Last week I went to the Egyptian restaurant in the center of Amsterdam(30 min. drive from where I live) to find out it had changed mind and became a God damn Pizzeria
Soh..
I got it out of my system.. Thank you for your concern..
Now.. Back to the drawing board Posts: 8756 | From: Tax-Free Zone | Registered: Jul 2005
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It hasn't connection to much with your thread...but I can tell you that in Bucharest don't exist even one Egyptian restaurant First time when I ate Egyptian food was in Milan where are some good Egyptian restaurants.
Posts: 1414 | From: far away | Registered: Sep 2004
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A pizzeria Is it the same owner of the restaurant who has changed his mind and become a pizzeria?
Posts: 1182 | Registered: Sep 2005
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Sorry I don't know Milan so good. For example the name of one good Egyptian restaurant is "Aquarius". If you are interested about them I can ask my sister the address.
Posts: 1414 | From: far away | Registered: Sep 2004
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quote:Originally posted by MyKingdomForATaba2Koshari: Hamoot wakol koshari..
Hamoooottt!!
Sorry about loosing your only Egyptian restaurant. We have an Egyptian restaurant nearby and they serve koshari but we haven't been there in years. I can make a better koshari than theirs.
In fact koshari was one of the first things that I learned to cook (this by itself is a long story). It is real easy to make, just make sure you cook the rice and the lentils separately.
So how do you like your koshary (we're taking orders here)? Do you like with gebbah or without. Do you like homos in it? Do you like elbow macaroni in it?
Posts: 143 | From: Silicon Valley | Registered: Mar 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Nanouk: So how do you like your koshary (we're taking orders here)? Do you like with gebbah or without. Do you like homos in it? Do you like elbow macaroni in it?
Well maybe if you lead me step by step into cooking it. And I'll gamble and take your word that it's gonna be as good as the original koshari I'm longing for.
With the sauce and all (I'm not sure what gebbah means, is that the 3ads? As in 3ads bgebbah? But then again, what's 3ads begebbah and without gebbah anyway?)
Posts: 8756 | From: Tax-Free Zone | Registered: Jul 2005
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There is this bakery near the OLVG in the 1e Oosterparkstraat, Dutchlooking but exploited by Egyptians. At my request they cooked for me and my colleagues one night a delicious Egyptian buffet. As I recall well, we had a very good Bamia, herring in tomatosaus, rice, other foods I can't recall anymore and for desert we had this English ricepudding with mint! I am still looking for an Egyptian restaurant. All of em, Turkish, Jewish, whatever are pizzeria's or shoarmashops. Boring. Recently I thought I found this Egyptian restaurant at the Haarlemmerstreet, near the Haarlemmerstation. They were never open when I was there, despite the sign in the window. The last Turkish shop that opened in Southeast 'Kebabish'? Just the same, pizzabaking in the window, to spicey and kitchenlights to make you're make-up look like waterpaint.
quote:Originally posted by Demiana: There is this bakery near the OLVG in the 1e Oosterparkstraat, Dutchlooking but exploited by Egyptians. At my request they cooked for me and my colleagues one night a delicious Egyptian buffet. As I recall well, we had a very good Bamia, herring in tomatosaus, rice, other foods I can't recall anymore and for desert we had this English ricepudding with mint! I am still looking for an Egyptian restaurant. All of em, Turkish, Jewish, whatever are pizzeria's or shoarmashops. Boring. Recently I thought I found this Egyptian restaurant at the Haarlemmerstreet, near the Haarlemmerstation. They were never open when I was there, despite the sign in the window. The last Turkish shop that opened in Southeast 'Kebabish'? Just the same, pizzabaking in the window, to spicey and kitchenlights to make you're make-up look like waterpaint.
Any ideas welcome.
Demiana
Okay thanks, I'll try to go to that OLVG place.
