Rice stuffed veggies Aka Mahshi

Mahshi is one of the main platters in Egyptian banquets specially in Ramadan when friends and family gather to have iftar at sundown. It is by far the most common dish in Egypt and the Middle East along with the Koshari . It is an inexpensive meal - if you did not serve meat with it- so it is eaten by the poor and the rich in Egypt.

Mahshi is basically veggies stuffed with rice mixture. It has been always a rocket science for me, specially the stuffed grape leaves and cabbage rolls , as they require some skills in rolling them. But once you get the hang of it, you will stuff almost any veggies you like just give it a try and you will see for your self ... It is an addicting process 🙂

Egyptian mahshi vs Levantine mahshi

What really signifies the mahshi rice mixture is the aroma of two or more of fresh cilantro, dill, and parsley. It depends on what you have handy, sometimes it is hard to find fresh vibrant dill so I only add cilantro and parsley. It is better to use them fresh and not dried.

Egyptian mahshi is a vegan one while in Lebanon they like adding ground beef like I've showed you in the stuffed onion recipe. I grew up to the vegan recipe and I liked it more, but sometimes I add the ground beef just for the fun of it.

How to make Mahshi

• In a pot over medium heat, add oil and sauté onions until translucent for about 2-3 minutes.
• Add the tomato sauce and paste. Stir to dissolve tomato paste.
• When it starts bubbling, add rice, spices, and herbs cook for just two minutes.
• Turn heat off and set aside to cool down.

• Wash the veggies thoroughly and clean them well. For Anaheim pepper, I usually like to cut it in half for easy stuffing and make sure to buy long straight ones.
• Core veggies and make sure not to tear the walls especially when making zucchini or eggplants.
• Stuff each one with the rice mixture making sure not to reach the top, leave about ½ cm of the top of your vegetable.
• Arrange herbs stems, the inside of your veggies that you just took out, lemon slices, tomato slices or onion slices at the bottom of your cooking pot to prevent scorching.
• Arrange the stuffed veggies in your pot.
• Dissolve bouillon and tomato paste in the hot water. Pour into the pot so that the cooking liquid is halfway through the veggies layers.
• Place pot on medium-high, bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes until veggies are cooked.

Mahshi Variations

Aside from using different veggies leafy greens can also be stuffed like kale, chard, and even lettuce. Egyptian mahshi is always cooked in broth but the Lebanese stuffed zucchini in yogurt is heavenly delicious and you should give it a try as well. You can cook mahshi in a slow cooker using the same method as this slow cooker stuffed onions. With mahshi the variations are endless.

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Mahshi

Mahshi is a family of stuffed veggies that is very popular throughout the Mediterranean region. Name and stuffing varies from country to another. Here I am showing you how to make the vegan Egyptian mahshi.

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mediterranean, Middle Eastern

Diet: Halal, Vegan

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings: 6

Calories: 339.4kcal

Author: Amira

Ingredients

For the rice mixture:

• ▢ 3 Tablespoons olive oil.
• ▢ 1 medium yellow onion Chopped.
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons tomato paste.
• ▢ 1 can (16oz) tomato sauce.
• ▢ 2 cups short grain rice Note1.
• ▢ 1 cup fresh parsley chopped. Note2
• ▢ ½ cup fresh cilantro chopped. Note2
• ▢ ⅓ cup fresh dill chopped. Note2
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon dry mint.
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground black pepper.
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt or to taste.

The above mixture is enough for one of the following: Note3

• ▢ 4 pounds Mexican squash.
• ▢ 2.8 or almost 3 pounds Anaheim pepper.
• ▢ 2.8 or almost 3 pounds white or Japanese eggplant.
• ▢ ½ pound grape leaves.

Cooking liquid:

• ▢ 2 ½ cup hot stock or water.
• ▢ 1 bouillon cube.
• ▢ 1 teaspoon tomato paste.

Instructions

Make the rice mixture:

• In a pot over medium heat, add oil and then sauté onions until translucent for about 2-3 minutes.
• Add the tomato sauce and paste. Stir to dissolve tomato paste.
• When it starts bubbling, add rice, spices and herbs cook for just two minutes.
• Turn heat off and set aside to cool down.

Prepare the veggies:

• Wash the veggies thoroughly and clean them well, Note4.
• Core veggies and make sure not to tear the walls especially when making zucchini or eggplants. Note5
• For Anaheim pepper, I usually like to cut it in half for easy stuffing and make sure to buy long straight ones.

Stuff the veggies:

• Stuff each one with the rice mixture making sure not to reach the top, so basically you want to leave about ½ cm of the top of your vegetable.
• Rice will expand after cooking and if you are overstuffing the veggies, rice will come off. Not that it will taste bad but the presentation will not be as fancy.
• Arrange herbs stems, the inside of your veggies that you just took out, lemon slices, tomato slices or onion slices at the bottom of your cooking pot to prevent scorching.
• Arrange the stuffed veggies in your pot.

Cook:

• Dissolve bouillon and tomato paste in the hot water.
• Pour into the pot so that the cooking liquid is halfway through the veggies layers.
• Place pot on medium high, bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes until veggies are cooked. Note6
• Wait for it to cool down a bit and serve.

Notes

Note1: Traditionally short grain rice is used. I usually use Calrose rice, other times I use Jasmine. I’ve also seen my friends use Basmati rice.

Note2: Keep the stems of the fresh herbs, we’ll use them to cover the bottom of the pot to prevent scorching and for flavor.

Note3: Please note that this is a rough estimate but it is almost exact according to my experience. Sizes of vegetables do vary greatly but if you end up with more rice mixture you can place them in a ziplock bag and freeze to add on and use in your next mahshi recipe. Or you can cook them in a small pot with some chopped bell peppers, they end up a little bit sticky and so delicious.

Note4: If you are making grape leaves please refer to the recipe here for how to prepare them.

Note5: do not discard the inside of the veggies that you just took out, I like covering the bottom of my pot with them too. I like eating them as well when the cooking is done especially the zucchini.

Note6: Some veggies take less time than others so it depends on what veggies you are cooking. Start checking at a 25-30 minutes mark.

Serve with:

Mahshi is great served with tzatziki sauce and tabbouleh.

Nutritional values are calculated for the rice mixture only.

Please check the nutrition disclaimer policy.

Nutrition

Calories: 339.4kcal | Carbohydrates: 59.4g | Protein: 8.1g | Fat: 8.1g | Saturated Fat: 1.2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5.5g | Cholesterol: 2.4mg | Sodium: 626.2mg | Potassium: 520.6mg | Fiber: 2.4g | Sugar: 5.9g

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