Egypt | Main dish

Koshari

Egypt's iconic street food — layers of rice, lentils, macaroni, and chickpeas topped with a spiced tomato sauce, garlicky vinegar dressing, and shatteringly crispy fried onions.

Country
Egypt
Region
North Africa
Time
70 min
Serves
6
Level
medium
Explore Egypt recipes Open Vegetarian Africa
Recipe overview

What to know before you cook

Use this overview to check the occasion, serving ideas, regional context, and cooking commitment before you begin.

When to cook it

Best for Everyday lunch, street food. Plan on a medium cook and about 70 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

Extra crispy onions and hot sauce

Follow the collection

Koshari appears in 3 AfroKitchen collections. Start with Vegetarian Africa if you want more dishes in the same mood. Vegetarian Africa

Regional lane

Egypt national table. A structured Egypt dish in the AfroKitchen archive.

Chef watch-outs
  • Adding too much liquid after the rice goes in.
  • Stirring too often once the grains should be steaming.
  • Rushing the base before the raw edge has cooked out.
How you know it is ready
  • The grains should be tender but still distinct, with steam carrying the seasoning upward.
  • The aroma should smell rounded rather than raw or sharp.
  • Oil, sauce, broth, or steam should look settled and deliberate.
Recipe photos

See the dish before you cook

Each recipe supports one main image and up to four extra prep, serving, or step photos when they are available.

Koshari recipe from Egypt
Koshari finished dish
Chef board

Build the table around Koshari

Extra crispy onions and hot sauce

Best route from here

Egypt national table

Collections to keep cooking
One-Pot Family Meals Vegetarian African Classics Across Africa Showstoppers
Social plate

Why Koshari gets people talking

Rice, pasta, lentils, chickpeas, tomato sauce, vinegar, and fried onions create a high-contrast bowl people want to mix.

#8 Showstopper
Hook

The street-food stack.

Caption starter

Egypt built the perfect carb stack.

Hosting move

Keep fried onions separate until serving so the crunch lands fresh.

Photo angle

Shoot before mixing with onion crunch piled high and sauce streaking down one side.

Share this recipe Post the caption Open the showstopper board
Servings 6

Scale the dish before you shop, then use the checklist while you cook.

How to cook it

Step-by-step method

Keep the rhythm calm, watch the texture, and adjust seasoning at the end.

Back to Egypt
6 steps 20 min prep 50 min cook 70 min total medium
1
Cook the lentils
Boil lentils in salted water until tender but still holding shape. Drain and set aside.
Lentils 20:00
2
Cook rice and pasta
Toast vermicelli in a little onion oil if using, then cook with rice. Boil macaroni separately until al dente.
Rice and pasta 20:00
3
Fry the onions
Fry sliced onions in batches until deep golden and crisp. Drain well and keep the onion oil.
Onions 10:00
4
Make tomato sauce
Cook half the garlic in a little onion oil. Add tomatoes, some vinegar, cumin, salt, and chile, then simmer until thick.
Tomato sauce 15:00
5
Make dakka
Sizzle the remaining garlic in oil, then add vinegar and cumin. It should smell sharp and garlicky.
Dakka 01:00
6
Assemble
Layer rice, lentils, macaroni, and chickpeas. Spoon over tomato sauce and dakka, then finish with crispy onions.

Some cooks fold vermicelli into the rice, some keep the rice plain. The tomato sauce, dakka, and fried onions carry the soul either way.

Keep exploring

Cook around Koshari

Follow country, category, collection, time, and pairing paths without turning the recipe page into a link farm.

Ful Medames recipe from Egypt Egypt Breakfast Ful Medames Slow-cooked fava beans mashed with garlic, lemon, and cumin, drizzled with olive oil and served with warm pita. Egypt's bel... Time75 min ServingsServes 4 DifficultyEasy DietVegan RegionNorth Africa Open recipe Feteer Meshaltet recipe from Egypt Egypt Recipe Feteer Meshaltet Layered Egyptian pastry made from stretched dough, ghee, and oil, baked into flaky golden sheets. Time80 min ServingsServes 8 DifficultyHard DietVegetarian RegionNorth Africa Open recipe Molokhia recipe from Egypt Egypt Soup Molokhia A vibrant green soup made from finely chopped jute leaves simmered in chicken broth, finished with a sizzling garlic and co... Time60 min ServingsServes 6 DifficultyMedium DietGluten Free RegionNorth Africa Open recipe Sayadeya recipe from Egypt Egypt Recipe Sayadeya Egyptian fish and rice cooked with caramelized onions, cumin, tomato, warm spices, and seafood broth. Time80 min ServingsServes 5 DifficultyMedium DietDairy Free RegionNorth Africa Open recipe
Browse AfroKitchen Explore Egypt recipes