Kharoof Mahshi refers to a whole lamb or kid stuffed with rice and nuts. It's a dish common throughout the Persian Gulf and beyond. This recipe claims to be from Bahrain - though it's nearly identical to other Saudi Arabian recipes - and it's quite good. The stuffing is simply delicious.
Instead of a whole lamb I only used a leg and a comparably smaller amount of stuffing. I wasn't quite sure how to cook the lamb - I have a rotisserie but I thought the stuffing was bound to fall if I thus cooked it - so I decided to roast it. I'm not sure if my method of roasting was inferior, I undercooked the lamb or I just had bad luck with the leg (I bought it at Safeway, next time I'll do it at Costco), but it was very chewy. So you may want to experiment with other cooking methods. The stuffing, however, was to die for. Alas, I had too much to put on the lamb, but it's so good that try to stuff it with as much as possible.
I made this meal for a regular evening and I served it with mixed veggies.
Stuffed Leg of Lamb
Ingredients
- 1 boneless leg of lamb, butterflied
- 2/3 cup onions, thinly sliced
- 2 tsp. coriander
- 1 tsp. candied ginger
- 1 tsp. salt
- black ground pepper to taste.
- 1 1/4 cup cooked rice
- 2/3 cup pistachio nuts, chopped
- 1/4 cup almonds, chopped
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
- 1/3 cup butter, melted
Instructions
Heat the oven to 375F
Wash and pat dry the leg of lamb. Mix 1/4 cup of onions with the coriander, the ginger and the salt and pepper. Rub it all over the leg of lamb.
Mix the rice, the nuts, the raisins and the remaining onions. Put the stuffing on half of the lamb and close it with the other half. Tie it closed with kitchen string.
Put it in a roasting pan. Pour the melted butter over it and place it in the oven. Cook it until done, about 20-25 minutes per pound.
Adapted from a recipe at Net Cooks
