Palneni Chushki Recipe (Bulgarian Stuffed Peppers)
Palneni Chushki is a traditional Bulgarian dish consisting of bell peppers and rice, minced meat, and vegetable stuffing. The combination is so good that it quickly becomes a favorite dish for the whole family!
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Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 415kcal
Equipment
- Medium baking pan/tray
- Large pan
- Kitchen turner
- Small bowl (optional)
- Knife
- Cutting Board
- Teaspoon
Ingredients
- 15 bell peppers
- 1.3 pounds minced meat
- 1 cup white rice
- 1 finely chopped onion
- 1 finely chopped carrot
- 0.5 cup ground tomatoes or canned tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon dried savory
- 0.66 tablespoon salt or to taste
- 0.5 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 0.3 cups olive oil
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 3 cups of water to cook the rice
- 1 cup of water for the bottom of the baking tray
Instructions
- Heat up your stovetop pan with 2/3 of the oil on medium heat. Sauté the finely chopped onion and carrot in oil for about 3 to 4 minutes until fragrant.
- Add the minced meat to the pan, breaking it up with a kitchen turner as it cooks. Continue to cook for about 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it changes color.
- Add the salt, ground black pepper, and dried savory and stir. Then add the washed and drained rice and stir again. Continue to cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the tomatoes and stir. Then start adding the water, stirring regularly.
- First, add 1 ½ cups of water and stir. After the rice absorbs the water, add the next 1 ½ cups of water, stirring regularly. Once the rice has fully soaked up the water, it should be soft. Take the filling off the stove.
- Add the finely chopped parsley and stir. Leave the pepper filling aside to cool.
- Pour the rest of the oil and water into the baking tray so that they cover the bottom of the tray. If necessary, add more water.
- Cut off the top of the pepper with the stalk (pepper cap), as shown in the image. Remove the seeds from the pepper and cover it with the cap. Repeat this for the remaining peppers.
- After you have removed all seeds from the peppers, stuff the peppers with the filling using a teaspoon, then put the cap back.
- Sprinkle some oil and salt on the peppers and bake them in the oven at 356 degrees F for about 1 hour and 20 minutes.
- After removing them from the oven, let them cool for about 10 minutes. Serve the peppers with a few spoons of yogurt. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- The estimated cooking time is for making 8 servings.
- If you prepare the minced meat yourself, the pork shoulder is the most suitable cut. If you want the meat to be a little fattier, you can also add pork breast.
- Dried savory will result in the most authentic flavor, but you can replace it with dry oregano and a little dry thyme.
- Smoked paprika is also a great spice to add to the filling. Don't use sweet paprika, though.
- You can try making the filling with fish, poultry, or any kind of protein you want to switch up the flavor.
Nutrition
Calories: 415kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 52mg | Sodium: 667mg | Potassium: 793mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 8378IU | Vitamin C: 290mg | Calcium: 52mg | Iron: 3mg