Mahshi kromb (malfouf) – Egyptian vegan cabbage rollsfeatured
Mahshi kromb- juicy, herbaceous Egyptian cabbage rolls. Tender cabbage leaves, stuffed with parsley, cilantro and dill-laced tomato rice, each roll an umami bomb that will keep you going back for more.
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What is mahshi kromb?
Mahshi translates from Arabic to mean stuffed and is a class of some of the most elite dishes in Egyptian and Middle Eastern cuisine. Having found a way to stuff basically anything, we have endless mahshi dishes.
Each of these dishes can be made either with or without meat. Growing up in a Coptic Orthodox household, we had many days of fasting, when the consumption of animal products was forbidden. Thus, we had a vegan option for most of our favorite cultural dishes.
For mahshi, I usually preferred the meaty versions- like the meat and rice stuffed squash and eggplant from my Egyptian stuffed vegetables recipe and my meat and rice warak enab, or stuffed grape leaves, recipe.
There is however one exception- mahshi kromb- king of the vegan mahshi dishes. While it can be made with meat, this vegan version is even better.
A labor of love to prepare, but an absolute show stopper of a centerpiece dish, give this mahshi kromb recipe a try!
How to make mahshi kromb
There are many steps to this dish, but they are all fairly simple and intuitive.
If you are new to the world of making mahshi, do not be intimidated. I have thoroughly outlined the steps with photos and a video of how to roll the cabbage both here in the blog text and in the recipe card. I got you!
One important aspect of this recipe to highlight is that many elements of the ingredients that you may normally discard are kept are repurposed, so while you are cooking, do not discard the water you’ve boiled the cabbage in, or the trimmings from your vegetables!
Ok, ready? Here we go!
Preparing the cabbage
The first step to making mahshi kromb is to prepare your cabbage leaves for stuffing.
You will take your green cabbage and using a paring knife, carefully hollow out the middle to make the leaves easier to remove.
Then, boil the cabbage in seasoned water and, ideally using kitchen tongs, carefully remove the leaves one by one. If you do not have a set of tongs, I highly getting some, as they make handling hot foods much safer. I use these by Oxo (affiliate link).
Once you’ve removed all the cabbage leaves, transfer to a cutting board and begin trimming them.
Start by removing the hard spines, and then cut the leaves to size. They should be about 3 inches by 2 inches, or 8 cm by 5 cm. Egyptian cabbage rolls are known to be tiny, and you will need to make these smaller than what you may have seen in other versions of the dish.
Remember to reserve the cabbage spines, as these will later be used to line your cooking pot.
Preparing the stuffing
Once your leaves are prepared, you can make your stuffing.
When preparing the herbs, remember to keep the trimmings, as these will be used to flavor the cooking stock.
Given that there are so many steps in this dish, I use a food processor to finely mince my onions and herbs, using the ‘pulse’ setting to avoid over processing. I have been going strong with this food processor for the last 11 years to cut down on time when making laborious dishes like mahshi (affiliate link).
Unlike in other mahshi dishes, the rice is sautéed along with the other stuffing ingredients for mahshi kromb. This way, the aromatics can bloom in the pan, and the tomato paste is caramelized, intensifying the umami flavor.
Preparing the vegetable stock
If you have vegetable stock on hand, you can use that for cooking your mahshi. You can simply use about 4 cups of stock, add the tomato paste, lemon and cumin and let it simmer for a while for the flavors to develop.
If you are making your own stock, take the stems from your parsley and cilantro, along with clean onion ends and skins and toss those into the water you boiled the cabbage in. Add the tomato and lemon juice and simmer until ready to use.
Get rolling
Now you will roll your mahshi.
Simply place about a teaspoon of the filling at the edge of each leaf like so:
And just roll… Like so:
Mahshi kromb is rolled simply, without tucking in the sides like you do with warak enab. If any stuffing peaks out of the sides, just stuff it back in with your finger. The stuffing is malleable and very forgiving.
Once rolled, place each piece of mahshi seam side down to prevent them from unrolling.
Cooking and serving mahshi kromb
To prepare your cooking pot, drizzle some olive oil into your pot and then line with cabbage spines and other trimmings.
Then begin filling the spot with your mahshi. Again, you want to place the rolls seam-side down and to pack them in together snuggly so they do not unravel.
Here I used an 8 inch pot and filled it with about three layers of tightly packed mahshi.
Ok whew, you’re almost there. Time to cook the mahshi!
You will turn on the stove to medium-high and cook for about 8 minutes, before adding the stock. This cooking time allows the cabbage to release some liquid and for the pot lining to caramelize a little.
Unlike with other mahshi dishes, you do not want the mahshi kromb to be soupy and brothy at the end so be careful not too add too much cooking stock. Pour in just enough for the stock to reach the bottom of your final layer, but do not submerge the rolls.
Lay down any extra cabbage leaves you may have on top. Then, place a small plate or pot lid over the rolls to help keep them in place.
