Egyptian Cuisine

Kushari

Cuisine: Egyptian Prep time: 30 min(s) Cooking time: 1 hr(s) 45 min(s) Servings: Serves 4–6 Created by Tereza Shehata

Kushari is a delicious Egyptian recipe consisting of green lentils, macaroni and rice mixed together with caramelised onions. It is served with a tomato-based sauce, finished with a crispy onion garnish and is best accompanied by a garden salad.

Ingredients

Crispy onions
oil for deep-frying
2 - onions, finely sliced

Sauce
2 tbsp - olive oil
1 - small onion, finely diced
2 - garlic cloves, crushed
250 g - tomato paste
1 tsp - baharat
salt and pepper
chilli flakes (optional)
250 ml - water

Rice, macaroni and lentils
olive oil
1 cup - medium-grain rice
salt
1 cup - green lentils, rinsed until the water runs clear
2 cups - small macaroni
2 - large onions, finely sliced
1 tsp - baharat

Preparation

Prepare the onion garnish by heating sufficient oil in a saucepan, adding the onions and deep-frying until dark brown. Remove from the oil and drain on paper towel. Leave to cool.

To make the sauce, place a saucepan over moderate heat and add the oil and onion. Cook until the onion is soft. Add the garlic and fry to pale brown. Stir in the tomato paste and baharat and add salt, pepper and chilli flakes (if using) to taste. Add the water and simmer for 15–20 minutes or until the sauce has reduced by half. Remove from the heat.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a separate saucepan over moderate heat. Add the rice and 1 teaspoon of salt and fry for 2 minutes, then add 500 ml of water. Stir well and bring to the boil. Once boiling, lower the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes until the rice is cooked.

Meanwhile, place the lentils in another saucepan with 500 ml of water and simmer until tender then drain. In another saucepan boil the macaroni with a little salt until al dente then drain. Heat 80 ml of olive oil in a frying pan and cook the onions until soft and caramelised.

To serve, reheat the tomato sauce. Place the hot macaroni in a large serving dish and coat with a little extra olive oil. Add the hot rice, lentils and caramelised onions and mix through. Sprinkle with the baharat and pour over the desired amount of tomato sauce. Garnish with the crispy onions.

SBS cook’s notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55–60 g, unless specified.

Egyptian Restaurants

Displaying 4 of 4 Egyptian Restaurants.

Restaurant Suburb
1. De Bortoli Winery and Restaurant Dixons Creek
2. Princess Jasmine Punchbowl
3. Made In Africa Ethiopian Restaurant Moorooka
4. Cupido Carlton
   
29 Oct 2012 11:07 AEST
Phil
Califonia Gully
Tasty, Easy, & Nutritious
I've been making this for years - got the recipe from Tess Mallos' excellent Complete Middle Eastern Cookbook many moons ago.
22 May 2011 05:29 AEST
Julie
Ballarat
Simple & scrumptious way to feed the multitudes!
I made this for our Friday night dinner group of 8 and it went down very well. Served with a green salad, flat bread and dips, nuts and dates, it was an Egyptian feast. The next day I cooked up some chicken thighs, mushrooms and capsicum and tossed the left over kushari in to reheat. Very good.
26 Apr 2011 01:15 AEST
Robyn
Newtown
Authentic
I had never made kushari before but my Egyptian Mother Inlaw makes it all the time and I love it. I tried your recipe to give my husband a "taste of home" and he was so impressed that it tasted so authentic.
30 Oct 2010 10:13 AEST
Stephen
Alice Springs
Easy does it
New to cooking - an easy recipe - once you work out you need 4 saucepans at the same time!
30 May 2009 12:40 AEST
Hannah Dia
Brisbane
Yummy Egyptian dish!
Great vegetarian dish!
13 Jan 2009 04:02 AEST
Julianne
Mt Hutton
kushari
we too lived off this yummy dish whilst backpacking in Egypt. I will be making this during the week, and am sure our daughter will love it just as much we will.
29 Dec 2008 05:31 AEST
Em Omar
Bankstown
YUMMY
if you sprinkle the onions with a little salt and let it sit for a few minutes before frying they stay a lot crisper
12 Dec 2008 10:09 AEST
Sam
Brisbane
Yum - comfort food at it's best
We ate this in Egypt and I've been trying to find out the name of it since. It's the most yummy comfort food there is.

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