Bulgur Koshary

Ingredients

• 1 cup bulgur (washed & drained) plus 2 cups of boiling water - برغل‎‎
• 1 cup black lentils (washed and drained) - عدس بجبة
• 1 kg onions - بصل
• 2 tablespoon whole wheat flour (for dusting the onion) - دقيق القمح الكامل
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin - كمون
• 4 tablespoon olive oil (divided) - زيت زيتون
• 1 cup chickpeas (homecooked OR from a can) - حمص
• For the sauce:
• 1 kg tomatoes - طماطم
• 2 tablespoon olive oil - زيت زيتون
• 8 garlic cloves (minced) - فصوص ثوم
• salt and pepper - ملح و فلفل
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder - قرفة
• white koshary daqqa: - الدقة البيضاء للكشري
• 1 tablespoon olive oil - زيت زيتون
• 6 garlic cloves (minced) - فصوص ثوم
• 1/2 cup vinegar - خل
• 1/2 cup water - ماء

Step by step

1. Place washed lentils in a medium pot and cover with water. Cut a large onion into quarters and add it to the lentils as it cooks. Season with cumin, salt and pepper and let it simmer for up to 30 minutes. Add washed and cooked chickpeas and stir for a couple of minutes. The lentils should be cooked through but not mushy. Discard the onion pieces and any excess water.
2. To cook the tomato sauce, place full-sized ripe tomatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Bring it to a boil then lower heat and let it simmer for 10 minutes. As the tomatoes soften, scoop them out of the hot water and let them rest for a couple of minutes. Peel the tomatoes and remove the top part, then place them in a food processor and pulse until they liquidize. In the same large pot, fry minced garlic in olive oil for a couple of minutes while stirring. Add the liquid tomato, then stir in ground cinnamon, salt and pepper. Lower heat, cover and let it it cook for about 20 minutes, or until it reduces and darkens.
3. To prepare the crispy onions, first preheat oven to 180C and line an oven tray with parchment paper. Cut each onion in half then thinly slice them. Place slices on the tray, dust them lightly with flour, drizzle olive oil and make sure they are evenly distributed on the tray. Place them in the middle of the oven for 20-30 minutes tossing them occasionally to make sure they brown evenly.
4. To prepare the vinegar/garlic daqqa, fry minced garlic in one tablespoon olive oil until golden (about one minute). Add white vinegar and water. Let the mixture boil for 10 minutes, take it off the stove and set aside.
5. To cook the bulgur, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and sauté one minced onion for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Add the washed bulgur to the onions and stir a couple of times before covering it with 2 cups of hot water. Let it come to a boil then turn heat down, and let it simmer for a couple of minutes until water is absorbed and bulgur is cooked through.
6. To serve, make sure to get rid of any excess water from cooking bulgur or lentils. Then place bulgur in a large semi-deep dish, followed by lentils & chickpeas, some tomato sauce and sprinkled fried onions on top. Make sure to serve extra tomato sauce, vinegar garlic daqqa and crispy onions on the side.