Mahshi, roasted stuffed zucchini and bell peppers, in a bed of tomato sauce.

Mahshi, stuffed zucchini and bell peppers

Mahshi is stuffed roasted zucchini and bell peppers, in a bed of tomato sauce. The stuffing is spiced minced meat mixed with rice. This is a special occasion food cooked in South Sudan, North Africa and Mediterranean countries.

How to make Mahshi

Assorted bell papers and zucchini, deseeded and cored. Ready to be stuffed. Coring tool in upper left corner of tray.

First, obtain an assortment of bell peppers. The red, orange and yellow ones really add color and taste to the food. Deseed and core the inside. Keep the top, which we will use to cover the stuffing. Obtain some zucchini. Short and stout ones are best. I clipped my zucchini, as shown in the photo above, to make them shorter. I used the coring tool pictured above to core the inside, creating space for the stuffing. One can also use eggplants and large tomatoes for this meal.

Minced meat stuffing mixed with rice and spices for mahshi. Precook and strain the juices.

Second, make your minced meat stuffing.  For this recipe I used 2.5 pounds of ground beef. I chopped a red onion into fine pieces. Added 1 tablespoon of minced garlic. Then added salt and spices such as coriander, cumin, and black pepper. All these were mixed with the ground beef. Fry the ground beef, just enough to remove the redness. Drain the juices and set aside to make tomato sauce. We want the minced meat to be slightly dry.

Third: Boil 1/2 cup of white rice in water for 10 minutes. This is just to soften the rice. Add this rice to precooked minced meat and mix well.

Fourth: Make your tomato sauce as directed in the recipe details below. This is a thick tomato sauce to coat the bed of the pan and infuse into our mahshi, keeping it moist and succulent.

Making Mahshi. Assorted bell peppers and zucchini, cored, stuffed with minced meat, ready to bake.

Fifth: Stuff the cored vegetables with the minced meat and rice stuffing. Pour the tomato sauce onto the bottom of the pan. Place in an oven and bake covered at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 1.5 hours to 2 hours, until the  peppers are soft and roasted. During the last 10 minutes of baking, remove the cover and roast. Serve.