Vegan MoFo #2: Quinoa Stuffed “Mahshi”
| October 4, 2011 | Posted by Nada under Recipes |
Mahshi (which translates literally to “stuffed”) is one of my all time favourite Egyptian dishes. Vegetables stuffed with a delicious rice and herb mix then cooked to perfection. Simple – but succulently rich in flavours and textures.
When I tried to think of a healthy spin on my beloved Mahshi – it seemed painstakingly obvious, just sub brown rice for white. But at the time I was stuffing my face with a giant quinoa-chickpea salad when I had a brainwave – quinoa! I was apprehensive at first because I wasn’t sure how it would turn out but I was pleasantly surprised 
We make mahshi at home using a variety of veggies, but for this recipe I decided to stick with an Egyptian classic: Kousa otherwise known as baby marrow or squash.
Quinoa Stuffed Mahshi Kousa
Serves 2
Ingredients:
- 4-5 baby marrows
- 1 large bell pepper (optional)
- 1c dry quinoa
- 1T tomato paste
-1/3c chopped fresh parsley
-1/3c chopped fresh dill
- 1 medium red onion, chopped finely
- 1 large tomato, chopped finely
- 1T coconut or sunflower oil
- 1 organic vegetable stock cube
- sea salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Prep the marrows by washing, then hollowing out the insides (make sure to save these as you will need them later). At home we have a cylindrical type peeler tool specifically for this purpose, I always thought it was silly – until I tried doing it without it.
Difficult, but doable using the rounded edge of a spoon.
Next comes the “khalta” (the stuffing). Add the quinoa, fresh herbs, onion, tomatoes, oil and salt and tomato paste and mix thoroughly.
As a general rule everything should be equally proportioned, so if you’re noticing more herbs or onions add in some quinoa to balance it out.
Next, we stuff!
Fill the marrows and the bell pepper with the stuffing but be sure not to pack too tightly and leave some room at the top as the quinoa will expand when cooking.
layer the bottom of the pan with the insides of the marrow. I added some chopped tomatoes and leftover sliced onions as well to create a “bed” of sorts.Arrange the marrow and pepper in the pan, pour in about half a cup of stock and bring to a boil.
Then cover and simmer for 25 minutes or until the quinoa is fluffy and the veg is tender.
Don’t worry about not adding enough water/stock as the vegetables and the stuffing will release a lot of their own moisture.Serve.
I had mine as a main alongside a peppery rocket raisin and walnut salad in a cumin vinaigrette.
Wholesome, fragrant and finger-licking good.
Leftovers? I had them cold and chopped up in a salad topped with some hummus.
Yes, that is a saucepan. Don’t judge me, I’m a student.
Oh my word, these look SO good! My cousin is actually coming over for dinner tomorrow and we have this thing where we both try to cooke each other elaborate meals (she is a foodie though)! If it turns out like yours, she will LOVE it! I just sent the recipe to my mom
! Quick question- the quinoa is raw when you stuff the marrow, yes?
Yep it is raw, and awesome! Please let me know how it turns out if you do try it
This looks delicious! Nice to “meet” another Mo-Fo-er in the Middle East. – Emily in Israel
Nice to e-meet you too Emily! Will check out your blog soon.
Great tutorial. Starred to try after mofo.
Oh, that looks really wonderful. Thanks for sharing your recipe & pictures of the steps!
And no worries, we all eat out of saucepans sometimes.
You’re so welcome
And good, that’s reassuring to hear!
That is the fanciest stuffed vegetables I’ve ever seen. Thanks for sharing this with us!
Such high praise! I hardly feel deserving but thanks.
They look amazing! I adore stuffed courgettes so I’m gonna bookmark this recipe for laterz.
Thanks for sharing.
Thank you! Let me know how they turn out when/if you do make them.
What a fabulous dish…and your close ups? Amazing.
I haven’t had a quinoa dish that I didn’t love and I’m sure I’d love this one too!
Thanks Ameena! When you move to London I’ll fed-ex you some
I love mahshi! My favourite is the aubergine ones; I love this twist on the recipe with quinoa though; definitely want to try it
[...] Glad to see everyone enjoyed yesterday’s healthy Vegan spin on Egyptian stuffed veggies, quinoa stuffed mahshi. [...]
I’ve wanted a decent recipe for kousa mahshi since going vegetarian. Thanks!
I get free courgettes from the farm I volunteer at when they get to big to sell. Now I know what I’m going to do next with them.
that is so cool! You don’t even have to cook the quinoa.
[...] Quinoa Stuffed Vegetables (Mahshi Kousa) [...]
[...] Glad to see everyone enjoyed yesterday’s healthy Vegan spin on Egyptian stuffed veggies, quinoa stuffed mahshi. [...]
[...] one of my Vegan MoFo posts way back in October, I introduced you to the wonder that is Mahshi Kousa. I initially had every intention of following up that recipe with a healthy take on vine leaves, [...]
Wanna ask…what is quinoa in arabic languange?I’m living in Egypt.I love mahshi
Hi, quinoa in arabic is just الكينوا! If you’re living in Egypt you can find it at Carrefour, they do their own brand of it and the packet looks like this. Hope that helps!
[...] last week I made Mashi (dolmas or whatever else you want to call them in your country) in our rice cooker. Yep, you read [...]