• Note: The four staple ingredients (rice, pasta, lentils, chickpeas) can be used from leftovers or cooked up to several days before and kept chilled. Just rewarm them before assembling the dish.
• Heat the oil to medium-high in a skillet. Slice one of the onions thinly and fry it in the oil, stirring often, until about half of the pieces are brown and starting to crisp up(~10 minutes). Strain out the onions with a slotted spoon and set them onto a paper-towel-lined plate to drain and cool (they will get crisper as they cool).
• While the onions are frying, start the base ingredients cooking. Cook the rice according to package directions, and keep it warm.
• Cook the macaroni and spaghetti according to package directions (break the spaghetti into 2-inch/5 cm lengths before cooking) and drain. They can be cooked in the same pot if cooking times fit (usually about 9-10 minutes). Drain and keep warm.
• Drain the canned lentils and chickpeas, rinse them, and drain them again. (If using raw legumes, cook lentils until tender, and drain. Chickpeas will need to be soaked overnight before cooking until tender - an hour or more - then drained.)
• When the sliced onions are fried crispy and cooling, pour off some of the oil, leaving about 3 tablespoons in the skillet, and return the skillet to the heat. (Reserve the oil for frying other things, as it's beautifully onion-flavoured.) Add the second onion, which has been minced finely, to the oil in the skillet. Also add the pressed or minced garlic, and cook them together over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring often.
• Add the canned tomatoes (and their juices) and the water to the onions in the skillet.
• Lightly crush the cardamom pods with the bottom of a glass. Pick out the seeds and add them to the tomato sauce (discard the pod shells).
• Bring the tomato sauce to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, and add the salt, pepper, cayenne, and vinegar to the sauce. Simmer it, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
• Puree the tomato sauce with an immersion blender (or in the canister of a standing blender). Add more water if desired, to make a thinner sauce. Taste and adjust for seasoning, adding more salt, cayenne, or vinegar, as needed. Keep warm.

To assemble the Koshari:

• Stir together the warm rice and lentils. Spread them in a large serving bowl or divide them among four individual dishes. Top with the drained mixed pasta, then the chickpeas. Top it all with about half of the crispy fried onions, reserving the rest to top each serving. Serve the tangy, spiced tomato sauce on the side, along with the remaining onions.

  To eat, top a serving of koshari with tomato sauce to taste, a sprinkling of onions, and then mix it all together, and enjoy.
• This recipe makes 4 generous main dish servings, or serves 6-8 as a side dish. Nutrition values are for ⅛ of the recipe.