Bean-Stuffed Zucchini

Bean-stuffed zucchini, known in Turkish as Fasulyeli Kabak Dolması, is one of the one-pot dolmas of Gaziantep cuisine. Small sakız kabağı (summer squash), stuffed with rice, are braised in the very same pot as cubed lamb and fresh green beans; when cooked, the dolmas are plated together with the bean-and-meat braise they cooked in. The "bean" in the name does not point to a filling but to the fresh-green-bean meat dish the stuffed squash cook inside. Built this way, it is a filling summer main that comes to the table needing no separate pilaf.

The dish's identity comes from two elements meeting in a single pot: on one side, small rice-stuffed squash, and on the other, a juicy braise of fresh green beans and cubed lamb. Because the squash are stuffed with lamb mince and rice, the dish is a complete meal in itself; no pilaf is needed alongside. The pairing of fresh green beans with squash also fits Gaziantep's strong legume (bakliyat) and vegetable tradition. Registered as a geographical indication under the official name "Gaziantep Fasulyeli Kabak Dolması," it is a deep-rooted part of the city's summer table.

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What Is Fasulyeli Kabak Dolması (Bean-Stuffed Zucchini) and What Is in It?

Bean-stuffed zucchini is a meat dish of Gaziantep made by braising small squash — hollowed and filled with a rice stuffing — in one pot together with fresh green beans and cubed lamb. Two distinct elements meet in a single vessel: the dolmas are arranged on top, while underneath and around them a juicy braise of fresh green beans and meat simmers. As it cooks, the squash draw in the flavourful liquid the beans and meat release; both the dolmas and the beans are then plated together. In this respect the dish meets meat twice: once in the mince inside the dolma, and once in the cubed lamb at the base of the pot.

Core Components

• Sakız Kabağı (Summer Squash): The body of the dish is small, fresh sakız kabağı, hollowed out and prepared for stuffing. Thanks to their thin skin and tender flesh, they hold their shape while cooking yet draw in the flavour of the pot.
• Rice Stuffing: The squash are filled with a stuffing kneaded from fatty lamb mince, rice and onion; garlic, tomato, tomato paste, pepper paste, black pepper and salt give it depth. Rice-based rather than bulgur, this filling lends the dolma a full yet light texture.
• Fresh Green Beans and Cubed Lamb: The base of the pot is built from trimmed, cut fresh green beans and cubed lamb. Tomatoes, green peppers and onion join them; the two pastes, black pepper and a little sugar set up a balanced, faintly sweet meaty liquid. It is inside this braise that the dolmas cook.
• Clarified Butter / Butter: The fat of the dish is clarified butter or butter; no olive oil is used. The aroma of the butter enriches both the stuffing and the bean-and-meat braise, giving the dish the full flavour distinctive of Antep cuisine.

One Pot, Two Elements: Dolma and Fresh Green Beans

What sets bean-stuffed zucchini apart from familiar dolmas is that the fresh green beans sit not inside the dolma but in the pot the dolmas cook in. The beans, in other words, are a second dish alongside the dolma; the two cook together and are served together. This arrangement combines two plates in a single pot: the rice-stuffed squash carry the main, while the fresh-green-bean braise with cubed lamb serves as both sauce and side. The result is a single pot that arrives at the table complete in itself, needing no separate pilaf or side. A similar one-pot logic appears in Gaziantep's other dolmas; Haylan Squash Dolma and Damat Dolması, for example, are kindred dishes that bring squash together with a meaty rice stuffing.

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The History and Cultural Origins of Fasulyeli Kabak Dolması

Bean-stuffed zucchini has no single inventor or founding date; it is a long-established dish cooked for generations in Gaziantep home kitchens. Its origins lie where two strong culinary habits of the city intersect: on one side, the tradition of hollowing squash and filling them with a rice stuffing, and on the other, the habit of bringing fresh green beans and legumes together with meat. The meeting of these two customs in one pot produces a result that is both practical and filling: because the squash are stuffed with rice, no separate pilaf needs to be made; the single pot arrives as a complete meal.

A Dolma That Meets the Legume Tradition

Gaziantep cuisine is known for placing legumes and fresh vegetables at the heart of a dish. Bean-stuffed zucchini is an extension of that outlook: it brings a labour-intensive dish like dolma together with a seasonal product like fresh green beans in one pot. In this way both the refinement of the dolma and the abundance of the beans are gathered in a single vessel. That the dish is called "bean-stuffed" (fasulyeli) underlines this union; the bean is not a side element but a co-component that shares the dish's name. The same love of legumes can also be seen in the cold flavours of the Antep table; Mung Bean Salad is a much-loved example.

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The Fasulyeli Kabak Dolması Tradition and Ritual in Gaziantep

Bean-stuffed zucchini is a summer dish in Gaziantep. It is cooked in the warm months when both fresh sakız kabağı and fresh green beans are plentiful; when the season comes, it becomes one of the frequently repeated, everyday mains of the home table. It is not tied to any documented special day or ceremony; rather, it is a plain but filling one-pot dish that comes to the family table when its ingredients are at their freshest. Serving it warm is taken as a rule of the dish; the dolmas are plated together with their bean-and-meat braise while still steaming.

How It Is Served

The dish is plated warm, with the dolmas and the fresh-green-bean braise together. Its traditional and best-loved companion is garlic yogurt (sarımsaklı yoğurt); the coolness of the yogurt and the sharpness of the garlic balance the richness of the buttery, meaty sauce. Beans and some of the meaty liquid are always added beside the dolmas on the plate, so that every bite brings together the taste of both the rice-stuffed squash and the bean-and-meat braise. No separate pilaf is needed, because the rice is already inside the dolma.

Why You Should Try It

Bean-stuffed zucchini brings two faces of Gaziantep cuisine together on a single plate: the labour-intensive refinement of the dolma and the abundant simplicity of the fresh-green-bean braise. The softness of the rice-stuffed squash, the full taste of the cubed lamb, the freshness of the green beans and the aroma of the butter meet on one fork; the garlic yogurt spooned over the top completes the picture. Tasting it in summer, when the ingredients are at their freshest, warm and alongside garlic yogurt, is the truest way to get to know this registered Antep dish.

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Frequently Asked Questions