Frugal Family Meal – Kushari
Posted by JiaFeb 9

This post is part of Food Renegade’s Fight Back Friday!
It has come to our attention that, for the most part, our recipe pages remain invisible to our readers (and to the search engines as well). As a result I am going to start turning these recipe pages into posts. The recipe page itself will become an index instead.
The first recipe I am moving is one of our favorite dishes, Kushari.
This is a great dish in so many ways. It’s cheap. It’s filling. It’s tasty. It’s relatively low fat, high fiber, rich in protein and vegan to boot. You can cut the recipe in half if you’re only feeding 2, or multiply the recipe enough to feed a hungry horde. Plus, it’s easy to customize to your family’s tastes.
It is a wonderful mix of flavors and textures. It is pretty both in your dish, or on a larger serving platter. It is also very very satisfying.
Ingredients
4 cups cooked rice (brown, white, or even jasmine)
4 cups prepared lentils
2 cups cooked pasta (try elbows or even ditalini)
2 cans crushed tomatoes
4 cloves garlic
3-4 medium onions
3 TBSP olive oil
2 TBSP apple cider vinegar
1-2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1-2 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp salt
- 1 cup uncooked rice = 3 cups cooked rice
- 1 cup uncooked pasta = 2 2/3 cups cooked pasta
- 1 cup raw lentils – 2 1/2 cups cooked lentils
- using whole wheat pasta and brown rice increases the nutritive value of this dish, but also increases the cost
Directions
Mix lentils, pasta, and rice in a large bowl. Toss with 1 tablespoon oil and season with parsley and salt. Set aside
In a saucepan, saute garlic in 1 tablespoon oil until tender. Add red pepper flakes and cook for about a minute to allow the oil to become thoroughly seasoned. Add the crushed tomatoes and allow to cook on a low to medium heat for approximately an hour.
Meanwhile, peel onions and slice into very thin circles. saute in final tablespoon of oil until caramelized.

Serving
Put a scoop of lentil-rice-pasta mixture into a bowl. Top with tomato sauce and garnish with caramelized onions.
Serve with a bottle of hot sauce on the table for those who want even more heat.
Variations
The vinegar addition is traditional and creates a sauce that is quite tangy. Not everyone cares for the sweet and sour at the same time taste. For those who have pickier eaters, simply leave it out. Adding hot sauce at the table gives you some of that vinegar taste anyway.
Additionally, feel free to add any/ all of the following:
- 1 or 2 cans of chickpeas
- 2 cans corn (not creamed)
- 1 or 2 chopped sweet peppers
Enjoy!
Jia
Adapted from:
You might also enjoy:
Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers: Fresh Ideas for the Weeknight Table
The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook: Your Guide to the Best Foods on Earth
Image: Suat Eman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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We just love comments. Please share your thoughts.
10 comments
Comment by Julie M.
Twitter: mommiecooks
on February 10, 2011 at 2:19 pm
This is an interesting dish. I don’t very often see a dish that has both rice and pasta in it. I like the sound of it and am glad you’ve started sharing your recipes as posts!
Comment by erica
on February 10, 2011 at 7:32 pm
oooh, we had this at an indian feast night with a house “church” we used to attend several years ago…i think it was accompanied by yogurt and elephant-ear bread but i bet one could eat naan with it just as well.
Comment by Jia
on February 10, 2011 at 7:54 pm
Julie
It is a popular Egyptian dish. It is rather obviously carb heavy, but I have yet to serve it to anyone who hasn’t immediately fallen in love with it.
Erica
I know that the variations of toppings and add ins can be pretty endless (or so Ive read) … I can see how a yogurt sauce could be a nice addition. I am making it this weekend and can’t wait to dig into a big bowl of it!
Comment by Zezebel@Sabahan Bloggers Club
Twitter: sabahblogclub
on February 11, 2011 at 12:24 am
Hi Jia.
Can i add some chili to this recipe? I ike my food hot.
Will it change the taste?
Comment by Jia
on February 13, 2011 at 8:37 am
Zezebel
You can add crushed red pepper to the sauce (which I’ve done successfully) until you reach the level of heat you desire. I haven’t tried any other variations, so I can’t speak to them.
When you say chili do you mean chili powder, fresh (or canned) chilis, or Thai style chili paste. Some are more likely to “go” than others.
Comment by Mike @ led tv ireland
on February 18, 2011 at 5:09 am
I was looking for some recipe how prepare Kushari because i heard that is really delicious and for real i did it Your way and whole family was delighted, thanks for this recipe : )
Comment by Jia
on February 18, 2011 at 6:15 pm
Mike
I am so pleased that you and your family enjoyed the dish. It is a family favorite here not only because it’s cheap … but because we just all like it so much!!
Comment by Siobhan Landis
Twitter: siobhanLandis
on September 28, 2011 at 2:47 pm
Not surprised your family likes it – my kids have LOVED kosheri since the first time I made it (they were about 6 at the time) – I have no idea why.
So, it’s a regular at our house. The rice/macaroni/lentils the same as yours (we use brown rice, and whole wheat macaroni), and the tomato-based sauce on our recipe has fresh peppers and other veggies as well. The hot sauce remains a necessity, at least for me son.
I love it that eating healthily, eating deliciously, and eating inexpensively can converge when you make recipes like this!
Siobhan Landis´s last [type] ..What’s for Supper? A Collection of Quick and Easy Vegetarian Meal Ideas
Comment by Jia
on September 29, 2011 at 8:24 pm
Siobhan
I havent made in in a while … we’ve been on a kick with my deconstructed vegetarian tacos … seeing this post makes me really want a bowl of it though
Comment by Lady Rose
Twitter: LadyRose
on October 24, 2011 at 7:14 pm
I just want to testify to the yummy-ness of Jia’s recipes! I’ve had the pleasure of eating at her house for years so I can say with certainty her recipres of wonderful.
Glad you found out your pages were not showing up and able to fix it by moving info to posts. Is that something that happens a lot with all blogs ?
Lady Rose´s last [type] ..Invitation – Come Join Lady Rose At Blissful Moon
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