Sheikh Mahshi (Meat-Stuffed Vegetables)

5 from 40 votes

Tender veggies stuffed with a spicy ground beef filling and cooked in a tangy tomato sauce. Sheikh mahshi is usually served over rice.

Prep Time30

Cook Time45

Total Time1 15

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: Assyrian, Middle Eastern

Servings: servings

Calories: 643kcal

Brown ground beef and diced onion for approximately 5 minutes over medium heat. Once browned, add minced garlic, chopped parsley, and filling seasoning. Cook for a few more minutes, then set aside to cool.

Remove stems from eggplant and slice in half length-wise (unless using small eggplant). Slice ½" section from the flat end of each eggplant section, which you will use to cover the filling. Core eggplant using a coring tool, or a small knife.
Slice the peppers around the stems (save stems to use as caps). Remove seeds from the inside of the peppers.
Next, slice a thin section off of each potato and scoop out the flesh, creating a space for the filling.
Add a few tablespoons of oil to a skillet and fry the vegetables and on all sides. The potatoes should be slightly browned and the eggplant and peppers are softened.

When the vegetables are cool enough to handle, Stuff them generously with the meat filling, then top with their lids to keep the meat from spilling out. Arrange the stuffed vegetables into a pot.

Add water, tomato paste, salt, and citric acid to a saucepan and whisk until smooth. Bring to a boil then remove from heat.

Pour hot sauce over the vegetables. Bring to a boil once more over medium heat. Cover the pot and simmer over low heat for 40 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and the sauce has thickened.

Add rice to each plate then top with a few stuffed vegetables and drizzle sauce. A side of pickled vegetables and fresh herbs (basil, cilantro, parsley), scallions, and radishes can also be served on the side.

You can mix the eggplant flesh with the filling or fry it with the carved potato flesh and either stuff it in a Middle Eastern bread or mix it into rice.
Don't toss the potato flesh, you can either add it on top of the vegetables before adding the sauce to the pot, or fry it along with the eggplant flesh and serve over rice.
You can skip frying the vegetables before stuffing them, but you may need to extend the cooking time.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
For a lower carb option, you can serve this sheikh mahshi recipe without rice or with cauliflower rice instead.
Leftovers can also be frozen for up to 3 months.