Egyptian Fried Rice Food

KOSHARI RECIPE

Steps:

• Sprinkle the onion rings with salt, then toss them in the flour to coat. Shake off excess flour.
• In a large skillet, heat the cooking oil over medium-high heat, cook the onion rings, stirring often, until they turn a nice caramelized brown. Onions must be crispy, but not burned (15-20 minutes).
• In a saucepan, heat 1 tbsp cooking oil. Add the grated onion, cook on medium-high until the onion turns a translucent gold (do not brown). Now add the garlic, coriander, and red pepper flakes, if using, and saute briefly until fragrant (30-45 seconds more).
• Stir in tomato sauce and pinch of salt. Bring to a simmer and cook until the sauce thickens (15 minutes or so).
• Stir in the distilled white vinegar, and turn the heat to low. Cover and keep warm until ready to serve.
• Cook the lentils. Bring lentils and 4 cups of water to a boil in a medium pot or saucepan over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and cook until lentils are just tender (15-17 minutes). Drain from water and season with a little salt. (Note: when the lentils are ready, they should not be fully cooked. They should be only par-cooked and still have a bite to them as they need to finish cooking with the rice).
• Now, for the rice. Drain the rice from its soaking water. Combine the par-cooked lentils and the rice in the saucepan over medium-high heat with 1 tbsp cooking oil, salt, pepper, and coriander. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring regularly. Add warm water to cover the rice and lentil mixture by about 1 1/2 inches (you'll probably use about 3 cups of water here). Bring to a boil; the water should reduce a bit. Now cover and cook until all the liquid has been absorbed and both the rice and lentils are well cooked through (about 20 minutes). Keep covered and undisturbed for 5 minutes or so.
• Now make the pasta. While the rice and lentils are cooking, make the pasta according to package instructions by adding the elbow pasta to boiling water with a dash of salt and a little oil. Cook until the pasta is al dente. Drain.
• Cover the chickpeas and warm in the microwave briefly before serving.
• To serve, fluff the rice and lentils with a fork and transfer to a serving platter. Top with the elbow pasta and 1/2 of the tomato sauce, then the chickpeas, and finally 1/2 of the crispy onions for garnish. Serve, passing the remaining sauce and crispy onions separately.

EGYPTIAN KOSHARY

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in rice; continue stirring until rice is coated with oil, about 3 minutes. Add 3 cups water and 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender and liquid has been absorbed, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Stir in the macaroni, and return to a boil. Cook the macaroni uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the it has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain well in a colander. Return macaroni to cooking pot, cover and keep warm.
• Soak lentils for 30 minutes. Drain and rinse; drain again. Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a pot and stir in lentils. Bring to a boil; cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer until lentils are tender 15 or 20 minutes. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt.
• Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the onions in the oil, stirring often, until they begin to brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Onions should be a nice caramelized brown color. Add garlic and cook another minute. Remove from pan, drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
• Place half of the onion mixture into a saucepan. Mix in the vinegar. Add the chopped tomatoes and tomato paste, black pepper, 2 1/2 teaspoons salt, cumin, and cayenne (if using). Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer about 12 minutes.
• Serve by placing a spoonful of rice, then macaroni, and then the lentils on serving plates. Sprinkle with some of the browned onions, then top with tomato sauce.

EGYPTIAN FAATAH (RICE & MEAT WITH CRISPY BREAD ON BOTTOM)

Steps:

• To prepare bread for bottom of dish: Take pita bread and rip into bite size pieces. In a frying pan, add about a 1/4 stick of butter, add bread pieces and fry until golden brown and crisp. Put these pieces in a glass baking dish, preferably a square sized dish. Set aside.
• Then add to same pan, a little more butter, salt, approximately 2 cloves of crushed fresh garlic, and a teaspoon or so of cumin stir around a bit until you can smell aroma, then add fried bread pieces to this mixture, stir to coat bread and put back into glass baking dish. Set aside.
• To prepare meat: put some butter in a pot, stir fry meat until brown, add 1 onion quartered, salt & pepper, 1 cube of chicken bouillon and water to cover meat. Bring to a boil, turn down to simmer, cover and cook until tender, approximately 2 hours. After meat has cooled, take out chunks of meat and put in a bowl, set aside. Reserve soup from the meat separately.
• To prepare the rice: Put some butter into a pot, add shareya (fideo noodles) like a handful or so, keep stirring until golden brown, not too dark, but very golden. Then add two cups of rice, stir a little bit until some of the rice turns an opaque white. Add 2-1/4 cups of water and salt to taste. Bring to a boil, cover and turn down to simmer, cook until tender. Test the rice tenderness after about 35 minutes.
• Now take some of the soup from meat and add to the top of the bread pieces in baking dish to saturate.Add cooked rice on top of bread pieces. Slowly spoon remainder of soup onto rice, looking at glass dish sides to see level of soup, should reach just to top of rice, don't worry, this doesn't have to be exact. Now you're ready to make the sauce and fry the meat to put on top.
• To prepare red sauce: In a pan, add a little oil or butter, crushed tomato, a half teaspoon of tomato paste, salt & pepper, 2 cloves of fresh crushed garlic and cumin. Add also approximately 3 tablespoons of vinegar, stir this until you smell aroma and it is a bit smooth. It should be a bit thick, not watery, but if too thick you can add a bit of water. Spread with a wooden spoon atop the rice to cover.
• To fry meat: In a pan add a bit of butter or oil, the meat, just a touch of tomato paste, about a tablespoon of fresh crushed garlic, salt & pepper, a teaspoon of cumin. Cook until meat is golden fried.
• Spoon this atop the rice and serve. Enjoy!

EGYPTIAN FRIED RICE

Steps:

• Rinse the rice under running water thoroughly and set aside in a colander to drain.
• Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan. When the oil is hot, add the rice and fry it until each grain is coated with oil.
• Add the water and salt to taste and stir.
• Cook, uncovered, over moderate heat until the water is absorbed.
• Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for 30 minutes more.
• Spoon the top layer of rice into a bowl.
• Remove the browned layer with a spatula, break into pieces and serve alongside the rice.

EGYPTIAN RICE COOKED IN A CLAY BRAM

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 385 degrees F.
• Whisk together the milk, salt and egg yolks. Combine the rice and milk mixture in a medium clay bram or 4-quart Dutch oven.
• Distribute the butter in thin shavings over the surface. Place the bram on a baking sheet as a safeguard from spills. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until a rich, golden brown crust has formed on the top and perimeter of the rice, about 1 hour more. Most of the milk should have been absorbed. Allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving.

THE PERFECT EGYPTIAN RICE WITH VERMICELLI

Steps:

• Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add vermicelli; cook, stirring constantly, until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Pour in rice and salt; stir until coated with oil.
• Reduce heat to low. Cook the rice mixture, stirring constantly, until rice turns pasty white, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Bring water to a boil in a saucepan.
• Stir water into the rice mixture. Cover; cook until most of the water is absorbed, 10 to 15 minutes. Turn off heat; let sit until remaining water is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork.