Maqluba

Ingredients

Meat and stock

• 1 kgbone-in lamb shoulder or 1 whole chicken, jointed
• 1onion, halved
• 2bay leaves
• 4cardamom pods
• 1cinnamon stick
• 1 tspallspice berries
• 6black peppercorns
• 1.5 litreswater
• 2 tspsalt

Vegetables

• 2large aubergines, sliced 1 cm thick, salted 30 min and patted dry
• 1small cauliflower, broken into florets
• 2potatoes, sliced 1 cm thick
• oil for deep frying

Rice and spice

• 600 gshort or medium-grain rice, rinsed and soaked 30 min
• 2 tbspPalestinian seven-spice (bahārāt): allspice, black pepper, cinnamon, coriander, cloves, cumin, nutmeg
• ½ tspturmeric, for colour
• 1 tspsalt
• 3 tbspolive oil or ghee

To serve

• 400 gyoghurt, or a cucumber and mint laban
• 1small bunch parsley, chopped
• 60 gpine nuts and 40 g flaked almonds, fried golden in ghee

Directions

1. Simmer the meat with the onion and whole spices in the water for 60 minutes for lamb or 35 for chicken, skimming, until tender. Strain and keep 1.2 litres of the stock; season it well – it is the only liquid the rice will get.
2. Fry the aubergine slices in hot oil until deep golden on both sides, then the cauliflower until browned at the edges, then the potato. Drain everything on a rack. Frying, not roasting, is what gives maqluba its flavour, though many Palestinian home cooks now roast at 220°C (425°F) to cut the oil.
3. Toss the drained rice with the seven-spice, turmeric, salt and olive oil so every grain is coated.
4. Oil a deep, straight-sided pot. Line the base with a neat overlapping layer of the best aubergine slices – this becomes the top of the finished dish, so arrange it like a mosaic.
5. Lay the meat over the aubergine, then the cauliflower and potato, packing them snugly.
6. Spread the spiced rice on top in an even layer and press it down firmly with the flat of your hand. Do not stir the layers together.
7. Pour the hot stock gently over the back of a spoon so you do not disturb the rice; it should sit about 1.5 cm above the rice surface.
8. Bring to a boil, then cover and cook on the lowest heat for 35–40 minutes, until the rice has drunk all the liquid and a grain from the top is tender. Add a heat diffuser if your pot is thin.
9. Rest the covered pot off the heat for 15 minutes – this is essential, as it lets everything settle and firm enough to hold.
10. Set a large flat platter over the pot, hold both firmly with cloths and invert in one decisive movement. Leave the pot in place for a minute, then lift it slowly. Scatter with fried nuts and parsley and serve with yoghurt.

Technique

• The name means upside-down, and the flip is the drama of the dish. Rest it properly, use a pot with straight sides, and turn it in one committed movement – hesitating is what makes it collapse.
• Salting and draining the aubergine before frying stops it soaking up oil like a sponge and keeps the slices intact under the weight of the rice.
• Short or medium-grain rice is traditional in Palestine and holds the tower together; long-grain basmati gives a looser maqluba that slumps when turned out.

Substitutions

• For a lighter version, roast the aubergine, cauliflower and potato at 220°C (425°F) with olive oil for 25 minutes instead of deep frying.
• Seven-spice can be approximated with 1 tbsp allspice, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp black pepper and ½ tsp each nutmeg and coriander.

Variations

• Maqluba bitinjan, made with aubergine alone, the oldest and most common form.
• Maqluba zahra, made with cauliflower only, favoured in Gaza.
• A vegetarian maqluba layered with fried vegetables and chickpeas, cooked in vegetable stock, eaten during fasts.

History

Layered rice, aubergine and meat flipped onto a tray; shared across the Levant and recorded in medieval Arabic cookbooks.

Frequently asked questions

What is Maqluba?

Maqluba is a main from Jordan: flipped rice-vegetable-chicken pot, Friday family centerpiece. Layered rice, aubergine and meat flipped onto a tray; shared across the Levant and recorded in medieval Arabic cookbooks.

How long does Maqluba take to make?

Maqluba takes 45 min of preparation and 1 hr 15 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Maqluba?

Yes, within limits. For a lighter version, roast the aubergine, cauliflower and potato at 220°C (425°F) with olive oil for 25 minutes instead of deep frying. Seven-spice can be approximated with 1 tbsp allspice, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp black pepper and ½ tsp each nutmeg and coriander.

What is the most important thing to get right in Maqluba?

Simmer the meat with the onion and whole spices in the water for 60 minutes for lamb or 35 for chicken, skimming, until tender. Strain and keep 1.2 litres of the stock; season it well – it is the only liquid the rice will get.