But when I was pregnant and wanting to eat Koshari, and God knows how it feels to be pregnant and want to eat Koshari, right here right now, I looked up and phoned up every single restaurant in the KINGDOM and asked if they served Koshari.
One Iraqi guy said he never heard of Koshari before (now who's this idiot ya Serendipity?)
Anyway.. That restaurant that closed down was the only one I found. It was great. Really classy stuff with well spoken clean looking waiters. There was even a belly dancer. A Dutch one but she did her best and obviously was doing her homework quite well.
Anyway it was this one:
Anubis Pharonic Restaurant Martelaarsgracht 7 BG, 1012TN (see how central that is? It's almost next to Beatrix's house!!) +31 (0) 20 4896262 Amsterdam
2 Tablespoons tomato paste 2 Tablespoons hot chili paste (Moroccan harissa or Mexican chipotle in adobo sauce) (or more) 1 cup of water 1/4 cup of oil 3 cloves of garlic (or more) 1 Tablespoon lemon juice Salt to taste
(secret optional ingredient: 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder) Put all in a blender mix until smooth. Adjust ingredients to taste.
Do not refrigerate.
Posts: 143 | From: Silicon Valley | Registered: Mar 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Serendipity: cool.. that sounds easy maybe ill do it for dinner tomorrow
Wait that's just the sauce. I will post the recipe to koshari itself when I get home. I don't really have a recipe so I will just do it and then describe what went into it.
Posts: 143 | From: Silicon Valley | Registered: Mar 2006
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It's a shame Kingdom! How you must have suffered when pregnant!:-) Sure, I did found Anubis on their construction website, when I was looking around the New Year, too late!:-( Wonder why it is seems to be so difficult to have an Egyptian restaurant over here.... I will look in the Haarlemmermeerstraat once more next week friday, maybe I can spot a number or something. Lets keep hope up!:-) In the mean time I should learn how to make Bamia. My dh does make Koshari but I am not especially fond of it, I love to have some vegetables. But I can imagine, when pregnant!:-) Did it with pasta.
quote:Originally posted by Serendipity: cool.. that sounds easy maybe ill do it for dinner tomorrow
Wait that's just the sauce. I will post the recipe to koshari itself when I get home. I don't really have a recipe so I will just do it and then describe what went into it.
Thanks nanouk, Its just me and my brother here. So i can experiment as much as I wont now will be waiting for the koshari recipe.
Posts: 2519 | Registered: Apr 2005
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3 large onions sliced into rings. Put some oil in a large pan add one tablespoon of butter for added taste. Sautee the onions rings until they turn deep deep brown (just short of charred). No part of the onions should be even lightly brown. You must taste something that reminds you of candy rather than onions. Drain on a paper towel and keep others from taking samples. Posts: 143 | From: Silicon Valley | Registered: Mar 2006
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2 cups basmati rice washed 2 cups brown lentils washed 2 1/2 tablespoons butter 1/2 cup vermicelli pasta 1 small can of chick peas (optional) 1/2 cup cooked elbow macaroni (optional)
Fry the vermicelli in the butter, when golden brown add the rice and stir till all grains are coated. Add 3 cups of water bring to a boil, cover and simmer on lowest possible setting. Add 1 1/2 cups of water to the lentils and cover and cook (really it is a steaming method) on lowest setting until tender (but not until they burst) in the last 10 minutes of cooking add the chickpeas if any. When the lentils are done drain any remaining liquid.
To assemble you can just mix it all but because everything is tender, the lentils, rice and chickpeas may breakdown and look unsightly. Instead get a layer of each of the ingerdients (rice, lentils, chickpeas, macaroni) with a sloted spoon and spread on the serving dish in layers. Making layers also allows you to have the koshari in the exact proportions that you like. Some like more lentils some not etc... Better yet serve every person individually according to their preference. (I don't like macaroni in mine)
Put the garnish on top and serve Bel Hana.
For a quicker alternative mix the rice and lentils and cook together but then the rice will get a dirty look that you may not like.
