In this guide, you’ll learn how to stuff onions with a rice filling, to be cooked in sauce or broth. It’s an easy way to make use of extra onions you have laying around. Make it using a homemade vegan meat replacement, or a tangy Yalanji filling.

Why Stuff Them?

The sweetness of onions shines through when boiled and stewed. Which bonds well with the rich and bold tomato sauce they’re cooked in. They have such a unique texture, that when stuffed and cooked, they melt in the mouth with every flavourful bite. I personally had extra filling from my Tomato Mahshi recipe, and thought “Why not stuff them?”

Turns out it’s one of the easiest ways (in my onion) to stuff vegetables. Takes the least amount of time (and effort) to make. It’s also a common stuffed vegetable that’s often included in similar dishes from neighbouring cuisines (like Kurdish Aprax). Try it once, and you’ll be adding stuffed onions to your collection of Mahshi from now on!

Preparing The Onions

Cut off both ends (keeping it intact). Make a slit vertically to remove the peel. Cut through to open a ‘pocket’.

Add to boiling water for 10 to 15 minutes to soften. Remove into a bowl of ice water to cool down.

How To Stuff Onions

Remove layers of the onion. Stuff with a tablespoon’s worth of the filling, starting from one side. Roll to cover from other end.

What To Stuff Them With?

You can stuff them with a tangy Yalanji filling (100% vegan, made with lots of vegetables). Or use the same meaty rice filling from the Tomato Mahshi recipe.

Tips

• Drop into a bowl of ice water right after boiling. This stops them from cooking.

• Remove excess rice from the stuffed onions before adding to the pot.

• Pack tightly when layering in the pot to cook. This prevents them from bursting open when cooked.

How To Stuff Onions

Recipe by Waseem HijaziCuisine: Arabic, Middle EasternDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

onions

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

Total time

30

minutes

In this guide, you’ll learn how to stuff onions with a rice filling, to be cooked in sauce or broth. It’s an easy way to make use of extra onions you have laying around. Make it using a homemade vegan meat replacement, or a tangy Yalanji filling.

What You’ll Need

• 4 medium onions

• Knife

• Pot

Instructions

• Cut off both ends (keeping it intact). Make a slit vertically to remove the peel. Cut through to open a ‘pocket’.
• Add to boiling water for 10 to 15 minutes to soften. Remove into a bowl of ice water to cool down.
• Remove layers of the onion. Stuff with a tablespoon’s worth of the filling, starting from one side. Roll to cover from other end.
• Repeat until all the onion layers are stuffed. Placing them tightly together in a plate/pot to cook.

Notes

• (1) Drop into a bowl of ice water right after boiling. This stops them from cooking.
• (2) Remove excess rice from the stuffed onions before adding to the pot.
• (3) Pack tightly when layering in the pot to cook. This prevents them from bursting open when cooked.

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