Ancient Foods.

The Egyptian culture has been around for more than 7000 years. The Egyptian people has been living in the same Nile valley with no interruption during all those years. So it's safe to assume that some aspects of this ancient culture never disappeared. One definite aspect of this continuity is food. Why would it change? The people are still growing the same vegetables, raising the same animals, with very little variation. I heard an archaeologist once say that if someone from the Pharaohs era came back to life and went through an Egyptian village, he would not feel the time difference at all. In a way, this may be considered as lack of progress, but this constancy throughout the ages kept the food repertoire almost intact. Strangely enough, the last 10 or 15 years managed to do what 7000 years couldn't even touch. The fast food invasion changed a lot in the Egyptian way of eating. Now fast food chains are popping up everywhere in the country, and the younger generations feel that this is the food of today and are turning their backs on the traditional cuisine. This of course led to rampant obesity and all the ills we are facing here. Unfortunately today's parents are not doing enough to preserve the culture. This is maybe why I try, on my own, to keep some tradition as long as I can and cook what I grew up eating. Even if some of these dishes were not served in our house as often as in other households, time and distance contribute to that nostalgic feeling about these meals.

                                                

Today we're making Kosheri. This is a traditional dish that I guess has been served in Egypt forever. I don't know the origin of the name, but it is eerily close to the word "Kosher". Well, Egypt had always had a large Jewish community, and this could well be a dish inherited from ancient times, traditionally served from one generation to another. What could confirm this theory is that this is a purely vegetarian dish made of rice and lentils with onions, no significant fat added. The additions came much later (tomato and pasta). In our family, we never added pasta as a topping, but my husband, following popular customs, asked for it. So I'll add pasta. I keep it to the minimum and have some extra, in case someone else wants some more. You'll need:

2 cups of rice

2 cups of green lentils

1 cup of small pasta (elbows)

1 large onion

1 can (14.5 oz) tomato sauce

3 tsp ghee or butter

1 tbsp vegetable or canola oil

2 tbsp vinegar

Hot sauce, Tabasco, optional

I don't usually boil rice, and in this case I should not. The traditional recipe calls for boiling the rice and cooking the onion in 3 tbsp of ghee or butter. But since I intend to caramelize the onion in less than 1 tbsp of oil, I prefer to cook the rice in some butter or ghee. This is the only fat we'll add to the dish.

Rinse and drain the rice several times. In a nonstick pot large enough to hold the cooked rice and lentils (at least 4 or 5 qt) melt 2 tsp ghee or butter, and add the rice. Stir several times to coat the rice and toast it a little bit. Add water according to the package directions. Add salt to taste. Cover and bring to a boil. When the liquid is absorbed, reduce the heat, stir the rice a couple of times, cover again and let cook until done. In the mean time, rinse and drain the lentils several times. Drain and put them in a pot large enough to have them covered with at least 1 inch of water. Cover and let boil. Add water as needed until it becomes tender. Add salt at the end. Drain. By now the rice is done. Remove from heat and add the cooked drained lentils. Stir to mix.

Slice the onion. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a nonstick skillet. Add the slices of onion with salt and pepper. Let cook stirring occasionally until it's caramelized (it becomes dark brown). Remove the onion to a plate. Drizzle the remaining oil on the rice and stir. Cook the pasta according to the package directions.

To make the sauce: melt the remaining 1 tsp of ghee or butter in a sauce pan. Add the tomato sauce, plus 1/2 the can water. Let cook until the butter comes to the surface. Add salt and pepper and stir. Add the vinegar, stir, then remove from heat.

To serve: put the kosheri in a large platter. Top with the caramelized onion and drizzle some of the sauce. Top with the pasta and drizzle some more tomato sauce. Serve the remaining sauce, and the hot sauce, on the side. Serve with a salad.