mahshi – stuffed aubergine / courgette / peppers

Mahshi is the quintessential feasting food of Egypt.  If you’re invited to have dinner at an Egyptian family home, four times out of five, mahshi will be served.  Because of the amount of time it takes to prepare, Mahshi’s considered the ultimate gesture of hospitality. For the same reason it’s seldom found it in restaurants.

Don’t let that put you off making it though. It takes time but anything worth waiting for takes time, as they say. It’s not difficult, and it becomes even easier with practice. And believe me the end result is truly worth it and it’s always appreciated.

If you’ve never tried Mahshi before the idea of a few stuffed vegetables may not excite you terribly. But once you’ve tasted them you’ll know what all the fuss is about.

Mahshi is frequently served with chicken

The stock used to cook the Mahshi is frequently made when cooking Chicken Egyptian Style, which is usually served with Mahshi. Chicken cooked Egyptian Style first boiled and then cooked in butter. This cooking process produces fantastic stock and is wonderful for cooking the stuffed vegetables.

The quality of the stock in which the Mahshi is braised makes so much difference to the end result. So, make sure to use the very best stock possible.

It’s easy to transform this into a Vegetarian /Vegan dish

Of course if you to have a vegetarian or vegan version of this recipe simply swap over the chicken stock for a really good vegetable stock and omit the butter to make it vegan – easy!

Mahshi doesn’t need the addition of meat

Many of the Mahsi recipes you find online include minced meat in the stuffing. But in all my years, I have never had it served to me that way, and I must have had it hundreds and hundreds of times. As I said 8 times out of 10 Mahshi will be served when you’re invited to eat with friends.

To be honest there’s absolutely no need for the addition of meat in the stuffing because it already has so much flavour. Tomatoes, garlic, stock and large quanties of herbs pack the rice with flavour and make it unbelievably tasty.

Each family seems to have its own recipe for Mahshi

Not all cooks have exactly the same recipe for the rice stuffing. Some use different herbs, others like to add a little chilli, some like to include mint with the herbs. Once you’ve tried this recipe and know the basics, feel free to play around a little with the flavourings and make the recipe your own.

When Mahshi’s on the menu, they just keep coming back for more

The quantity in this recipe should be enough for about 20 aubergine + 20 courgettes and maybe 12 small peppers.  This amount would normally be served to about 4 people.  I know that sounds a lot but believe me, when I tell you, that it soon gets eaten up. People just can’t help themselves and they keep coming back for more.

You choose which veggies you use, but include peppers!

The choice is yours, you can choose to make which ever combination of vegetables you like.  But I’m told which ever you choose to ensure you add a few peppers because this enhances the flavour.

To make good Mahshi you need to start off with the right size vegetables. 

Aubergines

Your aubergine shouldn’t be the big ‘Black Beauty’ variety that you find in most supermarkets.  The smaller type, which are about the size of a small sausage not as small as a chipolata but smaller than a regular sausage are the ones you need for Mahshi.  You may need to scout these out.  They are normally readily available in your local Arabic grocers and some supermarkets are beginning to stock them.

Courgettes

The courgettes again should be the smaller variety and again about the size of a small sausage.

Peppers

Don’t try making mahshi with beautiful big Bell peppers with thick fleshy skins.  For mahshi you need to use the smaller variety with thin skins.

How to prepare your vegetables for mahshi

Aubergines

First wash your aubergine and cut off the leafy stem.

Now using the cutter which has 2 tiny cup shaped cutters at the end, push the cutter into the aubergine from the end that you just exposed when you cut off the stem. Push in the cutter and twist it like a corkscrew as you do.  Do a couple of twists and then pull it out a little, so the flesh that you’ve cut can be removed – if you don’t do this the tool gets choked up and it’s much more difficult to use. 

As you work you can feel how far the tool is inserted.  You need to keep inserting and twisting until you’ve just about reached the end.

Next take the tool with the serrated curved blade and use it to scrape the inside of the cavity.  You need to scrape away as much of the flesh as possible.  

Your aubergine is now ready for stuffing. 

Repeat this procedure for all the remaining aubergines.

Courgettes

Wash your courgettes and trim the stem from one end and the stub of the flower from the other.

Take the serrated tool and lightly scrape your courgette skin, end to end, all the way round, to create what my son and I affectionately call the ‘Go Faster Stripes’. This is just for decoration.

Next, hollow out the courgettes, following the same procedure as you did to hollow out the aubergines.

Peppers

Peppers are probably the easiest vegetables to prepare.  Simply wash your peppers then cut around the stalk and pull it out and remove the seeds.

How To stuff your vegetables for mahshi

I find it easiest just to put the rice stuffing in with my hands.  Hold the vegetable above the bowl containing your rice. Scoop up a small amount of stuffing and put it into the cavity.  Tap the bottom of the vegetable on the table top to help the rice go down.

DO NOT over pack the rice  

As the rice cooks it will swell up, so the rice needs to be filled in loosely, not packed in. The vegetables shouldn’t be filled fully to the top either, for the same reason.

How to pack your mahshi in the pan

Pack your vegetables, closely together, into a very large saucepan.

I recommend putting the peppers at the bottom as they are probably less suseptible to damage from the heat which will be most intense at the bottom of the pan. And the courgettes are best at the top.

If you’ve used 2 cups of rice for your stuffing (as per the recipe) then you will need just 2 cups of good stock to cook your mahshi in.  Pour the stock over your vegetables. Add a couple of tablespoons of butter to make it even better.

Put your pan onto the stove, bring it to the boil and put a tight fitting lid onto the pan.

The pan needs to have a tight fitting lid to ensure the steam doesn’t escape.

Reduce the heat down to the absolute minimum and let your mahshi cook in the steam that has been created.

Cook your mahshi for about 45 minutes.

Keep an eye on the pan and make sure that it’s still producing a little steam and that it hasn’t boiled dry.   After the 45 minutes all the stock should have been absorbed by the rice and the mahshi should be cooked. Use a teaspoon and try a little of the rice to test it. 

When the rice is cooked, then your mahshi is ready.  If there is any liquid left in the pan cook it for a little longer without the lid to allow it to evaporate.

Should the rice is still be a little hard then add a couple of tablespoons of boiling water to the pan; just enough to produce steam again and cook for a few more minutes.

Take the pan off the stove.

As I said your mahshi is cooked when the rice is just cooked.   The vegetables should still be firm. 

Don’t over-cook your mahshi

• Avoid over-cooking your mahshi because the rice will go soggy and the vegetables will lose their structure.  As I said they need to stay firm. People need to be able to pick the vegetables up with their hands to eat them.

Once your mahshi is cooked allow it to cool slightly before piling your mahshi high on a platter to serve.

I do hope you’ll try making mahshi, it’s truly delicious.

Let me know how you get on. I’d love to see your photos