Revolution Koshari

What's been happening on the streets of Egypt has had me glued to the news for almost a month and a half now. My column in the newspaper has been resumed and I'm finally back to the kitchen after detaching myself from the television and taking part in a workshop held by a French chef here in Malaysia. I'll probably blog about that soon. Until then, here's the link to the latest column with a recipe. It's based on a traditional Egyptian dish comprising of rice, vermicelli, pasta, lentils, chickpeas and fried onions topped with a tomato-garlic-vinegar sauce. 

Koshari-inspired Spaghetti
By eliminating the rice in koshary, you ultimately end up with an interesting pasta dish


You'll need:
500 gm of spaghetti, cooked al dente
2 small onions, chopped
2 tablespoons of ghee
400 grams of chickpeas, cooked
150 grams of brown lentils, cooked


For the sauce:
1/3 cup of olive oil
5 heaped tablespoons of tomato paste
2 leveled tablespoons of all-purpose flour
5-7 cloves of garlic, sliced, depending on the strength
1.5 teaspoons of chili powder
3 tablespoons of vinegar
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
5-6 cups of water, depending on your preferred sauce thickness
Salt and pepper, to taste


Begin with the sauce. Heat your oil in a pot on medium heat. Add the flour and tomato paste. Constantly whisk until all is combined into a smooth paste. Cook on low heat for a minute until it begins to sweat. Add the sliced garlic, chili and vinegar and incorporate into the roux. Add the water, stir then boil once and reduce heat to a low simmer. Simmer until it has thickened and the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Mix the cooked pasta with the chickpeas and lentils and set aside. Fry the chopped onions in the ghee until they reach a deep brown color. Serve the sauce over the pasta and garnish with fried onions.