I’ve been due for a miss for a bit now, and this must have been that dish. As I’ve written previously, I received two great mini cookbooks for the holidays that provided recipes for international street food as well as “bowl” food recipes. I’ve previously turned to the bowl recipe book for an Algerian dish a few weeks back and was blown away. However this go around? I think it might have been a combination of book instructional missteps AND the fact that I’m just not adept at cooking lentils.

Kushari is a savory, vegetarian bowl that is eaten year-round at any point of the day. It’s comprised of lentils, rice, and broken up fried pasta (this is where things went sideways), and topped with fried onions and a spicy tomato sauce (that is what saved this). The way the recipe was organized was a bit confusing and for whatever reason I struggle with the pasta which was supposed to be fried and then boiled. I had to do this a second time because what I had curled up quickly under the oil but then got very gummy when it hit the water. On top of that, my lentils were mushy. So…this was not a home run for us (and if the yardstick is making it look like the picture in the book, this was a total failure).

Overall Level of Effort: 2

Skill Level: Intermediate

Would Make it Again? No

Additional Notes: This recipe used a ridiculous amount of pots and pans and was kind of a mess to make and clean up. I don’t always mind that but the end result is usually worth the hassle. This sadly was not.