My friends often ask me, “What is Egyptian food like?” I only know by years of taste-testing experience at home and visiting my family, and I often crave certain dishes. In the tapestry of my food memories, Mahshi Koronb will forever be intertwined with my late grandma Aida.
One of these is Mashi, a popular Egyptian dish featuring meat and rice stuffed into various vegetables such as peppers, cabbage, or zucchini.
EASY Recipe for Mahshy Egyptian Stuffed Vegetables (feat. MasterChef Top 10 Reem Ahmed!)
“Mahshi” means stuffed, and in most of the Middle Eastern world, there are numerous varieties of foods stuffed into other foods, creating aromatic and complicated creations that are way more than the sum of their parts. If you have roots in the Middle East or North Africa this is probably among your favorite comfort foods. If not, it will be once you try it.
Saturdays and Sundays were days in which the house was filled with good smells from early in the morning. My dad would get up early to start cooking, and work in the yard - two relaxing activities for him - and the pots would be already full of different dishes by the time I woke up at the not-so-shabby hour of 8 or 9 for a weekend.
This week’s Edenic garden of stuffed and stewed vegetables, just in time for the snaps of winter hitting all over the place lately, comes from the kitchen of Heba Salem, author of Umm al-Dunya and the primary reason that I understand Egyptian Arabic, well, really at all. When I landed on the banks of the Nile in June, I didn’t even know how to say “today” (true story). We made this recipe as a class because there is a rule that every Arabic ‘ammiyya class must have a cooking component (people often ask my why Arabic. Obviously this is why).
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Mahshi, which simply means “stuffed,” is a staple dish throughout the Arab world. This Egyptian take on it is great because it’s so simple - it’s vegetarian, and you can use any vegetable you want (onions are not typically a mahshi staple but we had one leftover and figured it couldn’t hurt). We cooked an enormous batch, stashed it in our communal fridge, and ate the leftovers for lunch for days.
Another day, another recipe for stuffed foods from the Egyptian world. Really, we do like to take simple things and make them a little over the top! Egyptians love to make "ma7shi" or "stuffed" with the ultimate combination being white eggplants (when in season), small peppers, and zucchinis. The pepper lends a big flavor when cooked in the same pot as the others, and all of them together = magic.
These beauties make a perfect meal that wraps veggies, meat and rice all up in one juicy package. Labor intensive but truly rewarding, try making this mahshi dish and check out my recipes for grape leaves stuffed with meat and rice and these mahshi kromb- juicy, herbaceous vegan Egyptian cabbage rolls!
Here’s how it’s done:
Variations of Mashi
In the Middle East people stuff everything. I mean everything. Any vegetable you can think of, someone’s found a way to stuff it.
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- Assorted Vegetables: Egyptians love to make "ma7shi" or "stuffed" with the ultimate combination being white eggplants (when in season), small peppers, and zucchinis. Assorted zucchini and eggplant work best - the smaller the eggplant are, the better.
- Mahshi Koronb: Egyptian Rolled Cabbage Leaves, or “Mahshi Koronb” (محشي كرنب), is a beloved Egyptian comfort food.
- Hamam Mahshi: Hamam mahshi (Arabic: حمام محشي) is a traditional Egyptian dish comprising pigeons stuffed with a seasoned mixture of grains, herbs, and spices.
Here are some related recipes:
- Mahshi warak enab - Grape leaves stuffed with herby meat and rice
- Mahshi kromb (malfouf) - Egyptian vegan cabbage rolls
Don’t let the prospect of coring those veggies intimidate you; it’s easier than it looks. This recipe is also perfect for the cook who loves rice but is not, perhaps, the best at cooking it well (and yes, I plead guilty to both charges) because the rice here proportions and cooks itself. Yep. Huwa Da!
Preparing the stuffing mixture can easily be done 1-2 days ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator. After the vegetables are stuffed and in the pot, simply refrigerate for a day or two. When you're ready to cook it, bring to room temperature and finish cooking with the broth.
Typically, I prep the stuffing mixture, set up the vegetables, and pass them on to my kids. They love stuffing the veggies, arranging them in the pot, and seeing it all come together. While -- yes -- this dish may seem daunting, it's actually very simple to make and feeds a LOT of people. For parties, this dish is wonderful to be made ahead.
The aroma of peppers, zucchini, eggplants, and fragrant herbs together combine to make this a dish that has people knocking to ask "what are you cooking?"
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Here’s how to make it:
Part 1: Preparing the Vegetables
The first, and only potentially difficult, step in this recipe is coring the veggies.
- If you want to make a habit of making mahshi, and you should, get yourself a zucchini corer. It makes the job much easier. You can get one at a Middle Eastern grocery store or on Amazon (affiliate link).
- Using your corer, hollow out the zucchinis and eggplants, taking care to not puncture through (but it won’t be the end of the world if you do).
- Once you’ve cored the veggies, give them a good sprinkling of kosher salt inside and out. This will pull moisture out.
I was always taught to try to remove as much flesh as possible to leave a thin casing of zucchini, but I have learned that some people prefer to keep the walls of the fruit thicker. Don’t throw out the guts you’ve removed. Some people put these into the stuffing mixture or cooking broth. Or, you can simply saute them to eat at another time. I tossed mine into some pasta sauce for another day.
Part 2: Preparing the Stuffing Mixture
Different families make this different ways, but I think adding meat makes this as more complete meal and gives depth of flavor.
Next, make your stuffing, or hashwa in Arabic. I like to partially cook my meat before stuffing, as I prefer the texture this way.
Cook up the meat with spices, add onions to soften, then mix it with your washed rice and herbs. A word on spices and herbs: in this recipe I used some of the spices I like to use in mahshi, on a different day I may use a different combination. I encourage you to use whichever spices you like and are available to you and to not get hung up on the small details.
