Koshari Sauce and Daqqa, Made Properly
Koshari sauce is three things together: a cooked tomato sauce, plenty of vinegar and garlic, and chilli (the daqqa). Vinegar is the ingredient people hold back on, and it's exactly what gives koshari its character.
- Prep
- 8 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Total
- 28 min
- Calories
- 70
Anyone who has made koshari at home and felt something was missing compared with the shop is missing the vinegar. Koshari sauce is not a pasta sauce — it is distinctly sour, and that acidity is what balances the starch of the rice, macaroni and lentils.
Method
-
1
Fry the garlic
Heat the oil and cook the chopped garlic over medium heat for just thirty seconds, until the aroma comes up — without letting it brown.
⏱ 2 min -
2
The first vinegar
Pour half the vinegar onto the hot garlic and let it bubble for a couple of seconds. This takes the raw edge off the vinegar while keeping its flavour.
⏱ 1 min -
3
The tomato
Add the passata, cumin, salt and sugar, and simmer gently for 20 minutes until it thickens and the oil rises to the surface.
⏱ 20 min -
4
The last vinegar
Take it off the heat and add the rest of the vinegar. This part isn't cooked, so the acidity stays sharp.
⏱ 1 min -
5
The daqqa
In a small bowl, combine the chilli, crushed garlic and vinegar, then pour over two spoons of very hot oil. You'll hear it crackle — that's the chilli opening up.
⏱ 3 min -
6
Serving
Sauce and daqqa are served separately, and everyone adds as much daqqa as they can take.
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Tips that actually matter
- Don't cut back the vinegar. It's what separates koshari sauce from any other tomato sauce.
- Half the vinegar is cooked and half isn't — the first for depth, the second for the sharp edge.
- The daqqa keeps two weeks in the fridge and improves with time.
- If it's too sharp for your taste, half a teaspoon of sugar balances it without sweetening it.
People also ask
What's the difference between the sauce and the daqqa?
The sauce is the sour tomato sauce that goes over all the koshari. The daqqa is chilli, garlic and vinegar, added to taste for heat.
Why doesn't mine taste like the shops?
Almost always not enough vinegar. Koshari shops use far more than people expect.
How long does it keep?
The sauce a week in the fridge and it freezes well; the daqqa two weeks.
Cook mode
Koshari Sauce and Daqqa, Made Properly
-
1
Fry the garlic
Heat the oil and cook the chopped garlic over medium heat for just thirty seconds, until the aroma comes up — without letting it brown.
-
2
The first vinegar
Pour half the vinegar onto the hot garlic and let it bubble for a couple of seconds. This takes the raw edge off the vinegar while keeping its flavour.
-
3
The tomato
Add the passata, cumin, salt and sugar, and simmer gently for 20 minutes until it thickens and the oil rises to the surface.
-
4
The last vinegar
Take it off the heat and add the rest of the vinegar. This part isn't cooked, so the acidity stays sharp.
-
5
The daqqa
In a small bowl, combine the chilli, crushed garlic and vinegar, then pour over two spoons of very hot oil. You'll hear it crackle — that's the chilli opening up.
-
6
Serving
Sauce and daqqa are served separately, and everyone adds as much daqqa as they can take.
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