Pale young zucchini, hollowed out and stuffed with spiced rice and minced meat, then simmered in a light tomato or yogurt broth until meltingly tender. A homey, much-loved Lebanese main that signals real home cooking.
Kousa mahshi belongs to the great Levantine family of mahshi, the art of stuffing vegetables that lets a little meat feed a whole table. Lebanese cooks prize the slim, pale 'kousa' squash and a special long corer to hollow it without splitting the walls. The scooped-out flesh is never wasted, often turned into a second dish, and a pot of kousa simmering in tomato broth is a hallmark of a Lebanese family lunch.
The zucchini skin yields to a soft, almost custardy flesh wrapped around fragrant, meaty rice perfumed with cinnamon and seven-spice. Everything is gentle and savory, the tomato or yogurt broth pooling around each tender log.
Stuffing only three-quarters full gives the rice room to absorb liquid and swell without bursting the softening zucchini walls. Simmering low and slow lets the squash and rice cook in unison, while the surrounding broth keeps everything moist and seasons the filling as the grains drink it in.
Variations
Yogurt-broth kousa bi laban; plain tomato version; mixed with stuffed grape leaves in one pot; meatless rice-and-herb filling
On the Palate
Where Kousa Mahshi sits in the Lebanese flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6
How it's made
8 steps · 1 hour
- 125 min
Wash small zucchini and core them lengthwise with a vegetable corer, leaving thin even walls and reserving the flesh.
Watch outLeave the zucchini walls thin but even — gouge through and the shell splits open while it simmers.
- 28 min
Rinse short-grain rice and mix with ground meat, melted butter, seven-spice, cinnamon, salt and pepper.
- 312 min
Stuff each zucchini loosely about three-quarters full to leave room for the rice to swell.
Watch outFill each only three-quarters full — the rice swells as it cooks, and a packed one bursts.
- 48 min
Arrange the stuffed zucchini snugly in a pot, plugging open ends with a chunk of tomato if you like.
Watch outPack them upright and snug in the pot so they hold their shape and don't float and tip while cooking.
- 54 min
Pour over water or thin tomato sauce with tomato paste and bay leaf until just covered.
- 63 min
Bring to a boil, then lower to a gentle simmer and cover.
- 750 min
Cook until the rice is fluffy and the zucchini is fork-tender, about 40-50 minutes.
Watch outDone when a fork slides into the zucchini easily and the rice inside is fluffy, not chalky.
- 85 min
Rest briefly and serve hot, optionally in a warm yogurt sauce.
