Traditional Koshari (With Chickpeas) - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 cup brown lentils, picked over and rinsed
1/2 cup pasta, like elbow, gemelli, penne, etc. (I like to use whole wheat)
1 cup rice (I like brown rice)
1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained (chick peas)
3 lbs onions, peeled and sliced thin (about 1/4? thick)
1/2 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 (15 ounce) can crushed tomatoes (I like Muir Glen Fire Roasted)
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt & pepper, to taste

Preparation

Cook the rice. Bring 2 cups lightly salted water to a boil and add the rice. Turn the heat down to low, cover the saucepan, and cook until the rice is done, about 40-50 minutes. Remove the rice from the heat and set aside.
Meanwhile, cook the lentils. Bring 4 cups water to a boil and add the lentils. Cook until the lentils are soft, about 25 - 30 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Cook the pasta. Bring 4 Celsius salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and stir until the water comes to boil again. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.
Cook the onions. This is actually is the longest part of the whole process, but for me anyway, is the best part. The trick is to be patient when cooking the onions. I cook them over medium-low to medium heat. You can cook the onions as little or as much as you like, but the traditional way is to caramelize them.
Heat the olive oil over high heat. Add the onions. (I also like to add a teaspoon of salt. It helps to release moisture from the onions and breaks them down a little faster.) Turn the heat down to medium-low and cover with a piece of foil. (I find steaming the onions also helps with breaking them down.) For the first 30 minutes, stir the onions occasionally, making sure you keep them covered.
Meanwhile, make the sauce. Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute until the onions are soft.
Saute the onions and garlic.
Add the tomatoes and lower the heat to low. Cover and simmer the sauce for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the tomatoes.
After 20 minutes, add in the cumin, cayenne, vinegar, and salt & pepper to taste. Set aside until the Khoshari is done.
The finished sauce can be served warm or at room temperature.
While the sauce is cooking, the onions will continue to caramelize. At this point, you will need to begin keeping a closer eye on the onions and stirring them more frequently.
The onions after 1 hour 15 minutes. The browning will be accellerting quickly at this point. Keep a very close eye on the onions at this point.
Once the onions are done, remove them from the heat, take them out of the oil, drain, and spread out on paper towels. Keep the oil.
In the reserved oil, heat the rice, pasta, lentils, and garbanzos over medium-high heat. Add the cumin, salt and pepper to taste.
Add in the onions and mix thoroughly. Taste for seasoning and heat through.
Serve the Khoshari with the sauce on the side. Or, on top if you like.
Enjoy! Sahtein!