Mahshi

Ingredients

Vegetables

• 8small courgettes
• 6peppers
• 300 gvine leaves, brined or fresh
• 4tomatoes
• 2aubergines

Filling

• 500 gshort-grain rice
• 1large bunch dill
• 1large bunch parsley
• 1 bunchcoriander
• 2onions, very finely chopped
• 3tomatoes, grated
• 3 tbsptomato purée
• 100 mlolive oil
• 1 tbspground cumin
• 1 tspcinnamon
• 1 tspblack pepper
• salt
• juice of 1 lemon

Pot

• 3tomatoes, sliced
• 500 mlstock or water
• 2 tbsptomato purée
• juice of 1 lemon
• 3 clovesgarlic, crushed
• 1 tbspdried mint

Equipment

• a vegetable corer, ma’wara

Directions

1. Wash the rice and soak it 30 minutes, then drain it well. Core the courgettes with a corer, working from the cut end and turning as you go, leaving walls about 5 mm thick.
2. Leave the walls thick enough to hold. Pierce the side and the filling escapes into the pot and you have rice soup with empty shells in it.
3. Cut the tops off the peppers and keep them as lids, and deseed them. Chop the herbs very finely and mix them with the drained rice, onion, grated tomato, purée, oil, spices, salt and lemon.
4. Line the base of a wide heavy pot with sliced tomato and any spare leaves. It stops the bottom row catching and burning, which happens without fail on a bare base.
5. Pack the stuffed vegetables upright and tightly against each other, the rolls in the gaps. Pack them tight. Mix the stock with the purée, lemon, garlic and dried mint and pour it in to come about two-thirds up.
6. Put a heatproof plate face down on top to weigh everything down. It holds the rolls under the liquid and stops them lifting as they cook. Bring to a boil, then cook covered on the lowest heat for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. Test a courgette: the rice should be completely soft, not al dente.
7. Rest it off the heat for 20 minutes before serving. Serve warm rather than hot, with lemon and bread, and eat any leftovers cold the next day, which many people prefer.

Technique

• It is a dish for a crowd and a family gathering, and stuffing it is done by several people around a table.
• A minced lamb version exists and is cooked the same way with a shorter time.
• The courgette cores are not thrown away, but fried with eggs or added to soup.

Substitutions

• Cabbage leaves, blanched, for any of the vegetables.
• Any short-grain rice; Egyptian or risotto rice both work, and long-grain does not.

Variations

• With minced lamb through the rice.
• Mahshi kromb, made only with cabbage leaves.
• Dolma and sarma, the Turkish and Balkan relatives.

History

Stuffed vegetables came with Ottoman rule; the Arabic name means stuffed, and Egyptian versions favour short-grain rice with dill, parsley and tomato.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mahshi?

Mahshi is a main from Egypt: vine leaves, peppers and zucchini stuffed with herbed rice. Stuffed vegetables came with Ottoman rule; the Arabic name means stuffed, and Egyptian versions favour short-grain rice with dill, parsley and tomato.

How long does Mahshi take to make?

Mahshi takes 1 hr 30 min of preparation and 1 hr 15 min of cooking. The recipe makes 8 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Mahshi?

Yes, within limits. Cabbage leaves, blanched, for any of the vegetables. Any short-grain rice; Egyptian or risotto rice both work, and long-grain does not.

What is the most important thing to get right in Mahshi?

Rest it off the heat for 20 minutes before serving. Serve warm rather than hot, with lemon and bread, and eat any leftovers cold the next day, which many people prefer.