Kousa mahshi

Ingredients

Courgettes

• 12pale small courgettes, or kousa squash

Filling

• 300 gshort-grain rice, rinsed
• 400 gminced lamb
• 1 tspground allspice
• 1 tspground cinnamon
• 1/2 tspground black pepper
• 1/4 tspground nutmeg
• 2 tbsptomato paste
• 3 tbspolive oil
• salt

Tomato cooking liquid

• 700 mlpassata or crushed tomato
• 500 mlwater
• 4garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tbspdried mint
• juice of 1 lemon
• salt

Yoghurt cooking liquid, as an alternative

• 1 kgfull-fat yoghurt
• 1egg white
• 1 tbspcornflour
• 4garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tbspdried mint

For the scooped flesh

• 2 tbspolive oil
• 1onion, chopped
• 2eggs, beaten
• salt and pepper

Equipment

• a mankara, or a narrow vegetable corer

Directions

1. Wash them and cut the stem end off flat. Leave the base intact so it holds the filling. Work it down towards the base without going through it. The wall should end up about four millimetres thick. Hold each one up to the light to check for thin patches. Keep the scooped flesh in a bowl, since it is used later.
2. Rinse the rice until the water runs almost clear. Drain it well and put it in a bowl. Add the minced lamb, the spices, the tomato paste and the olive oil. Season it with salt and mix it thoroughly with your hands. Now stuffing them, which must be done loosely.
3. Spoon the filling into each courgette with a small spoon. Fill each one only about three quarters full. Set the stuffed courgettes aside as you finish them. Chop the scooped flesh roughly. Warm the oil in a pan and cook the chopped onion until soft. Add the courgette flesh and cook it for eight minutes. Season it and pour in the beaten eggs. Stir until the eggs set into soft curds.
4. Lay any spare courgette trimmings across the base of a wide pot. This layer stops the stuffed ones catching on the bottom. Pack the stuffed courgettes in tightly, lying down in layers. Packing them tightly stops them moving and splitting.
5. Mix the passata, water, garlic, mint, lemon and salt. Pour it over so the courgettes are just covered. Set a heatproof plate on top to hold them down. Bring it to the boil, then lower it to a bare simmer. Cover and cook for about forty-five minutes. Now the yoghurt version, which needs stabilising.
6. Whisk the yoghurt with the egg white and cornflour until smooth. Heat it slowly, stirring constantly in one direction only. Bring it to a bare simmer over about fifteen minutes. Do not stop stirring until it has come to the simmer. Add the garlic and mint and lower the stuffed courgettes in. Simmer them gently for forty-five minutes. Now checking that they are done.
7. Lift one out and cut it across. The rice should be fully cooked and swollen. Lift them out carefully with a slotted spoon. Arrange them on a platter and spoon the sauce over. Serve them with flatbread and with plain yoghurt if using the tomato version.

Technique

• Fill each courgette only three quarters full, since the rice swells and will burst it.
• Stabilise yoghurt with egg white and cornflour and stir constantly until it simmers, or it splits.
• The scooped flesh is fried with onion and egg, never thrown away.

Substitutions

• Small ordinary courgettes if kousa are unavailable.
• Minced beef in place of lamb.

Variations

• Cooked in yoghurt, as shakriyeh style.
• Vegetarian, with rice, tomato and herbs only.
• Cooked alongside stuffed vine leaves in the same pot.

History

Ottoman-era stuffed vegetable cooking adopted across the Levant; the hollowed flesh is fried separately and never thrown away.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kousa mahshi?

Kousa mahshi is a main from Palestine: cored courgettes stuffed with rice and lamb, simmered in tomato or yoghurt. Ottoman-era stuffed vegetable cooking adopted across the Levant; the hollowed flesh is fried separately and never thrown away.

How long does Kousa mahshi take to make?

Kousa mahshi takes 1 hour of preparation and 1 hour of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Kousa mahshi?

Yes, within limits. Small ordinary courgettes if kousa are unavailable. Minced beef in place of lamb.

What is the most important thing to get right in Kousa mahshi?

Rinse the rice until the water runs almost clear. Drain it well and put it in a bowl. Add the minced lamb, the spices, the tomato paste and the olive oil. Season it with salt and mix it thoroughly with your hands. Now stuffing them, which must be done loosely.