oil for gloss and flavour.
- Set this sauce aside for assembly of dish later
Preparing the salsa:
- In a glass bowl, mix the lemon juice with the garlic and add the cumin stiring thoroughly
- Add 2-3 of ladles of the tomato sauce prepared earlier to achieve a light, tangy salsa. Taste it and adjust the tomato ratio according to your preference
- Add the chilli paste/hot sauce to taste (I like it quite hot to contrast with the relatively tame ingredients).
- Drizzle a couple of tablespoons of olive oil into the salsa for flavour and gloss
To assemble:
- Pour the pasta into the bottom of the dish and spread out to achieve an even layer and then sprinke one ladle of sauce over this, but just enough to tint the pasta
- Sprinkle with a little olive oil
- Spoon the rice over the pasta and spread out in an even layer and sprinkle with one more ladle of sauce
- Spread the lentils over the rice and cover the entire layer of lentils with the remainder of the sauce. It should cover the dish and be quite generous as this will be responsible for making the dish moist
- Finally, reserving some for individual portions later as an extra treat, sprinkle some fried onions over the last layer of tomato sauce
- Upon serving the kushari, spoon some salsa on the individual portions depending on taste and preference (as it is quite spicy and tangy) and top with more fried onions for crunch.
Enjoy!
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