From Egypt's street stalls to its upmarket restaurants, koshari is equally popular everywhere. A unique combination of rice, lentils, pasta, chickpeas and crispy fried onions, the traditional dish is a remarkable blend of flavour, nutrition and satisfaction.

A tangy, spicy tomato sauce and a garlic-vinegar dressing enrich its taste further, and the popular Egyptian dish can be made at home with simple ingredients. Here is an easy recipe.

• For the rice and lentils: 1 cup basmati rice, 1 cup lentils, 1 tablespoon oil, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, salt to taste, 3.5 cups water
• For the pasta and chickpeas: 1 cup elbow pasta or any small pasta, 1 cup boiled chickpeas, a little salt and oil
• For the sauce: 2 tablespoons oil, 4 cloves chopped garlic, 2 cups tomato puree or sauce, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, half a teaspoon red chilli powder, 1 tablespoon vinegar, salt to taste
• For the fried onions: 3 onions, thinly sliced lengthways, and 1 cup oil for frying

Heat 1 cup of oil in a pan and fry the sliced onions over a medium flame until golden brown and crisp. Lift them out and drain the excess oil on kitchen paper or a sieve. Use the oil left after frying in the following steps.

Heat the onion-frying oil in a pot, add cumin, rice and lentils and stir for 2-3 minutes. Add 3.5 cups of water, salt to taste and ground cumin. When the water boils, lower the heat and cover. When the rice and lentils are cooked through and fluffy, take the pot off the heat.

Boil the pasta separately and drain it, then mix in a little oil so it does not stick together. Meanwhile, warm the boiled chickpeas gently with a little salt.

Heat a little oil in a pan and lightly fry the chopped garlic. Add the tomato puree, ground coriander, chilli powder and salt and cook well. When the sauce thickens slightly, stir in the vinegar, cook briefly and take it off the heat.

To serve, spread the rice and lentil mixture on a dish first. Layer the boiled pasta, chickpeas and crispy fried onions on top in turn. Finally pour over the spicy tomato sauce and serve hot.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.