Fawaregh, Sosage stuffed with rice

Cleaned intestines stuffed with rice, minced meat, and chickpeas (an Aleppine specialty). Slow-cooked until tender and served in a rich, spiced broth.

🥄 Ingredients

• 1 kg Egyptian rice or any short-grain rice other than basmati
• 10 meters of medium-sized sheep or calf intestines (not too thin and not too thick)
• 1 kg of very fatty minced meat (at least 20%)
• 3 large tomatoes, blended
• 1 bunch of parsley
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 0.5 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp seven-spice mix
• 1 tsp turmeric (optional, for its many benefits and to give the intestines a beautiful yellow color)
• 0.5 cup Mazola oil
• 1 cup chickpeas soaked in baking soda overnight (optional)
• 5 bay leaves
• 4 cinnamon sticks
• 10 cardamom pods
• 5 cloves
• 2 tbsp ghee for frying the intestines (optional)

👩‍🍳 Instructions

1. Wash the intestines thoroughly and turn them inside out by running tap water inside them while folding the end inwards. They will turn easily. The rough, dry end should be on the outside because the smooth end is what you stuff with rice; otherwise, you won't be able to stuff them easily.
2. Wash the rice and add the blended tomatoes. Mix well and let it sit for at least an 1 hour.
3. Wash the parsley by soaking it in water before chopping it, then chop it finely. Now mix everything in the ingredients to create a wonderful stuffing for the intestines.
4. Stuffing Method: There are dozens of ways to stuff intestines, but you will find my method in Umm Samer's Secrets in the section dedicated to that.
5. If you notice that one of the intestines is too long and difficult to stuff continuously, cut it in half and stuff each half separately. Don't push yourself. At the end, tie them to a reasonable size so that you can easily carry them to eat. The stuffing should be about half the capacity of the intestine. To ensure you're stuffing it correctly, smooth the intestine on a tray so it's level and no more than 1-2 cm high.
6. Tie a strong piece of string every 15 cm with two knots to divide the intestine into pieces.
7. Arrange the stuffed intestines in a suitable pot, stacking them evenly on top of each other.
8. Boiling the intestines: Now the intestines are arranged in the pot and ready to be boiled. You can stuff them a day in advance and refrigerate them if you don't have enough time.
9. Boil 5 liters of water in a kettle. Pour the boiling water over the intestines in the pot, along with the seven-spice mix (bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves), and 1 tablespoon of salt (or to taste). Cover the pot and cook over high heat until boiling. You'll notice that the intestines have swollen due to the heat inside. Take a large needle and pierce them in several places, turning them over from the bottom up to reveal any unpierced intestines. If they don't appear swollen, pierce them all to prevent them from bursting and spilling out the rice and water.
10. After piercing them, reduce the heat to a quarter and let them simmer for 3 1 hours. I'm sure they will be fully cooked by then.
11. In Aleppo, they like to fry the intestines after boiling. Once they are cooked, strain the broth into a separate bowl. Separate the pieces of intestine from each bundle you tied and place them on a tray. If you prefer to fry them, put 2 tablespoons of ghee in a wide frying pan, arrange the intestines in it, cover them for 3 minutes, then uncover them and fry them for another 3 minutes. Please be careful and attentive, as the stuffed intestines will pop while frying due to the rice, and sparks may hit you. Try to move away from the pan while stirring, or hold the lid in your left hand facing the pan to protect your face.
12. Please be careful and attentive.

🌹 Decoration

Arrange the stuffed intestines on a plate in any shape you find attractive and decorate the edges with green peppers and tomatoes.