Cucumbers Aren’t Just for Salads—Here’s Why You Should Cook Them

This dish takes its cue from khiar mahshi—stuffed cucumbers—a hyper-regional specialty known mostly in Nablus, and to a lesser extent in Jerusalem, Hebron, and Palestinian diaspora communities in Jordan connected to those cities. It’s a quietly remarkable preparation that never traveled far but leaves a deep impression where it’s made.

Traditionally, firm cucumbers are hollowed out and stuffed with a combination of spiced rice and lamb, often including pine nuts, then stacked in a pot and simmered until almost fully tender. The cooked cucumbers are then seared in plenty of ghee until their edges turn golden, then dusted generously with cardamom. They’re finished with a tangy yogurt sauce made with the scooped-out cucumber pulp, garlic, and salt. It’s a unique, special dish—rich and fragrant, and I guarantee it’s unlike anything else that hits the table.

But to make this dish in its traditional form, you need a very specific tool: the mana’ret koussa, which translates from Levantine Arabic as “zucchini corer.” Despite the name, it isn’t limited to zucchini—it’s used across the Levant to hollow out all sorts of vegetables, including small squashes and eggplants, as well as carrots and turnips. I often joke that in the Middle East, we have an innate urge to stuff any vegetable that can be stuffed—so much so that we even have a dedicated tool for it. In the Levant, this tool is a permanent fixture in almost every kitchen. But since this handy tool isn’t nearly as widespread in the US, I was inspired to deconstruct the dish. And yes, I know deconstruct sounds straight out of a mid-2000s restaurant menu, but here it’s less about gimmick and more about practicality. 

In this version, instead of hollowing and stuffing cucumbers, I prepare the components separately and then layer them together. The spiced rice and meat are cooked as a stand-alone pilaf, which forms the base of the dish. The cucumbers are salted, seared, and seasoned. Finally, everything comes together on the plate with toasted pine nuts, a drizzle of ghee, and a spoonful of yogurt-mint sauce. The flavors echo khiar mahshi, but the method is streamlined and requires no special tools.

Why You Should Cook Your Cucumbers

Cucumbers shouldn’t be relegated only to salads and sandwiches. Yes, they’re crisp and refreshing when cold, but cooking transforms them into something soft and succulent. Their mild, grassy flavor becomes concentrated and more savory, with a gentle sweetness that pairs beautifully with rich meat, warm spices, and bold sauces. It’s why they appear in Chinese dishes such as stir-fried cucumbers, in which they’re tossed into hot woks and quickly cooked with garlic, soy sauce, and chile flakes, becoming tender and deeply flavorful. They’re also cooked in Vietnam, Korea, Thailand, and parts of India, where they slip into stir-fries, soups, and curries.

In Jordan, the classic local cucumber variety is ideal for khiar mahshi when harvested at a mature stage, since its larger size and thicker skin make it easy to core and stuff, and sturdy enough to hold together during cooking and searing. These aren’t always easy to find in Jordan, since smaller, tender-skinned cucumbers are typically preferred and the dish isn’t common enough to create demand for sturdier ones. The best counterpart for it in the US is the American cucumber (also called a common cucumber or garden cucumber). These cucumbers are naturally firm-skinned with a texture similar to the mature cucumbers sometimes found in Jordan, so they make a good stand-in. Once the cucumbers are seared, you’ll use the same skillet to quickly toast a handful of pine nuts in the residual ghee. In just a minute or two, they turn fragrant and golden.

In this recipe, that transformation starts before the cucumbers ever hit the pan. They’re salted in a colander for about 20 minutes, a step that concentrates their flavor and draws out excess moisture so they’ll sear instead of steam. Once drained, they go into plenty of hot ghee, where they cook just long enough to stay tender and juicy without falling apart, their sides taking on a deep golden color that intensifies their flavor.

The cucumbers are then seasoned with a generous amount of cardamom. When I spoke to my uncle from Nablus, who’s one of the most skilled cooks and bakers in my family, he told me not to hold back with the spice. He’s made this dish for me several times, and I developed this recipe under his guidance. To quote him: “Cucumbers love cardamom.” He is right. While I was developing this recipe, I started with just a timid pinch when seasoning the cucumbers, only to find it disappeared into the background. I kept adding more until I landed at a full teaspoon to season two cucumbers. Cardamom’s almost menthol-like quality plays well with the cucumber’s naturally refreshing flavor, making it surprisingly well-suited to a generous hand. Ghee, which is what’s traditionally used to sear the stuffed version, adds a buttery, nutty richness that clings to the golden seared cucumbers. Olive oil can be used instead, but you’ll miss out on the toasty depth that ghee brings to the cucumbers.

The Hashweh

The cooked cucumbers sit on a base of hashweh—a warmly spiced rice-and-meat mixture whose name literally means “stuffing” in Arabic. It shows up in just about everything: stuffing zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, turnips, onions, chicken—even quail. It’s the Middle Eastern counterpart to stuffing or dressing, but unlike the version most Americans reserve for the Thanksgiving table, hashweh is an everyday staple. 

