~*~ Libyan Speciality Recipe ~ Osban & Musareen ~*~

~ Osban (Stuffed tripe - similar to Haggis) & Musareen (sausages / stuffed intestines) ~
Mahshi (stuffing) for the lamb's intestines and / or lamb's Tripe (stomach/ kersha)
Ingredients :

1 Onion - chopped
1 bunch of Green Onions - remove any yellow or wilted leaves first and chop
1 bunch of Parsley - chopped
1 Bunch Coriander leaves - chopped (Alternatively you can use 'Shibit' which is the herb Dill. Tripoli and other western parts of Libya tend to use Dill in their mahshi also 'Habuq' (Basil), while Coriander leaves are more popular in the eastern parts of Libya)
1 tomato - chopped
1 Hot chilli pepper (green) - chopped
1 lb Liver - cut into small pieces (not too small but remember that it has to fit in the 'Musareen')1 Lamb's Heart - cut into small pieces
1/4 lb - 1/2 lb good quality Lamb - cut into small pieces
1 cup of Egyptian Rice (Round-grained rice)
1/2 - 1 tablespoon red pepper - harr
1/2 - 1 tablespoon Baharaat 1/2 - 1 tablespoon Turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon of dried mint / 1 tablespoon of fresh mint (chopped)
Olive oil - a few tablespoons1 tablespoon tomato puree
Pre-cleaned Musareen or Kersha* (see below for method of cleaning the Musareen and Kersha)

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Method of preparation:

Mix all of the above ingredients except for the Musareen and /or Kersha after the necessary washing, chopping and cutting of the meats and vegetables (try to ensure that any water from the cleaning is strained off or the stuffing will be watery towards the end of the stuffing process . I usually wash the herbs when they are a loose bunch then shake them).








Stuff the musareen (an art in itself but easy once you've done it once inshaAllah) N.B. DO NOT STUFF TOO FULL - flatten them out a little along their whole length and cut into lengths of around 1 ft or so or they will split.






If using Tripe wrap the stuffing in cut pieces of Tripe to form balls (either sew them together or wrap cotton thread around several times to hold it while cooking, this can be cut off later).











After Stuffing , boil the musareen or Osban for approximately 1 hour in plenty of water to cover, to which has been added salt and turmeric.







Then remove from the liquid to finish off in the oven or grill to brown slightly.The liquid may be used to boil rice according to how many cups you require add water or reduce the amount of liquid as necessary.



Enjoy!









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* How to Clean the Intestines for Mahshi :

Lamb's intestines will have some fat on the outside, most or all of which will need to be removed. It is healthier to remove all of the fat of course but a small amount of fat left will make a much tastier Musareen or Sausage.(If there is any 'solid matter' still inside the intestines these will need to be flushed out first - squeeze along the length of the intestine into a double layer of plastic bags then rinse through with water.

1. The easiest and quickest way to remove the fat is to lay the intestine on a cutting-board and scrape it off with a knife. Hold the knife at an angle as you scrape so that you don't cut into the intestine.

2. Find the wide end of the intestine and start to turn it inside out - hold it under the steady flow of water from your kitchen tap / faucet and you will find that the weight of the water will start to carry the rest of the intestine through as you continue to hold the wide-end in your left hand (these are the instructions for right-handed people) while lifting the remaining intestine with your right hand straight above the open wide end. After a little while, as the remaining intestine gets shorter it will simply and quite suddenly slip through from the weight of the water. You should then have an inside-out intestine.

3. If it has not been scraped (which it probably hasn't) then it will still be slightly yellow and slimey. Lay the intestine on the cutting-board and scrape with a knife to remove the slime. You will see that the intestine becomes white inshaAllah.( Some use flour to remove the slime but I have never tried this method - it sounds like more mess to me).

4. The easiest way (for me anyway) to stuff the intestines is to turn them back so that any fat is back on the outside ( using the method in step 2 ).Then, with your stuffing or 'mahshi' at the ready starting with the narrow end of the intestine, start to turn the intestine in on itself using a small amount of the stuffing. The fat ends up back on the inside.
Tip: Holding the intestine horizontally will give you more control over the amount of mahshi that goes in as when held vertically the intestine can turn inwards under the force of gravity ending up with only a small amount of mahshi inside. A wide shallow dish will make it easier. Flatten out the intestine a little as too much stuffing will cause it to split during cooking.

Please let me know if you try this recipe and please don't hesitate to ask me if you have any queries.