Welcome to Egypt! Egypt has always fascinated me. When I was young, I remember my grandma and grandpa telling stories of when they went to Egypt, and I remember having a strong desire to go. There is so much history - and Biblical history! - that I would love to see for myself. As I grew older, I started hearing and understanding more of the dangerous side of Egypt, and suddenly it wasn't on the top of my list of places to go. Now, however, it's back up there - I think it would be such a fun and interesting trip! Plus, anywhere that saw cats as sacred can't be that bad, right?! According to Google, Egypt has a population of 101.58 million people, and the capital is Cairo. Their national dish is...
Koshari!
Every picture I saw of this dish looked amazing, but it had garbanzo beans, which I cannot eat. So, there was some modification for my portion. Handsome Husband was able to eat the whole thing. I found some other tasty looking dishes as well, so decided to try them all! We also made Shorbat Adas and Egyptian Meammar Rice. We did this over the course of two days because, let's face it, this was A LOT of food! Here's what I did:
- Crispy Onion Topping
- Sprinkle onion rings with salt and toss them with flour. Shake off excess flour.
- In a large skillet, heat avocado oil over medium-high heat.
- Cook onion rings, stirring often, until caramelized and brown, about 15- 20 minutes. (Note: you are not deep-frying them - you are sauteing them.)
- Remove from oil and let them drain on a paper towel.
- Set aside for later.
- Tomato Sauce
- In a saucepan, heat 1 tbsp avocado oil.
- Add the grated onion, and cook on medium-high heat until onion is translucent.
- Add garlic, coriander, and red pepper flakes. Saute until fragrant.
- Stir in tomato sauce and a pinch of salt.
- Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.
- Add the vinegar and turn the heat to low. Cover and keep warm until ready to serve.
- Koshari
- Bring 2 C water and lentels to a boil over high heat.
- Reduce the heat to low, and cook for 15 minutes, or until the lentils are just tender (not fully cooked - they should be just par-cooked).
- Drain from water and season with salt.
- Drain rice from soaking water.
- Combine the par-cooked lentils and rice into the saucepan over medium-high heat with 1 tbsp avocado oil, salt, pepper, coriander, and cumin.
- Cook for 3 minutes, stirring regularly.
- Add enough warm water to cover the rice and lentil mixture by 1 1/2 inches.
- Bring to a boil.
- Cover and cook until all the water is absorbed and the rice and lentils are cooked through - should be about 20 minutes.
- When cooked, turn off heat, and leave covered and undisturbed for 5 minutes.
- Cook the pasta, according to directions, until al dente.
- Assemble it!
- Fluff the rice and lentils, and transfer to a plate or platter.
- Top rice and lentils with pasta and tomato sauce, garbanzo beans, and the crispy onions.
- Enjoy!
- Heat oil in a soup pot over medium heat.
- Add the onion and cumin, and brown over low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring regularly.
- Add the garlic, and continue to cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the lentils and carrots, mix well, and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the tomato, turmeric, and bay leaves, and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Add the water and 2 tbsp cilantro and stir.
- Cover and cook for 25 minutes, until lentils are cooked through.
- Remove from heat and add lemon juice, season with salt and pepper, and stir well.
- Puree the soup.
- Serve with a garnish of cilantro.
(Source: Shorbat Adas)
- Wash the rice, and let it soak in water for 15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a pan over medium heat, melt 1 tbsp butter and brown the chicken tenders, about 2 minutes each side.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper, and set aside.
- Drain the rice, and in a bowl, mix rice, salt, pepper, sour cream, Mascarpone cheese, and remaining 1 tbsp butter. Ensure the rice is covered well.
- In a deep oven-safe dish, add enough rice to cover the bottom of the dish evenly.
- Add the chicken to the top of the rice, and cover with the remaining rice. Level the surface of the rice.
- In a pot over medium heat, combine the cream and chicken broth, and bring to a boil.
- Turn off the heat, and add the hot liquid to the rice.
- Place the dish with the rice inside of a bigger oven-safe dish, and fill halfway with water.
- Bake for 1 hour until the rice is fully cooked and the surface is golden brown.
- Enjoy!
(Source: Egyptian Meammar Rice)
The verdict? We really enjoyed the food from Egypt! The lentil soup and Meammar rice were very tasty, and very filling! My grandma would say the soup had a "sparkle" from the lemon that made it very interesting. We learned that as the soup sat, it thickened. Leftovers were not a soup! It was more a puree. It still was very good. The Meammar rice was very different. I actually adjusted the original recipe, because of comments in the blog that it was bland and not creamy. My version was very creamy! It tasted very much like chicken and rice, but the Mascarpone cheese gave it a different flavor. The Koshari was delicious. We LOVED the tomato sauce addition. Without the sauce, it was OK, but with the sauce, it was fantastic. There were lots of different flavors, but they worked so well together.
