Koussa Mahshi

How to Cook Koussa Mahshi

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1. Cut the stem end off each courgette and core it with an apple corer or a narrow vegetable corer, leaving a 5 mm wall and stopping short of the far end. Do not pierce the base.

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2. Mix the rice, lamb, butter, allspice, cinnamon, salt and pepper. The filling stays raw.

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3. Fill each courgette two-thirds full, tapping it on the board to settle the filling. Leave a clear centimetre at the open end.

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4. Stand them upright and packed tight in a heavy pot that just fits them.

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5. Whisk the tomatoes, purée, dried mint, garlic, salt and water and pour it in until it comes just below the open ends.

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6. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook on low heat 50 to 55 minutes, until the rice is tender and the courgette gives to a spoon.

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7. Add the lemon juice, leave off the heat 10 minutes, and serve with the broth spooned over.

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Related guides: Choosing rice · Ingredient substitutions.

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Keep an Eye on These

1. Two-thirds full. Rice doubles and will split the shell.
2. Stand them upright so they support each other.
3. Do not pierce the closed end when coring.

Changing the Recipe

• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.
• Fresh herbs work in place of the dried mint at roughly three times the quantity — a teaspoon of dried is about a tablespoon of fresh, chopped.

About This Recipe

The filling is two-thirds full and never more, because the rice inside is raw and will roughly double. Packed tight, the courgette splits along its side and empties into the pot. The other rule is the pot itself: they stand upright, shoulder to shoulder, so they hold each other up and cook evenly in liquid that only just covers them — laid flat they roll, cook unevenly and the filling falls out of the open end.

On the Table Alongside

Plain yogurt · Flatbread · A tomato salad

Storing Leftovers

Refrigerated for 3 days. Reheat gently in the broth. They freeze cooked for 2 months.

Koussa Mahshi Nutrition Facts

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.

Dairy-free when made with olive oil rather than butter.

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