Actually, I tried this at the State Fair and have been meaning to try and make it for a while now. I finally did tonight.
Kushari is an Egyptian street/comfort food, and it's also pretty frugal because you can make a passable version using really common ingredients! The most exotic thing I used was ground cumin. Basically it's lentils, rice and elbow macaroni topped with a tomato-vinegar-garlic sauce and browned flour-coated fried onions. It was soo good. I pretty much nailed it the first time I tried making it!
In terms of healthiness I'd say it's half-and-half, because the lentil-rice mixture and the tomato sauce are healthy, the macaroni and the fried onions not so much. But it's filling and comforting and tasty and has cheap ingredients.
EDIT to add recipe, in case you're wanting to try it.
Kushari Recipe
Kushari consists of four things, so the ingredients and instructions are listed separately:
Lentils + Rice
Macaroni
Garlic Vinegar Tomato Sauce
Fried Onion Topping
Serves about 8 people
Lentil Layer
1 cup of lentils
1 cup of rice
5 cups of water
1 tablespoon cumin
1 t salt and 1/2 t pepper
Put water in a large pot and add cumin. Boil the water and then add lentils. Close lid, reduce heat slightly and leave it boiling for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, slice onions for onion layer and start frying in batches (see below). Also mince garlic and start sauce (see below).
Add rice, salt and pepper and stir. Reduce heat to very low and simmer with lid on until rice is cooked, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile start a medium pot of water boiling for macaroni (see below). Stir lentil-rice mixture a few times during cooking to try and reduce sticking. Turn off heat and leave on warm burner with lid on.
Fried Onion Topping
2 large onions (or equivalent), peeled and cut in half and then into strips.
3/4 t salt
1/3 cup flour
Plenty of vegetable oil for frying
Add salt and flour to cut onions. In a cast-iron frying pan add vegetable oil (3 T per batch?) and on medium-high, fry as many onion strips in pan as will fit in a single layer (you will probably fry 3 or 4 times total), turning fairly frequently, for 10-15 minutes until deep golden brown. (Try for crispiness, but don't let them burn too much.)
Garlic Vinegar Sauce
1 T vegetable oil
2-3 tablespoons minced garlic
2-3 tablespoons white vinegar
2 15-oz. cans of plain tomato sauce
1 t salt and 1/2 t pepper
3/4 t red pepper flakes
In a saucepan on medium-high, cook garlic in vegetable oil for a minute or 2. Add tomato sauce and then add vinegar and spices and stir. Stir on heat for a few minutes, until it boils. Reduce heat to very low until ready to serve.
Macaroni Layer
2 cups dry macaroni
Water
Throw macaroni into boiling water about 9 min. before last onion layer is done frying; cook until al dente and drain.
To serve, ladle layers of lentil-rice, then macaroni, then tomato sauce, then fried onions.
Awesome new comfort food discovery
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My dh commented it was cheap, but that he would be lazy and buy those pre-made fried onions. I argued at first, but I was wondering how the fried onions I made would reheat, so maybe he has a point. Then again - those aren't so cheap!