Bring the stock to a boil and then lower to medium-low heat and simmer.
After 25 minutes, remove the lid and check on the mahshi. If there is a lot of liquid remaining, allow to simmer uncovered until most of it evaporates. ONce you’ve turned off the heat, allow to rest at least 20 minutes.
Then, either remove and place on a platter by hand, or, cover the pot with a platter and carefully flip upside down to reveal… your mahshi kromb!
Bel hana wel shifa! Enjoy!
Mahshi kromb – Egyptian vegan cabbage rolls
Equipment
- Food processor optional
- Kitchen tongs
Ingredients
For the cabbage
- 1 head green cabbage approximately 3 pounds
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp kosher salt (diamond brand) Or half amount if using table salt or Morton kosher salt
For the stuffing
- 2 TBS olive oil
- 2 medium white or yellow onions (or 3 small onions) finely minced
- 6 cloves garlic minced or pounded in mortar and pestle
- 3 TBS tomato paste
- 1 cup short or medium grain rice, Egyptian preferred thoroughly washed
- 2-3 fresh tomatoes, pureed or 1 cup canned/bottled pureed tomatoes
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro leaves and soft stems minced, thick stems reserved for vegetable stock
- 1 bunch fresh parsley leaves and soft stems minced, thick stems reserved for vegetable stock
- 1/2 cup fresh dill leaves and soft stems minced
- 1 TBS kosher salt, diamond brand Or half amount if using table salt or Morton kosher salt
For vegetable stock
- reserved cooking water from boiled cabbage
- reserved stems of herbs and onion ends
- 2 TBS tomato paste
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 lemon juiced
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Preparing cabbage
- Wash cabbage and remove any wilted outer leaves.
- Using a paring knife, carefully remove the stem and hollow out the core, about 2 inches deep.
- Fill a large pot of water, add cumin and salt, and set to boil over high heat. Once boiling, add cabbage and allow to boil a few minutes.
- Using tongs, carefully peel away cabbage leaves as they soften. You may need to hold the cabbage still with a fork with one hand, and peel with tongs with the other. If you are meeting a lot of resistance, allow to boil a bit longer or remove cabbage and hollow out the center a bit more. Set leaves aside.
- Set aside pot of seasoned water. This will be used for making cooking stock.
- On a cutting board, cut the hard spines out of cabbage leaves and set spines aside (do not discard!).
- Cut leaves into pieces. They will all be slightly different shapes but aim for pieces to be about 3 inches long by roughly 2 inches (8 cm by 5cm).
Making the stuffing (hashwa)
- In a pan over medium-high heat, heat olive oil and add minced onions. Cook onions until translucent and softened, about five minutes, stirring regularly.
- Add garlic and cook until fragrant., about 2-3 minutes.
- Add tomato paste and continue stirring. Cook until tomato paste starts to carmelize and brown bits begin sticking to pan.
- Stir in cumin and coriander.
- Add rice and pureed tomatoes and mix throoughly.
- Finally add in minced parsley, cilantro and dill. Add salt.
- Set aside until cool enough to handle.
Preparing vegetable stock
- Toss reserved stems of parsley and cilantro, as well as washed onion ends and skins or other vegetable scraps you have into the pot of cabbage water.
- Add tomato paste, bay leaf and juice of half a lemon.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and let cook while you assemble your cabbage rolls.
Assembling cabbage rolls
- On a flat surface, lay out cabbage piece. Place approximately 1 teaspoon of stuffing along the long end of your cabbage piece. Do not fill all the way to the edges.
- Roll cabbage tightly into a thin roll. Do not tuck in ends. Set aside, seam side down so they do not unroll.
Cooking mahshi kromb
- Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil into your pot, then line the bottom of a pot with reserved cabbage spines.
- Carefully fill pot with rolled cabbage, placing each roll seam side down to avoid unrolling. Place rolls together snuggly. You can arrange them in spiral formation as shown, or as you wish, as long as they are placed closely together. Assemble layers of rolls until all rolls have been placed in pot.
- If you have extra cabbage pieces, place them on top of rolls.
- Place pot on stove and begin cooking over medium-high heat. Do not add stock yet. Allow to cook for about 8 minutes. During this time, the cabbage will release some water, and the cabbage on the bottom will carmelize.
- Then, slowly begin adding your reserved vegetable stock. You do not want to cover the rolls with stock. Add enough stock to just reach the top layer of rolls, but do not submerge them.
- Cover rolls with a small plate or pot lid, to prevent them from unrolling. Bring to a boil. Allow to boil for a minute, then turn down to a medium-low heat and cover tightly with lid. Cook for 25 minutes.
- After 25 minutes, remove lid and check on mahshi. If there is still a lot of liquid, continue to cook uncovered until most of it evaporates. Then, turn off the heat and allow mahshi to sit for 30 minutes with lid ajar.
- Finally, when ready to serve, cover the pot with a large plate or platter and carefully flip it upside down. Remove pot and enjoy!
