Koosa from Lebanon

An old school friend of mine, Jeannette Ferriera Mostert, shared her favourite recipe with me and I decided to do a little research and then do my own take on it.  The traditional koosa dish consists of a large marrow stuffed with a mince and rice mixture and boiled in a tomato based sauce.  Where I live I can't find those large marrows so this take on the traditional recipe is a little different.  Just think of it as a deconstructed koosa.

2 large courgettes (baby marrows) or a punnet of small ones
400g mince
1/2 cup long-grained rice
salt and pepper to taste
3 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 onion finely chopped
1 green chili finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 can whole peeled tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
1 cup water or chicken stock
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Bulgarian yoghurt
Mix the mince, seasonings, rice, garlic, chili and onion together in a bowl.  Form into meatballs and place on the bottom of a large pot.  Slice the courgettes into rings and some of it into about 3cm long thin slices.  Lay the sliced courgettes on top of the meatballs.  Pour over the can of whole peeled tomatoes and the small can of tomato paste.  Add the water and lemon juice so that the food is covered.  Cook on medium heat for about 45 minutes until the rice inside the meatballs is cooked.  Add extra water if need be to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pot.  When serving you can pour Bulgarian yoghurt over the meatballs.
Cindy Vine is a South Africa currently living and working in Kyiv Ukraine.  She is the author of Not Telling, Defective, Hush Baby and C U @ 8.  All her novels are available on Amazon in both print and Kindle format.