Eating Egypt

Passport & Plate - Koshery

Egypt | Tuesday, February 17, 2015 | 2 photos

Ingredients
2 cups cooked rice
1 cup cooked penne pasta
1 cup cooked spaghetti
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup cooked lentils
1 can of tomato puree
1/2 cup water
salt to taste
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder
2 cups fried lamb liver(optional)
1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes
2 medium onions chopped(2cups)

 

How to prepare this recipe
Combine rice, penne pasta and spaghetti.
Whisk together vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, and garlic powder in a medium bowl. Add cooked lentils and stir to combine.
Spoon the contents onto the rice, pasta and spaghetti.
Combine tomatoes, water, cinnamon, salt, remaining 1/2 teaspoon cumin and red pepper in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat about 5 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally.
Spoon tomato mixture over lentil layer. Partially stir tomato mixture into other layers, but do not completely combine all layers.

If desired, add fried liver and onions onto the mixture. Cook onions and liver in large skillet with 4 tablespoon oil over high heat, stirring frequently, until onions turn brown and slightly crispy, about 10-15 minutes.

 

The story behind this recipe
In 2013 I had visited Egypt on exchange during the recent revolution in the country. My favourite food there was the famous Alex Liver Sandwich, the Meat Shawarmas and the Koshery. The Koshery is as cheap as 7 EGP which is equivalent to around 50 INR and as heavy as a full course meal. It is frugal, simple and at the same time delicious. We used to visit cafes for sheesha and some mango juices and end the affair with koshery in our dinner. The best part was I never felt I as away from India as the spices, and flavour of the food was very similar.
Koshery is also one of main course food very famous in Egypt as well. The people have it specially during Ramadan to break their fast in the evening and as the ingredients are pretty rich it provides them with enough energy for the next day of fast.
During our exchange we also had the opportunity to learn to cook Egyptian cuisines. This was one of the dishes we tried out to cook and it came out fantastically. We had cooked for 25 people among which 4 were Local Egyptian Ladies who helped us make it and we all had it together when they had to break their fast during Ramadan.