Stuffed Zucchini Squash- or Kousa Mahshi

Stuffed zucchini squash, known in the Middle East as kousa mahshi,  is traditional Middle Eastern dish that my mother-in-law used to make, and we all loved. Mahshi is a word used for any stuffed foods and kousa is an Arabic word for squash. Easy to make too.

My husband and his family lived in Cairo, Egypt and my mother-in-law's recipes from her family are outstanding. Koosa mahshi or any mahshi was a regular item on her weekly menu since meat was tough and expensive for a family of seven.

My MIL (who left Egypt to come to the US at age 48) shared many of her delicious recipes with me since I loved them and liked to cook. However, none of her recipes were written down, so I learned by watching her make them. 

On a recent trip to Israel, we spent two nights in an all-inclusive hotel in Tiberias. The meals were incredible and reminded me of the recipes that my mother-in-law used to make (she died last year at age 96).

My Israeli sister-in-law gave me an idea of the ingredients she uses to make the filling for vegetarian stuffed veggies, so when I returned home, I decided to try to make the Kousa Mahshi using her suggestions because my MIL's recipes contained some chopped meat with the rice.

My MIL used a slightly different variety of green squash with a thinner skin and shorter body as shown above, but I ended up using the traditional zucchini because that is what I had on hand. She used to hollow out the entire smaller squash with a special coring tool called a manakara in Arabic.

I am sharing this photo below from Amazon from Bon Bollon the company that makes the manakara or vegetable corer. It is exactly how my MIL cored her veggies to stuff them. You can get the simple vegetable corer  on Amazon which is availale at a very reasonable price.

The  photo above is from the Amazon page to buy the corer: 
vegetable corer link

I used a zucchini given to me by a neighbor and simply cut my larger zucchini into 3 even sections. I then scooped out each section 3/4 of the way with a melon baller because I have not bought a vegetable corer yet.

 

I made an amazing vegetarian filling using rice, lots of herbs, and seasonings based on my sister-in-law's suggestions and then cooked the vegetables in sauce in a large covered skillet for 40 minutes.

I also stuffed a few green frying peppers that I had

                     from a neighbor's garden and cooked both vegetables together in one skillet in a tomato sauce covered.

              

                  This recipe is vegan, oil-free, and gluten-free. 

Although it may look like work, I prepped everything and made the filling in a total of 15 minutes. Then I cooked the two types of vegetable mahshi for about 40 minutes together in the same pan along with the zucchini balls from scooping.  

Ingredients: 

5 medium green frying peppers, washed and cored

2 medium large zucchini, cut into thirds, and hollowed out 3/4 of the way using a melon baller.

2 cups of white rice, washed well to remove the starch (uncooked)

2 cups of finely chopped cilantro or parsley (or a combo)

1/4 cup of chopped basil

2 tablespoons of dried crushed mint

Optional: thyme, oregano, or any fresh herb you have

3 fat cloves of fresh garlic, chopped or pressed

1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder

1 jar of mild or medium salsa (chunky style)

1 jar of marinara sauce 

4 cups water

Directions: 

Assemble rice, cilantro (and or parsley), salsa, basil, mint, herbs, garlic,  and garlic powder in a large bowl. Mix well and set aside.

Use the rice stuffing to stuff the peppers. Use your finger to push the filling down into the pepper if using the green frying peppers and they are narrow. Then fill the cavities in the zucchini squash. Arrange the vegetables in a high rimmed large skillet and cover with the marinara sauce and water. Place on a medium low heat, cover the pot, and cook for about 40 minutes or until the rice is fully cooked. Check occasionally to prevent burning. Add a little more water if necessary as the sauce cooks down to prevent burning.

My Notes: 

1. Save the scooped out balls from the inside of the squash and cook the balls in the same skillet with the veggies. Just throw them on top.

2. I use the salsa as a shortcut for onions, peppers, tomatoes, etc. - the jar of salsa does the trick and you choose the amount of heat- mild, medium, or hot!

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