Egypt's national dish - layers of rice, lentils, and macaroni topped with a tangy tomato sauce and a sharp garlic-cumin-vinegar dakka, finished with a heap of crispy fried onions. The trick is frying the onions first and cooking the rice and sauce in that same oil.
1.Fry the sliced onions in about 1 cup oil over medium heat, stirring often, until deep golden brown and crisp, 15-20 minutes - watch closely near the end since they burn fast; drain on paper towels and reserve the flavored oil.
2.Rinse the lentils and simmer in salted water for about 20 minutes until just tender but not mushy; drain.
3.In a pot, heat 2 tbsp of the reserved onion oil, add the rice, and stir to coat before adding water (1.5x the rice volume) and salt; cover and simmer 15-18 minutes until the rice has absorbed the onion oil's flavor.
4.Cook the macaroni in boiling salted water until al dente; drain.
5.For the tomato sauce, heat 2 tbsp reserved onion oil, saute half the garlic for 30 seconds, add the crushed tomatoes, 1 tsp cumin, salt and pepper, and simmer 15 minutes until thickened.
6.For the dakka, sizzle the remaining garlic in 1 tbsp reserved onion oil with the remaining cumin and chili, then remove from heat and stir in the vinegar - this sharp, garlicky sauce is what makes koshari taste like koshari.
7.To assemble, layer the rice, lentils, macaroni, and chickpeas in a bowl, ladle tomato sauce over the top, drizzle with dakka to taste, and finish with a generous pile of the crispy fried onions.