Egyptian Stuffed Vegetables Recipe - Aubergine and Pepper Mahshi

By Middle Eats · 90 min

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Dice the onion very finely, close to the size of the rice grains, until you have 3/4 cup.
2. Strip the dill leaves from the stalks and chop finely to about 1/2 cup.
3. Remove the parsley leaves from the stalks, discarding any large stalk pieces, then chop finely to about 1 cup.
4. Rinse the rice in a colander under cold water until the water runs clear. Leave it to dry for about 30 minutes until no moisture remains.
5. Put the rice and onion in a bowl and mix in 2/3 of the salt and pepper.
6. Blend the crushed tomatoes (one can, or 500g fresh tomatoes) and add them to the rice with 3 tablespoons of tomato purée. Mix well and taste; it should be salty with noticeable pepper, so add more seasoning if needed.
7. Add a couple of handfuls of parsley and a handful of dill, keeping a 2:1 parsley-to-dill ratio. Taste and add more until herby, aiming for 1 1/2 cups parsley and 1/2 to 1/4 cup dill in total.
8. Trim the tops off the aubergines so they are of similar height. Core each one with a corer, turning it gently and keeping the walls and base intact. Rinse out any loose seeds or flesh.
9. Cut the tops off the peppers and remove the core and white flesh. Keep the tops for decoration if you like.
10. Fill the aubergines with rice, pressing gently to the bottom without packing it tightly, and stop 1/2 cm below the top. Fill each pepper with a few tablespoons of rice, also leaving a 1/2 cm gap.
11. Line the base of a stainless steel pot with a single layer of thick potato slices.
12. Stand the aubergines upright around the outside of the pot and place the peppers in the centre.
13. Mix the stock with the remaining 1 tablespoon of tomato purée in a jug, adding salt and pepper if it is under-seasoned. Pour it into the pot without pouring over the vegetables, so it reaches the top of the potato; top up with water if needed.
14. Bring to a boil over high heat, then cover and reduce to medium-low. After about 40 minutes, check that the rice has doubled in size and is cooked through. If it is still firm, cover and cook a few more minutes, then test again.
15. Lift the mahshi out of the pot and serve upright or on a platter.

Summarized from Middle Eats's video. Watch it for the details.

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