Kousa bil laban (courgettes stuffed with spiced lamb, cooked in yogurt sauce)

Melt butter in a medium pan over medium-high heat. Add the pine nuts and stir constantly until golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes; drain on a paper-towel-lined plate.

Add the minced lamb to the same pan and press it flat; cook about 2 minutes until browned on the first side, then break into medium chunks and flip to cook the other side.

Season with salt, black pepper, seven spice or baharat, allspice, ground cardamom and a good amount of freshly ground nutmeg; mix in.

Add the medium-diced onions and mix. Turn the heat to medium, add a few spoonfuls of water, cover and let the onions steam until soft and wilted, about 5 minutes.

Cool about 15 minutes, then mix in the fried pine nuts (saving some for garnish) and finely chopped parsley.

Cut off the small brown stem of each courgette without removing the surrounding green, then cut off the flower tip just below where it starts.

Hollow out each courgette with a vegetable corer: poke out a shallow cone from a few angles until a plug comes out, then rotate the courgette on the corer, using a thumb on the corer as a depth guide so it does not puncture the other end. Keep the removed flesh for soup or pasta sauce.

Wash the hollowed courgettes under the tap and let them drain.

Push the filling in by hand or with the back of a wooden spoon, packed but not compressed, stopping just before the rim. Wipe the outsides clean with a paper towel.

Heat about 1cm of vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Fry the courgettes in batches 2 to 3 minutes per side, turning 3 to 4 times, to a light-to-medium golden brown all over; drain.

For the sauce, combine a large amount of yogurt with a good amount of ayran (or kefir thinned with water), a bit of salt and a small amount of cornstarch; blend with a stick blender until no lumps remain.

Pour the sauce through a strainer into a large pot. Over medium-high heat, whisk non-stop for about 15 minutes so it does not split or burn, until at a light boil.

Turn the heat to medium, add minced garlic and dried mint and mix in. Thin with a little water if needed, to the consistency of ayran.

Place the courgettes in the sauce and simmer about 15 minutes, until soft and cooked through when poked with a fork.

Serve the courgettes on rice with plenty of the yogurt sauce spooned over; garnish with dried mint and pine nuts.