Kousa bi Laban-Stuffed Zucchini in Yogurt

A delicious dish of meat stuffed Lebanese zucchini in a cooked yogurt garlic sauce, served with vermicelli rice. Kousa bi laban is an absolutely showstopper for when you really want to impress!

Jump to:

• What is kousa bi laban?
• Ingredients you need to make kousa billaban:
• How to prepare the Lebanese zucchini for stuffing:
• Make the stuffing mixture:
• Make the yogurt sauce and finish off the cooking:
• What to serve kousa billaban with:
• Storing leftover zucchini in yogurt sauce:
• What to do with the zucchini cores:
• Recipe tips and tricks:
• Recipe FAQs:
• For more Middle Eastern recipes:
• Kousa bi laban

What is kousa bi laban?

Kousa is what we refer to as zucchini in the Middle East. It’s actually Lebanese zucchini, which is shorter and paler than the one you might be used to. It’s also known as gray squash or baby marrow.

Laban is what we call yogurt, so kousa bi laban literally translates to zucchini in yogurt sauce. Kousa billaban specifically is a really delicious iteration of a Lebanese stuffed zucchini dish, with the stuffing being made totally of spiced beef instead of a mixture of meat and rice.

The laban sauce is a thickened yogurt with sauteed garlic and cilantro. It’s SO packed with flavor, and finishing the zucchini off in the sauce gives such a beautiful flavor.

Ingredients you need to make kousa billaban:

You need the Lebanese zucchini, or grey squash, or baby marrow. It’s the short, bright light green zucchini you see pictured!

For the yogurt sauce:

Yogurt: regular plain yogurt, full fat. If you’re in the Middle East and have access to it, go for sour yogurt. It’ll give an even tangier flavor

Egg+Cornstarch: usually people use one or the other to thicken the yogurt sauce. I really recommend using a combination of both! It gives the perfect texture.

Water to dissolve the cornstarch in, and extra if you feel the sauce is too thick.

Salt

Dried Mint: adds a beautiful fresh flavor to the yogurt sauce. You can omit this if you prefer!

Garlic and cilantro (coriander): Crushed garlic and chopped cilantro are sauteed in olive oil to make this flavor adding step. You’ll then add the cooked garlic mixture to the cooked yogurt sauce. It’ll immediately infuse it with so much flavor.

For the meat:

Ground beef: I usually get lean meat, but you can get whatever you prefer

Onions: Red, white, yellow, all work!

Garlic: Minced garlic gives great flavor to the cooked meat.

Olive Oil: to saute the onion and garlic in

Spices: seven spices or allspice plus ground cinnamon, salt and pepper. As always, once the meat is finished cooking taste and adjust seasonings.

Toasted almond slivers or pine nuts: Toast the pine nuts or almond slivers by heating a drizzle of olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat, then adding the nuts. Stir frequently until golden brown (a few minutes) then immediately remove from the skillet into a small bowl so they don’t burn.

How to prepare the Lebanese zucchini for stuffing:

1. Wash the zucchini and cut off the tip. Core the zucchini, you’ll need an apple or vegetable corer, and you’ll want to core these about 3/4 of the way down- leave a little cushion at the bottom so you don’t split the zucchini open.
2. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the cored zucchini in batches, frying about 5 minutes a side until golden brown and starting to soften. Remove from the heat to a paper towel lined plate. The goal is to have them nearly all the way cooked through, because they won’t really cook once in the yogurt sauce.

Make the stuffing mixture:

1. In a large skillet over medium high heat, add the olive oil. Once hot, add the diced onions and cook for 3-4 minutes until softened, stirring continuously.
2. Add the crushed garlic, and cook for a further minute or so, then add the minced beef.
3. Cook for a minute, breaking apart any clumps of meat with a wooden spoon, cooking, a good 6-8 minutes until meat is all cooked through and browned. Keep stirring and breaking apart clumps of meat.
4. If desired, drain any extra fat. Add all the spices (seven spice or all spice, cinnamon, salt and black pepper) and stir to combine. Taste the mince and adjust for seasoning. Mix in the toasted nuts.

Make the yogurt sauce and finish off the cooking:

• Heat a small skillet over medium high heat, and saute the chopped cilantro and crushed garlic with a pinch of salt until the garlic has just turned golden. Set aside.
• Mix the cornstarch with the water to form a paste.
• Using a blender or immersion blender, blend together the yogurt, the egg, the cornstarch paste,and the salt until well combined.
• Pour yogurt mixture into a heavy saucepan over medium heat and immediately start whisking. Keep whisking and don’t stop or the sauce will separate. After around 10 minutes or so, the sauce will begin to boil and as soon as that happens take it off the stove.
• Add the fried garlic and coriander mix, stir and taste for seasoning. Add any salt you feel it needs, and a splash of water if you think sauce is too thick.
• Add the stuffed zucchini to this pot of yogurt. Simmer for about 20-30 minutes or until zucchini is completely tender and cooked through, don’t let the yogurt sauce come to a boil.

What to serve kousa billaban with:

This is best served with vermicelli rice. You can also serve this with Egyptian rice if you prefer. I like to have this with plenty of extra toasted almond slivers or pine nuts on top.

Storing leftover zucchini in yogurt sauce:

Leftovers will keep well 3-4 days in the fridge tightly covered. To reheat, add a splash of water if the yogurt sauce has thickened too much.

What to do with the zucchini cores:

You can use them in a lot of great recipes, and even freeze for up to 2 months to use later. Try this old fashioned zucchini casserole, these zucchini fritters, the apple zucchini bread, death by chocolate zucchini cake, or zucchini brownies.

Recipe tips and tricks:

• Try to get as much of the zucchini hollowed out as you can, leaving a thin border around the center so that it doesn’t split. Also be careful how far down you go with the corer. You’ll get used to it after a couple, and watch the video for a visual how to!
• Make sure you cook the zucchini well when sauteeing them in the hot oil. They will soften a little further in the yogurt sauce, but won’t cook through.
• Make sure to keep whisking the yogurt sauce when it’s on the stove. If you stop, you risk the sauce splitting and curdling- this can happen easily! Just whisk away until it first comes to a boil, then immediately remove it from the heat.

Recipe FAQs:

For more Middle Eastern recipes:

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