Maalouba Upside Down Rice Food

MAQLUBA RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
• Slice the eggplant into 2cm thick pieces.
• On a baking tray, put a generous glug of olive oil. Take a slice of eggplant and dip it in the oil, then turning over and dipping again until well covered. Place on the baking tray and repeat for all eggplant slices. Use more olive oil if needed. Bake in the oven until brown.
• On another baking tray, place the lamb chops. Season with salt and pepper. Bake in the oven until brown.
• In a bowl, add the rice, seven spices, salt and pepper. Mix together.
• Grab a deep pot and cut out a circular piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom. Spray the bottom of the bottom with oil and place in your parchment paper.
• Add in your cooked lamb chops, followed by your cooked eggplant slices and then pour over your uncooked rice mixture.
• Add 5 cups of hot water.
• Bring to a boil, half cover with the lid and reduce to a simmer. Let cook for 20 minutes or until all the water has evaporated. Remove the lid.
• Find a large flat plate and place it on top of the pot. Holding onto the plate and pot handles, quickly lift and flip upside down.
• Lift the pot up to reveal your Maklouba and remove the parchment paper.
• Sprinkle pine nuts over and enjoy!

MAQLUBA (UPSIDE-DOWN CHICKEN AND RICE)

Steps:

• Bring chicken, water, onion, garlic, cinnamon, turmeric, allspice, salt and pepper to a boil in a large pot. Skim off scum from chicken broth. Reduce heat to low and simmer 15 to 20 minutes. Remove chicken from broth and set chicken aside.
• While broth continues to simmer, heat oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Fry eggplant slices in hot oil until brown on both sides; remove to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. (When cool, cut into quarters if pieces are large.) Use the same process to separately fry the carrots, potatoes and cauliflower.
• Layer potatoes on bottom of a large pot. Arrange chicken over potatoes, then eggplant, carrots and cauliflower on top of the chicken in layers. Pour uncooked rice over chicken and vegetables, shaking pot gently to allow rice to settle. Strain chicken broth and Pour over mixture until mixture is completely submerged in liquid. Add water if needed.
• Cover pot and simmer over low heat until rice is soft and all liquid is absorbed, about 20 to 30 minutes.
• Remove lid. Place a very large platter over pot and flip pot so dish is upside down on the platter. Serve with yogurt.

MAQLUBA (OR MAKLOUBEH, PALESTINIAN UPSIDE DOWN RICE)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F, for the cauliflower.
• Rinse and drain the rice and set aside.
• Dice the onion (chop up fairly finely).
• Chop up the eggplant, courgette and capsicum into rough cube shapes. Basically, quarter the eggplant and courgette lengthwise, then slice.
• Slice the tomatoes into rounds and set aside.
• Cut the cauliflower into bite-sized pieces.
• Arrange the cauliflower pieces on a baking sheet and drizzle 1 Tbsp of EV olive oil all over. Sprinkle a ¼ tsp of salt and some freshly ground black pepper and roast for about 20 at 180˚C/350˚F. Flip halfway through the cooking time.
• Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.
• Sauté the onions for about 3-4 minutes.
• Add meat, allspice, salt and some pepper, stir and brown the meat all over and cook for 10 minutes on medium heat. You want the final result to be a little on the dry side, but not too dry. A little moisture is good.
• Grease your saucepan all over. Then start with layering the bottom with the sliced tomatoes. You'll get 2 layers. Season with salt and pepper, a small sprinkle will do.
• Add half the meat, season with a pinch of salt and some freshly ground black pepper. Then pack down with a potato masher.In my original recipe and video, I place all the meat first. But in these new pictures, you can see that I'm layering the meat along with the rice.So half the meat now, and half later.
• Add all the vegetables, season with salt and pepper and pack down.
• Then top with half the rice, season with salt and pepper and flatten.
• Now we add the second half of the meat, season, and pack down.
• And finally, the second half of the rice. Season with salt and pepper, and pack down.
• Take a small saucer, place it face down on the rice (or use the back of a large spoon), and slowly pour all the stock in. This stops a gap/hole appearing in the rice as you're pouring the stock in. You also don't want to mess with the packed rice and stuff.
• Place the pot on the stovetop, turn the heat on high for 3 minutes to bring everything up to simmering point although you'll probably only see the edges bubbling. When you see the bubbles at the edges, move on to the next step.
• Put the lid on, turn the heat right down and cook for 45 minutes. After that time, if you think the rice isn't done, another 5-10 minutes should suffice.Take the saucepan off the hot hob and leave the rice to rest for 10 minutes before unveiling.
• Take a large plate or serving platter, place it over the pot. Holding the plate tightly against the saucepan, give it a gentle shake. Then slowly, ease the saucepan off the plate. In the video, this happens at around 12:15 minutes.Top with the nuts and parsley.
• If you packed the saucepan as mentioned, it shouldn't collapse. But if it does, no big deal, scatter with pine nuts and parsley and serve.
• Click here for my new recipe - Vegetable Maqluba.

