Special times we are living in folks…but you know how it is and I’m sure you don’t want to hear me moaning about intolerance, ignorance, greed, and injustice. 13 days until the election and I’ve voted, have you?

This morning’s car conversation consisted of a debate regarding who would reign supreme in a battle royale involving a giant squid, a communist whale, and Woody Allen. The consensus was that Mr. Allen would form an alliance with the communist whale and soundly defeat the giant squid. This conversation brought to you by Alex and Dexter Balchen…they approved this message.

I watched Anthony Bourdain in Egypt and it seemed pretty clear that he didn’t not enjoy Egypt. I did enjoy the Kushari joint and I thought it was a wild take on a Cleveland-style chili. It’s been a carb fest around here this week because when you need warmth and comfort you can always get satisfaction from a steaming bowl of macaroni and cheese, or kushari.

Kushari is basamati rice and brown lentils, pasta, chickpeas, a tomato sauce, and fried onions. It sounds strange, looks even stranger, but tastes really good. This is a dish that could have saved me from bowls of ramen noodles while in college. It’s simple to make, requires very little cooking skill, has great flavor, and an awesome nutritional profile. The cumin and garlic in the sauce makes it spicy but not too spicy and I recommend a stiff dose of either sriracha sauce or tabasco on top…but that’s just me.

Kushari
(printer-friendly recipe)

1 cup basmati rice, rinsed and steamed
1 cup brown lentils, rinsed and cooked until tender
1 cup pasta, cooked and rinsed
1 can chickpeas
1 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes
3 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon cumin
4 onions, peeled and sliced
canola oil
salt

Heat a heavy skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Once it’s hot add 2 tablespoons canola oil and dump the sliced onions into the pan. Lightly salt the onions and allow them to brown before stirring. You want the onions to be a sweet, almost crunchy brown fried onion when they’re done.

Combine the steamed rice and the cooked lentils in a large bowl. Stir and fluff unti the lentils are evenly distributed.

Heat the chickpeas either in the microwave or in a small saucepan on a burner.

Throw the garlic cloves, tomatoes, and cumin into a blender and process until smooth. Transfer to a sauce pan and cook over medium heat until heated through.

Note, to cook the lentils put them in a pan with water covering them and bring them to a boil and then lower the heat to a simmer or a low boil. Check often to make sure there is enough water in the pan. They’re done when they are tender to the bite.

Once the pasta is cooked, drained, and rinsed you can assemble a bowl of kashari. It’s a big scoop of the rice and lentil mix, a small scoop of pasta, a smaller scoop of chickpeas, a dose of sauce, and a pile of fried onions. That’s it. Make it once, love it forever.