Hashweh is also often served on its own, pilaf-style, topped with shredded chicken and nuts, rather than used as a filling. Its signature flavor comes from a generous mixture of spices that define its character. Cinnamon adds warmth, while coriander contributes a citrus-like note. Allspice gives a piney lift, and cardamom balances with a floral, almost cooling edge. Black pepper adds just enough bite to sharpen it all, creating a filling that’s bold, fragrant, and deeply comforting. 

The process of making hashweh begins with onions gently cooked in fat until golden, before spices are briefly bloomed. Ground lamb or beef is then browned until no pink streaks remain, and rice is added to toast lightly with the aromatics. Stock is poured in and stirred, loosening the flavorful browned bits from the bottom of the pan, and the mixture gently simmers, covered, until the rice is tender and the flavors are fully absorbed into each grain. What you end up with is a deeply seasoned rice-and-meat base that can stand on its own. Lamb brings deeper flavor and is the more traditional option, but beef makes a good substitute.

The Cooling Sauce

To balance all that richness, the dish is finished with a garlicky, minty yogurt sauce. It adds a cooling quality that plays against the spiced hashweh, while also nodding to the cucumber-yogurt sauce traditionally served with stuffed cucumbers.

How to Serve Hashweh and Khiar

Traditionally, khiar mahshi is served simply, topped with the cucumber-yogurt sauce. Here, the hashweh is plated first, then topped with the seared cucumbers, a scattering of toasted pine nuts, and a drizzle of the ghee they were cooked in for extra crunch and richness. A spoonful of the yogurt sauce goes over the top, tying everything together. It’s a dish that proves, without a doubt, that yes, you absolutely should cook your cucumbers.

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For the Cucumbers:

• 2 medium American cucumbers (about 8 ounces; 225 g each), halved lengthwise and cut into approximately 1/2-inch diagonal pieces (see notes)

• 4 tablespoons ghee, divided (see notes)

• 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt, plus more to taste; for table salt, use half as much by volume or the same weight

• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom

• 3 tablespoons pine nuts

For the Hashweh:

• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra-virgin olive oil and/or ghee

• 2 cups medium grain rice (about 14 ounces; 400 g), rinsed until water runs clear

• 1 large yellow onion (10 ounces; 283 g), finely chopped

• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

• 2 1/4 teaspoons ground coriander

• 2 1/4 teaspoons ground allspice

• 2 teaspoons cardamom

• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 1 pound ground lamb or 85% lean ground beef

• 3 cups homemade chicken stock or store-bought unsalted chicken stock

• 4 1/4 teaspoons (about 13 g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume or the same weight

For the Yogurt-Mint Sauce:

• 1 1/2 cups (350 ml) plain whole-milk yogurt

• 3 tablespoons (10 g) finely chopped mint

• 1 medium clove garlic, finely grated or minced

• 1 teaspoon lemon zest, plus 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

• 3/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume

1. For the Cucumbers: Place cucumbers in a colander set inside a large bowl. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and toss to coat. Let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes to drain, tossing once halfway through.

2. For the Hashweh: In a large saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons oil and/or ghee over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and just beginning to turn golden, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in cinnamon, coriander, allspice, cardamom, and pepper and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in lamb or beef and cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until meat is evenly browned and no pink streaks remain, about 7 minutes.

3. Add rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until edges of rice begin to turn translucent, about 3 minutes. Add stock and salt, stirring and scraping bottom of pan to loosen browned bits. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, covered, over medium-low heat, until rice is tender, about 15 minutes. Let rice rest off-heat for about 10 minutes. Gently fluff with two forks or wooden spoons. Keep covered until ready to serve.

4. To Cook Cucumbers: While rice cooks, pat drained cucumbers dry with paper towels. In a large stainless steel skillet, heat 2 tablespoons ghee over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add half of the cucumbers and cook until first side is golden brown, about 4 minutes, lowering heat as needed to prevent smoking. Flip cucumbers and cook until second side is golden brown, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl. Repeat with remaining 2 tablespoons ghee and cucumbers. Gently stir in salt and cardamom to cucumbers in bowl. Loosely cover cucumbers with foil and set aside. 

5. Add pine nuts to now-empty skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until golden, 1 to 2 minutes; immediately transfer pine nuts and ghee to a small plate to prevent further darkening. Season with a pinch of salt; set aside.

6. For the Yogurt: While rice cooks, in a large bowl, whisk together yogurt, mint, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt to combine. Refrigerate until ready to use.

7. To Serve: Divide hashweh among individual plates, top with cucumbers, pine nuts, along with some of the ghee, and yogurt sauce. Serve.

Special Equipment

Colander, large saucepan, large stainless steel skillet

Notes

Do not substitute American cucumbers (also labeled common cucumbers and garden cucumbers) with tender-skinned varieties, such as English cucumbers, as their skin is too fragile to withstand searing and will fall apart.

I prefer searing the cucumbers in ghee because it adds a nutty, toasty richness, but olive oil works too if you don’t have ghee on hand.

Make-Ahead and Storage

Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days.