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Meat and Rice Filling

This is the most common filling and is called hashwa. If the vegetables are going to be stewed, the filling can be mixed raw. If the vegetables are going to be baked, the filling must be cooked first, because the rice needs liquid. Short-grain or round rice is used because it is sticky and binds the filling.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    to fill about 2 pounds of vegetables

Ingredients

1 onion, finely chopped (optional)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 pound lean ground lamb or beef
1/3 cup short-grain or round rice, washed and drained
1 tomato, peeled and chopped (optional)
3 tablespoons finely chopped parsley (optional)
Salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon or 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    If the vegetables are going to be stewed, put all the ingredients together in a bowl and knead well by hand until thoroughly blended. Do not fill the vegetables more than three-quarters full, to allow for the expansion of the rice.

    Step 2

    If you will be baking the vegetables in the oven, the filling must be cooked. Fry the onion in 2 tablespoons of oil till soft, add the ground meat, and stir gently, crushing and turning it over, until it changes color. Add the rest of the ingredients, mix well, cover with 3/4 cup water, and simmer for 18 minutes, or until the rice is done.

Cover of Claudia Roden's The New Book of Middle Easter Food, featuring a blue filigree bowl filled with Meyer lemons and sprigs of mint.
Reprinted with permission from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, copyright © 2000 by Claudia Roden, published by Knopf. Buy the full book on Amazon or Bookshop.
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