This recipe, and most of my recipes, are flexible and are done differently in every household. So use what you have and get cooking!
Ingredients for the Stuffing
- 3-4 cups of rice (depending on how many veggies you want to stuff. I’d estimate 1 cup per person you want to serve, or per 3-4 vegetables you want to stuff.
- Spices: a teaspoon each of cumin, salt, and pepper, but my readers probably know how I feel about spices. Add whatever inspires you and adjust per your taste.
- For seasoning the stuffing, use cumin, coriander, and dry mint.
- Herbs: This recipe calls for fresh parsley, cilantro, and dill. All of these herbs are crucial for getting the flavor right. The secret for really great-tasting stuffed cabbage rolls is the herbs.
Step-by-Step Instructions for the Stuffing
- Prepare the Filling: In a cooking pan sweat the chopped onions for 1-2 minute, add the garlic and stir until they become fragrant, add the tomato juice followed by the tomato paste and spices.
- Lower the heat and let the sauce simmer for 7-10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let this mix cool off completely and then toss in the rice and the aromatic herbs.
Part 3: Assembling and Cooking Mahshi
- Find a pot that will hold the veggies snug and stand them up in the pot. Drop the stuffing mixture in using a small spoon or your fingers.
- You can wiggle it in, but resist the urge to jam it in tight. The rice needs some room to expand as it cooks. If you have extra stuffing at the end, you can cook it separately as you would regular rice.
- Or, my kids, favorite- sauté your veggie guts in some olive oil, then add a little tomato paste and the stuffing, cover with water, bring to a boil, then simmer covered for 25 minutes for a “deconstructed mahshi” meal.
It’s time to cook your mahshi!
- Make your tomato sauce and pour it over the veggies so that they are about 3/4 of the way covered.
- Bring to a boil then simmer on medium heat until cooked, about 45 minutes.
- Let sit about fifteen minutes then remove to a plate, or invert onto a platter. Serve with sauce spooned over and yogurt on top!
Detailed Instructions for Mahshi Koronb (Cabbage Rolls)
Egyptian mahshi crumb is a vegetarian stuffed cabbage rolls recipe that's absolutely delicious! It's made with homemade tomato sauce herb rice stuffed in delicate cabbage leaves and then simmered in chicken or duck broth.
Mahshi crumb is best made with a rich homemade duck broth and served with cucumber mint yogurt.
Broth (Cooking Liquid)
In a bowl or a pourable containers, combine the vegetable broth, tomato paste or tomato paste, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Step-by-Step Instructions for Mahshi Koronb
- Prepare the Cabbage Leaves: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Season the water with cumin. Core the cabbage and carefully peel off the leaves one by one. Blanch the leaves in the boiling water for about 2-3 minutes or until they are soft and pliable. Remove them from the water and set aside in on single layer over a large surface to cool.
- Prepare the Filling: In a cooking pan sweat the chopped onions for 1-2 minute, add the garlic and stir until they become fragrant, add the tomato juice followed by the tomato paste and spices. Lower the heat and let the sauce simmer for 7-10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let this mix cool off completely and then toss in the rice and the aromatic herbs.
- Roll & Stuff the Cabbage Leaves: Take one cabbage leaf and place a spoonful of the rice stuffing near the base of the leaf. Roll the leaf over the filling without tucking in the sides. Repeat with the remaining cabbage leaves and filling.
- Assemble the Koronb Pot: Arrange the layers of sliced onion, tomatoes, and garlic and one layer of cabbage leaves in a deep heavy pot. On top, arrange tight and snug rows of stuffed cabbage, seam side down, packing them tightly together to prevent them from unraveling during cooking. Drizzle some olive oil over the stuffed cabbage rolls to keep their color from oxidization. Slowly pour the broth on top, until it covers the layer before last of the rolled cabbage. The last layer should not be submerged in the broth. Lay a heavy heart resistant dish on top of the rolled cabbage to keep the cabbage rolls from unraveling. Whoever the liquid runs low, add 1/4 cup of broth at a time.
- Cook the Rolled Cabbage: Cover the pot and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. Once it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low and let it simmer gently for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the cabbage rolls are cooked through and the rice is tender.
- Serve & garnish: Once cooked, Invert the pan of stuffed cabbage rolls over a large serving round plate. Serve the Mahshi Koronb hot, garnished with some freshly chopped cilantro and dill, wedges of lemon or lime, if desired.
Tips and Tricks
- If you are using eggplant, after coring them you should toss them into the pan you cooked the meat in to sear the skins. This will make them palatable after boiling. There’s no need to do this with the squash, which has softer skin or with very small baby eggplants, which have a naturally thinner skin.
- Proportions are a bit tricky to estimate and are hard to convert from my notes - both because my recipe notebook would later be covered in a five-spice holiday simple syrup that leaked out of its container, and also because we cooked in such massive proportions. In any case, take all the amounts given here with a grain of salt (or should I say, a grain of rice) and don’t worry too much about it.
- Never cover the rolled cabbage with broth, so it doesn’t become mushy.
- It is difficult to give an exact number of veggies that you can fill with this amount of stuffing, as this is affected by many variables such as the size of your veggies, the manner in which they are stuffed etc. For the photographed recipes I actually had the perfect amount of stuffing for those veggies. It is common to have left over veggies or stuffing. Left over stuffing can be cooked separately as you would cook rice, for an herbed meat and rice dish. You could also freeze excess for later use.
- Finely minced tomato can also be added to the stuffing.
Mahashi- Egyptian stuffed vegetables Bel hana wel shefa! Enjoy!
