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Kousa mahshi -stuffed squash with rice and meat cut in half

Kousa Mahshi - Stuffed squash with rice and meat

Kousa mahshi, is a quintessential Arab comfort food. Tender squash is stuffed with a flavorful rice and meat mixture and cooked in a luscious tomato sauce.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Middle Eastern
Servings 8

Ingredients
  

Ingredients:

  • 12- 15 small to medium Mexican squash
  • 1-2 tomatoes sliced

For the stuffing:

  • 2 cups basmati or jasmine rice rinsed
  • 1 lb ground beef or ground meat of choice
  • 2 Tablespoons samneh (ghee) (optional)
  • 1 Tablespoon avocado oil
  • 2 teaspoons allspice
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
  • 2 Tablespoons 7 spice
  • Salt and pepper to taste be generous with the salt!

For the broth:

  • 1 – 15oz can tomato sauce
  • 3-4 cups vegetable or chicken broth or water enough to come to the top of the mahshi in the pot
  • 1 teaspoon 7 spice
  • 2 garlic cloves grated
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Wash the squash very thoroughly. Cut the stem and carefully cut the very bottom of the squash.
  • Use a vegetable or apple corer to remove the flesh of the kousa (squash). Refer to the pictures above. Use your less dominant hand to hold the squash with your whole fist with the cut stem side facing towards you. Use the apple corer or vegetable corer to hollow out the squash with your dominant hand. Turn the corer slightly as you go, trying your best to keep the squash intact. Some breakage is fine - and often happens - but the rice will come out of the broken parts while cooking. Hold the squash and corer firmly and control the corer to scrape the insides of the squash so there is enough space for the stuffing but don’t puncture the bottom. Save all the insides! It can be cooked with onions and garlic and enjoyed with your meal or even simply with bread or rice. You can also use it to make ijjeh which is what I always do and is a whole separate meal!
  • Prepare the stuffing by combining all the stuffing ingredients into a bowl and mix together well. Set aside.
  • Prepare the broth by combining all the broth ingredients together in a bowl. Set aside.
  • Fill all the cored squash with the stuffing, leaving a little room at the top to allow the rice to expand during cooking. If you have extra stuffing, you can cook it as you would a small pot of rice!
  • Place tomato slices at the bottom of a large pot to prevent sticking. Arrange the stuffed mahshi in the pot neatly and tightly, ensuring they are snug but not overcrowded. Pour the cooking liquid over the pot so that the liquid comes up almost to the top of the mahshi. Add more water as needed.
  • Cover the pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat for about 3-4 minutes. Reduce to low and let it simmer for about an hour, or until the vegetables are tender and the rice stuffing is fully cooked.
  • Once fully cooked, separate the liquid from the mahshi so the mahshi don’t continue cooking. Invert the whole pot onto a large serving tray or let people serve themselves from the pot. Either way, you can serve the extra broth on the side.
  • This meal is commonly eaten on it’s own, but you can also serve alongside yogurt or a salad.
Keyword Mahshi