Posts: 143 | From: Silicon Valley | Registered: Mar 2006
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Is it normal the koshari will be spicy hot? I don't happen to like much spice in my food (of the hot kind), but it sounds like an interesting dish without that.
Posts: 1283 | From: Cairo | Registered: Feb 2006
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quote:Originally posted by LovedOne: Is it normal the koshari will be spicy hot? I don't happen to like much spice in my food (of the hot kind), but it sounds like an interesting dish without that.
Most Egyptian food is not spicy at all. Somehow it is a tradition to use hot sauce with koshari. I was trying to be genuine. No need to use hot sauce at all if one does not like it. (I follow SWMBO's preference of no hot food). The essence of this dish is total customization, that why each household (or street vendor) will taste different.
Posts: 143 | From: Silicon Valley | Registered: Mar 2006
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oh my god nanouk you are the best thing that hit ES in a long time! thank you so much for the recipe!
Posts: 4446 | From: Egyptian in Sydney | Registered: Mar 2005
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thank you for the recipe although i don't cook much these days.
It's like :to cook, you have to remember a lot of things (buying stuff, the recipe, the time you let things boil etc...) but there is still this desire to find something to eat rapidly.
Posts: 1473 | From: France | Registered: Oct 2005
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Nanouk thanks for the recipe.. I just came back from the store and ready to cook. But I couldnt find chick peas or brown lentils, only the green ones. Is that ok?
Posts: 2519 | Registered: Apr 2005
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By the way Koshari is not an Egyptian dish..the word means mixed in Turkish and we inherited it from them, like dolma and torli.
Posts: 3219 | From: Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone. | Registered: Nov 2005
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I made kushari several times based on a recipe I got from an Egyptian girl ... it turned out quite well.
-as much brown lentil as rice - depends on how much you want- -macaroni, any shape will do, but the smaller the better.. -tomatoes -vinegar -garlic -onions -cumen- i think it's what it's called, we call it kammoon- -oil
boil the lentil till it's semi soft, rinse in cold water and leave to cool
then, start by chopping one average size onion and frying it into oil till it's yellowish, then you add the rice- rinsed of course- and add water as much as the rice- the same way you boil rice regularily-
when it's almost done, add the lentil and mix them together, leave for few minutes till the rice is done.
boil the macaroni - add the macaroni in boiling water to which you added salt and few drops of oil.
chop 2 big onions - i don't know how to say it but i do it manually, not in the mixer, you peel the onion, remove the bottom and make vertical and horizontal cuts to make squares, then chop it- fry the chopped onions into much oil till it's brown, take it out and leave it aside..
start making the sauce and "da2a" - now this is the most important thing cos this is what gives the koshari it's flavor- first wash the tomatoes, peel and put in the mixer to make tomato juice, heat a couple of table spoonfuls of oil- you can use the oil in which you fried the onions to add flavor- then add teh tomato juice, leave till it's well cooked- usually for more than 30 minutes.
peel about 10 cloves of garlic, big ones, and smash them - get a wide kitchen knif, put the clove on the table and place teh knif over it and hit it hard to smash it- add one glass of water to half glass of vinegar, put the smashed garlic into it, add cumen and salt, cover and leave... - this is the Da2a-
when the tomato sauce is nearly done, add some of the Da2a to it and some of the fried onions, leave it to boil for a couple of minutes..
add some of the oil in which you fried the onions to the macaroni - you can add little of the fried onions as well- and stir to give it a flavor ... you can also add some of the oil to the rice-lentil mix - few drops in both cases.
to be served by firt putting the rice-lentil mix, then the macaroni on top, the tomato sauce, the da2a then the fried onions some people add hummus, they just boil it in salty water and add it on top..
also some people add hot chilli to the Da2a, depends on your taste.
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Is it the same owner of the restaurant who has changed his mind and become a pizzeria?
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