Wash and scrub the squash and eggplant very thoroughly with a sponge or vegetable scrubber. Cut off the very bottom tip as well as the top portion of the zucchini. Wash your grape leaves as well (if using jarred grape leaves, drain all the liquid and rinse thoroughly at this point too). Peel the onion and slide from the core only halfway through – through the radius. Save the inside of the squash to make zucchini fritters (Ijjeh – recipe coming next week) or to cook with onions and garlic. Set all cored vegetables aside.

In a small pot, add the onion and cover with water. Let the water boil the onion for a few minutes and begin removing each layer of the onion onto a plate with tongs being careful not to burn your fingers. reserve the insides of onion that don’t come apart for the bottom of the pot. In the same water, boil the clean grape leaves in batches. If using fresh leaves, they will almost immediately change color from a bright green to an olive color. Boil until they become tender – jarred leaves will need to be boiled longer in case of any mature leaves in the jar. Remove them from boiling water and place as straight as possible on a dish. Set aside.

Make the stuffing by combining all stuffing ingredients. Don’t overmix the meat or it can become tough. (See note)

Stuff the squash and eggplant one at a time leaving enough space at the top for your pinky finger to go in up until the first knuckle. Close the opening with your thumb and shake the squash to loosen the rice inside and make sure it is not too packed, if too packed the rice will not cook through. Stuff the onions by taking one layer of the onion at a time and filling the pocket with the rice and meat mixture. Roll the onion back up the way it naturally folds and place with the rest of the stuffed vegetables.

For the grape leaves, lay each grape leaf flat on a place with the veiny side facing up and the smooth side down. The wider portion where the stem was should be facing you. If using the jarred leaves, remove the tip of the stem that is left on each leaf – this makes the final product more tart. Take about a teaspoon of filling (more or less depending on the size of the leaf) and lay it in a thin line towards the wider part of the leaf. Bring the bottom of the leaf up slightly to cover the line of rice and bring both sides in (like a burrito). From there, roll it forward just tight enough so the leaf stays shut while cooking.

Slice your tomatoes in rounds (or in half if using cherry tomatoes) and slice the remainder of the onion if using and line the bottom of a large pot. Arrange each piece of mahshi starting with the squash and eggplant. Use the onions and grape leaves as fillers in between the larger vegetables.

Mix the ingredients for the sauce together and pour over the vegetables. Top the pot with small heatproof plate before covering it. Bring to a boil for about 7-10 minutes and then reduce the heat to low and cook for about 45 minutes to an hour until the rice from the mahshi on the top of the pot is fully cooked.

If using more liquid, remove each piece of mahshi from the pot and reserve the broth to pour over individual plates before enjoying. If using less liquid, use a large serving tray that covers the entire top of the pot, invert it on top of the pot and flip the entire pot onto the large serving tray. Let sit 5 minutes before lifting the pot.

Enjoy the most comforting meal ever!