Kousa Mahshi — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

Tender hollowed-out zucchini filled with a fragrant mixture of spiced rice and ground lamb, simmered in a tangy tomato broth until perfectly tender and bursting with flavor.

Ingredients

8 small zucchini
250g ground lamb
1/2 cup short-grain rice, soaked
1 onion, finely diced
2 tbsp tomato paste
3 cups tomato passata
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cups water
Juice of 1 lemon

Instructions

1 Core the zucchini using a zucchini corer, leaving the bottom intact and walls about 5mm thick. Reserve the pulp.
2 Mix ground lamb, soaked rice, diced onion, allspice, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Stuff each zucchini three-quarters full to allow rice to expand.
3 Arrange stuffed zucchini snugly in a pot. Mix tomato passata, tomato paste, water, and lemon juice; pour over the zucchini.
4 Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 50 minutes until zucchini is tender and rice is fully cooked.
5 Serve 2 zucchini per person with plenty of the tomato sauce spooned over.

Did You Know?

In Qatar, the skill of hollowing zucchini without breaking through the sides is a kitchen badge of honor passed between generations.