The Grand Tour Story
The Grand Tour follows the Mediterranean east before turning south into Egypt, where Cairo greets us with a wall of
noise, endless traffic, ancient minarets and the smell of onions frying somewhere on almost every street corner.
The Nile rolls quietly through the middle of the city while everything around it seems to move at full speed.
Our guide, Karim, laughs when we ask where to find the best Egyptian food.
"You don't go looking for Koshari."
"Koshari finds you."
Sure enough, within minutes we're standing outside a tiny street stall watching bowls disappear almost as quickly
as they're assembled. Rice, pasta, lentils, chickpeas, crispy onions and rich tomato sauce—simple ingredients that
somehow become one of the most satisfying meals in the country.
You’ll Need
For the Rice Pot
250g cooked basmati rice
150g cooked pasta (small macaroni or ditalini)
200g cooked green or brown lentils
200g chickpeas, drained
1 tbsp olive oil
Egyptian Tomato Sauce
1 small onion, finely diced, 3 cloves garlic, finely grated
400g chopped tomatoes, 1 tbsp tomato purée
1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp ground coriander, ½ tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp sea salt, ½ tsp cracked black pepper
1 tsp sugar
Crispy Onion Topping
2 onions, thinly sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
Optional but dangerous
Garlic chilli sauce
Fresh parsley
Warm flatbread
Cold Egyptian hibiscus tea
Method
Preheat your air fryer to 190°C.
Toss the sliced onions with the olive oil and place them into the air fryer basket.
Air fry for 12–15 minutes, shaking every 4 minutes, until deeply golden and crispy. Set aside.
In a foil tray or heatproof dish, combine the onion, garlic, chopped tomatoes, tomato purée, cumin, smoked paprika,
coriander, chilli flakes, sea salt, black pepper and sugar.
Air fry for 8–10 minutes, stirring halfway, until the sauce thickens.
Stir the cooked rice, pasta, lentils and chickpeas into the tomato sauce until evenly coated.
Return to the air fryer for 8 minutes at 190°C, stirring once halfway through, until piping hot and lightly caramelised
around the edges.
Spoon into serving bowls and pile the crispy onions generously over the top.
Finish with chopped parsley and garlic chilli sauce if using.
Serve immediately with warm flatbread.