MAHA SARSOUR'S MAQLUBA (UPSIDE-DOWN CHICKEN AND RICE)

Steps:

• Cut the eggplant into 1/2-inch-thick half-moons. Season well with salt, and let sit 30 minutes. Place the chicken in a large pot (a 10-inch, 5-quart size is ideal), and season well with salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper, ground cumin, cloves, cardamom pods and bay leaves (ideally, do this the day before). Pour 3 cups of boiling water over the rice. Soak for 10 minutes, then drain well.
• To the chicken, add the onion wedges, 1 tablespoon salt and 4 1/2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, covered, over high heat, then turn down to a simmer, and cook for 20 minutes. Drain the chicken, keeping the broth and discarding the onion and spices.
• Heat 1/2 inch of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering hot, then fry the carrots, in batches if necessary, turning occasionally until browned, about 4 minutes. Drain on paper towels, then season lightly with salt. Repeat with the potato, about 3 minutes per side. Repeat with the cauliflower, about 7 minutes per batch. Finally, press the eggplant with paper towel until dry, then fry the eggplant in one layer until browned, about 4 minutes per batch. Drain on paper towels, but don't season. (If the eggplant is too oily, press on it with paper towels.)
• Pour out the oil, keeping 2 1/2 tablespoons in the pan. Heat it over medium-high heat and add the vermicelli, stirring until browned, about 2 minutes. Add the drained rice and cook, stirring, to dry it out, about 4 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, the turmeric, cinnamon, allspice, ground cloves, Sazón and garlic, and cook, stirring, until very fragrant.
• Place the chicken back in the pot, skin side down. Place the vegetables on top, then rice. Pour in 4 cups of the chicken broth. Press down on the rice; add more broth or water if needed to bring the liquid barely to the level of the rice. Cover the pot and bring to a boil over high heat, then turn it down to medium low. After 10 minutes, carefully stir just the rice to evenly combine the harder rice on top. Repeat after another 10 minutes. After a total of 30 minutes, the rice should be cooked, but not soft, and the liquid should be absorbed.
• Place a very large serving dish on top of the pot, then, protecting your hands (and maybe with a partner), invert the pot onto the dish in one smooth motion. If there is liquid seeping out, spoon it out or soak it up with paper towels. Let the pot rest at least 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a small pan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Fry the pine nuts, stirring constantly, until browned, about 1 minute. Drain on paper towels.
• Lift off the pot to reveal the maqluba, and scatter the pine nuts all over. Serve with yogurt and chopped tomatoes, cucumbers and parsley on the side, seasoned with lemon, salt and olive oil.

MAALOUBA (UPSIDE-DOWN RICE)

Steps:

• For the chicken: Heat the oil with the cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, cardamom and 1 teaspoon pepper over medium heat until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the onion, carrot and celery; stir to combine. Add the chicken pieces, including the backbone, skin-side down and sear until the skin is golden brown. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon salt and add 7 cups water to just cover the chicken. Stir in the turmeric and allspice. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to simmer and cook until the chicken is tender and cooked through, about 40 minutes.
• Remove the chicken to a platter and strain the stock through a fine-mesh sieve. Discard the vegetables, spices and backbone and set the stock aside.
• For the rice: Meanwhile, add the basmati and short-grain rice to a large bowl and cover with water. Stir in the turmeric and soak for 30 minutes. Strain the rice and discard the water.
• In a Dutch oven or large, heavy pot with a lid, layer the chicken pieces skin-side down, followed by a layer of fried potato slices, a layer of fried eggplant slices and a layer of cauliflower. Add the rice, letting it fall in between the vegetables and chicken. Add the 7 cups of stock until the rice is just covered.
• Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and cover. Continue to cook until the rice is tender and the liquid has been completely absorbed, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and let rest with the lid on for 30 minutes.
• For the salad: Toss the cucumbers, tomatoes, lemon juice, olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl.
• Place a large serving platter or plate over the pot and carefully flip to unmold. Garnish the maalouba with toasted pine nuts, parsley leaves and the red chile . Serve the maalouba with the side salad.