Mixed Stuffed Vegetables: Tajin Mahshi محشي مشكل

Stuffed cabbage and vine leaves are best cooked on the stove, but Mahshi vegetables like paprika, tomatoes, onions, courgettes and aubergines are easier to make as a casserole. The larger varieties of aubergines and courgettes tend to get  mushy when stewed.

Tajin Mahshi is usually a main meal served, but for guests stuffed vegetables are always just a side dish. Mahshi is a great make-ahead dish, as it tastes even better the next day, and warms up well. You can also prep extra vegetables and stuffing, and freeze both to make it less of a chore next time.

Serves 6

Ingredients

3 Aubergines (ideally small, or cut large ones in half and use the bottom ends)

3 Courgettes (ditto)

3 Firm Tomatoes 

3  small paprika Peppers (preferably the smaller Arabic variety, less sweet and with firmer flesh)

Stuffing:

500g finely chopped lamb (or substitute minced meat)
1 cup finely chopped large onion
1cup finely chopped tomato

2 cups finely chopped parsley

2 cups short-grain rice, pre-soaked for 10 minutes and drained

2 tablespoon tomato paste
1-2 finely chopped chillies (optional)
2 pieces chopped spring onions (optional) 
1/2 cup olive oil

2 tsp salt

1 tsp of each, black pepper, turmeric, ginger,cinnamon

Cooking Liquid
1 tablespoon olive oil
1teaspoon tomato past
1cup boiling water

1 tsp of each salt, black pepper ,ginger, turmeric, cinnamon

 

To core the courgettes and aubergines use the pointed end of a vegetable peeler to hollow out a segment, then hold the peeler in place and rotate the vegetable until you have scraped away almost all the flesh. Remove the tomato pulp with a teaspoon, dice the pulp and add it to the stuffing mix.

Mix all the ingredients for the filling, stuff the vegetables leaving space for the rice to expand (fill to about 3/4). Place the vegetables in an oven-proof dish (one layer only). Line the pot with parsley stems or potato slices before placing the stuffed vegetables in it.

Mix and spoon the cooking liquid over the vegetables, cover with foil and place in the middle of the oven at 250°C for about one hour. Remove the foil and cook for further 15 minutes (until all liquid is absorbed and the Mahshi is slightly browned).

Baked Aubergine and Bell Pepper Stuffed with Lamb - Sheikh El Mahshi شيخ المحشي باذنجان و فلفل حلو

Stuffed vegetables are a feature of Arab Cuisine with innumerable recipes falling under the generic name mahshi, which simply means "stuffed." There are regional variations and even vegetarian versions but the base is a rice and herb stuffing. The exception that proves the rule is sheikh el mahsi, so called because it is richer, stuffed with meat and nuts.

The stuffed vegetables most popular for sheikh el mahsi are aubergine and to a lesser extent zuchinni. In my family there are a few people who don't eat either so we added sweet bell peppers, which work really well with the flavors of this dish. It also makes a variation from the traditional Libyan stuffed bell peppers recipe, filfil mahshi. This adaption of sheik el mahshi combines bell peppers and aubergines filled with a lamb and aubergine mix, then baked in tomato sauce and sprinkled with pine nuts.

Ingredients

2 large eggplants

2  bell peppers (preferably not green)

Filling

1/2 kilo minced meat (or ideally finely chopped lamb)
 about 50g  butter 
1 chopped medium onion
1 cup boiling water
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp dry mint
for decoration
1/2 cup pine nuts (or blanched almond )


Sauce
3-4 tablespoon olive oil 
1 grated garlic clove
1 chilli finely chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
4  finely chopped tomatoes (or tin of chopped tomato)
1 teaspoon salt

Partially peel the eggplants ( leaving strips of alternating peel and flesh). Prepare the eggplant and bell peppers by cutting them in half and hollowing them out.

Chop the eggplant hull into cubes and saute.

Put the butter and the minced meat in frying pan cook on medium heat stir occasionally until it releases its own liquid add chopped onions and spices one cup of water cook for 30 minutes. When the mix ready it should be moist. Remove from heat add the fried aubergines to the mix.

Prepare the sauce while the meat is cooking. In a pan fry grated garlic and chilli, add 1 tbs paste and stir. Add 4 fresh tomatoes and put through a food processor.  Leave on medium heat for 10-15 minutes. Place the aubergines and peppers in a deep oven-proof dish. Spoon the meat and aubergine mixture into the eggplant and bell peppers, pour about 2 spoon tomato sauce over each vegetable piece,  use any extra to fill the bottom of the dish.

Cover with foil and bake for about 1/2 hour at 250. Remove the foil and cook for anothr 15 minutes.

Decorate with roasted pine nuts or halved browned almonds. Serve with rice and salad.