Mahshi Rice Stuffing
Mahshi Rice Stuffing
Making good mahshi rice stuffing is the starting point to making perfect Mahshi; Egyptian stuffed vegetables.
Making Mahshi is a true labour of love. Those who present Mahshi for their guests show real hospitality because it can take many hours of preparation. The cooks making it love it though. They love showing their skills and they love being hospitable and generous. As I said, it really is labour of love. And that love and that hospitality can turn a meal into a real celebration and the hard work is always appreciated.
When Egyptians make mahshi they make mountains of it. It’s so moreish, people just can’t stop coming back for “Just one more”.
Because of the amount of work involved you frequently find groups of ladies working together to prepare the glorious feast. I say ladies because it is still very much the ladies that do the cooking in Egypt, but things are gradually changing – I know my youngest son has become quite skilled in the art of mahshi making since he got married.
This mahshi rice stuffing is used for cabbage, aubergine, peppers, courgettes, vine leaves and even lettuce.
The rice mix is put into the vegetables raw.
I have given the instructions on how to prepare these vegetables in a separate recipe.
The preparation of the vegetables for your mahshi varies according to what you’ve chosen. See the link at the bottom of the page.
You would generally serve a selection of at least 3 different vegetables. Whichever vegetables you choose to make I’m told that you should always have a few peppers included in the pan as this enhances the flavour.
This quantity of stuffing should be enough for 4 or 5 people.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup cooking oil
- 2 large onions – very finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves – grated
- 6 large ripe tomatoes – finely chopped
- 4 stock cubes – finely grated
- 3 bay leaves
- seeds from 4 cardamom pods – crushed
- 2 cups Egyptian rice or long grain rice
- 1 bunch of fresh coriander – finely chopped
- 1 bunch of flat leaf parsley – finely chopped
- 2 cups good quality stock for cooking
Let’s make Mahshi Rice Stuffing
First brown the onions
Heat the oil in a large pan
Add the chopped onions and fry them over a medium flame until they become translucent and begin to take on a little colour.
Next, in goes the tomatoes and spices
Add the garlic, chopped tomatoes, grated stock cubes, bay leaves and crushed cardamom seeds.
Simmer until it thickens
Add abut ¼ cup of water and simmer until the mix breaks down into almost a puree. This will take about 20 minutes.
Carry on cooking until the mix reduces to a thick paste with the consistency of tomato puree.
Remove from the heat.
Remove the 3 bay leaves from the mix – they’ve done their job.
Add the rice
Add the rice and mix well.
Next add the herbs
Add the chopped herbs and mix again. * This will seem like far too much herbs and you may think you’ve mis-read the recipe but trust me and carry on.
Time for a taste test
Now taste the mix – don’t eat it because raw rice can give you horrible stomach-ache. Just check the seasoning.
It will taste far too salty – at least that’s how it should taste, if it doesn’t then add a bit more salt or grate in another stock cube.
It should also taste intensely tomatoey & packed with herbs.
Your Mahshi Rice Stuffing is ready
So now it’s time to fill all your wonderful vegetables. Your Mahshi rice stuffing is now ready.
For this quantity of rice you will need 2 cups of good quality stock poured over the vegetables as they cook. Remember, the better the quality of stock the better your mahshi will be.
I do hope you’ll try making mahshi –
As it takes a while to prepare preparing can be a very social task as you can enlist a group of friends or family members to join in the fun.
Let me know how you get on
I look forward to hearing from you