Middle Eastern vegetarian street food restaurant Koshari opens inside Ballard’s Salt & Sugar

There’s a new Middle Eastern vegetarian place called Koshari in Ballard, now open inside Salt & Sugar at 5615 24th Ave NW #102.

Koshari started as a food vendor at fairs and markets around the Puget Sound, but now it’s found a more permanent home inside Salt & Sugar. Owner Ayman Almasri, according to Koshari’s website, is a Seattle local “with a heart as warm as his cooking.”

He and his wife Amani designed the menu, which includes dishes such as the restaurant’s namesake koshari, a classic Egyptian dish. Koshari is served in a bowl and consists of elbow macaroni, rice, lentils, and garbanzo beans, topped with sauce and crispy fried onions.

Another traditional Middle Eastern staple on the menu is foul medammas, which is cooked fava beans served with hummus, pickles, and pita bread. They also serve Lebanese fattit (eggplant) hummus served with in-house fried pita chips and topped with a specialty garlic yogurt with a mix of fried nuts and a dash of cinnamon.

More from the website:

“Driven by a desire to introduce Seattle to a world of flavors they hadn’t yet experienced, Ayman embarked on a culinary quest. His mission? To create vegetarian dishes that were not only delicious but also packed with protein.”

Koshari is open Tuesday to Saturday from 3 p.m to 9 p.m.

Photo: Lebanese fattit hummus (Koshari on Instagram)