Makluba Recipes

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.

UPSIDE DOWN (MAQLUBA)

Steps:

• Bring to a boil the water, onion, garlic, cinnamon, turmeric, garam masala, salt, and pepper in a large pot. Add the lamb; reduce the heat to low and simmer 15 to 20 minutes. Separate the lamb from the liquid and set aside. Transfer the liquid to a bowl.
• While the lamb mixture simmers, heat the oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Fry the eggplant slices in the hot oil, assuring the pieces do not touch, until brown on both sides; remove to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Use the same procedure to fry the zucchini and the cauliflower. Cook the broccoli in the oil until hot and remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
• Layer the lamb into the bottom of the large pot. Arrange the eggplant, zucchini, broccoli, and cauliflower on top of the lamb in layers. Pour the rice over the meat and vegetables, shaking the pot gently to allow the rice to settle into the dish. Pour the reserved cooking liquid from the lamb over the mixture until it is completely covered. Add water if needed.
• Cover the pot and simmer over low heat until the rice is soft and the liquid is absorbed, 30 to 45 minutes. Remove the lid from the pot. Place a large platter over the pot and flip the pot so the dish is "upside down" on the platter. Serve with yogurt on the side.

MALOOBA

Steps:

• Place chicken in a large pot with 6 cups water, onion, 2 tablespoons allspice, ground cardamom, cardamom seeds, whole cloves and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, and cook until chicken is tender, about 40 minutes. Remove chicken, strain and reserve broth.
• Soak the rice in water while waiting for the chicken to cook. When the chicken is almost done, drain the water off, and stir in 1 1/2 tablespoons of allspice.
• Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the potatoes and cauliflower in the hot oil until browned. They do not need to fully cook.
• In a separate pot, layer fried potatoes on the bottom. This is done so that the rice will not stick to the bottom of the pan. Add the cauliflower and tomatoes, and sprinkle a handful of rice over the vegetables. Remove the bones from the chicken and place the chicken in the pot. Cover with the rest of the rice. Pour in the reserved broth until it reaches a level about 1/2 inch above the level of the rice. Cover the pot, and cook over medium-low heat for 1 hour, until rice is tender.
• When the liquid has absorbed, have a large round tray ready. Uncover the pot, and place the tray over the top. Invert so that the pan is upside down on top of the tray. Let stand for 5 minutes like this, then slowly remove the pot to let the food fall onto the tray.

SPICED MAQLUBA WITH TOMATOES AND TAHINI SAUCE

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, combine lentils with 1 quart/1 liter cold water and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Simmer for 20 minutes, adjusting heat as necessary to keep temperature low, then stir in rice. Simmer for another 6 to 8 minutes, or until the lentils are cooked through. (The rice won't be ready at this stage.)
• Drain very well. Stir in lemon zest, 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice, 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic, cardamom, allspice, turmeric, half of the parsley, plenty of pepper and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Mix to combine and set aside.
• Meanwhile, in a large nonstick frying pan, heat 3 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add onions, 3/4 teaspoon salt and plenty of pepper and cook, stirring, until soft and well browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.
• Using olive oil, grease a 10-inch-/25-centimeter-wide saucepan with straight sides and a lid. Line the bottom with a round piece of parchment paper.
• In a bowl, toss tomatoes with the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and plenty of pepper and then arrange them flat on the bottom of the pan. (If using cherry tomatoes, lay the cut sides down.) Layer the cooked onions on top and then spoon the rice mixture over the onions, smoothing it down so the surface is flat. Using a skewer, poke about 6 holes in the rice and then sprinkle the surface with 2 tablespoons water. Place the pan over high heat for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover the pan with a clean tea towel followed by the lid and then cook for 15 minutes, until rice is barely cooked. (Take care that the towel edges are held safely over the lid so they don't catch fire!) Check after 10 minutes to make sure the pan is not dry; add a little water if needed.
• Set pan aside for at least 20 minutes (with the lid and tea towel left on); residual heat will finish the cooking.
• While rice rests, make tahini sauce: In a bowl, combine tahini with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of garlic, remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of lemon juice, 1/8 teaspoon of salt and 1/3 cup/90 milliliters of water. Whisk until smooth and creamy and set aside.
• When ready to serve, remove the lid and tea towel and then cover the top of the pan with a large platter. With one hand on the pan and the other holding the platter, invert the dish so that the top of the rice is now the base of the maqluba on the platter (like unmolding an upside-down cake). Tap the bottom of the pan a few times to help the tomatoes ease off the bottom. Peel off and discard the paper.
• Serve hot, with shallots and remaining parsley sprinkled on top. Pass tahini sauce at the table.

MAQLUBA RECIPE

Steps:

• Bring to a boil the water, onion, garlic, cinnamon, turmeric, garam masala, salt, and pepper in a large pot.
• Add the lamb; reduce the heat to low and simmer 15 to 20 minutes.
• Separate the lamb from the liquid and set aside. Transfer the liquid to a bowl.
• While the lamb mixture simmers, heat the oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat.
• Fry the eggplant slices in the hot oil, assuring the pieces do not touch, until brown on both sides; remove to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Use the same procedure to fry the zucchini and the cauliflower.
• Cook the broccoli in the oil until hot and remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.Layer the lamb into the bottom of the large pot.
• Arrange the eggplants, zucchini, broccoli, and cauliflower on top of the beef in layers.
• Pour the rice over the beef and vegetables, shaking the pot gently to allow the rice to settle into the dish.
• Pour the reserved liquid from the beef over the mixture until it is completely covered. Add water if needed.
• Cover the pot and simmer over low heat until the rice is soft and the liquid is absorbed, 30 to 45 minutes. Remove the lid from the pot.
• Place a large platter over the pot and flip the pot so the dish is 'upside down' on the platter.
• Serve with yogurt on the side.

MAKLUBA

Steps:

• Cut the chicken into 2 legs, 2 thighs, 2 breasts, and two wings. After cleaning it, place it into a large pot, and add about 1/2 gallon of water, or until all the chicken is covered. Leave on high until it boils, then turn down half way.
• After the water boils, add the boiling cube, and 1 diced onion into the water.
• Peel the carrots, and cut each one into three pieces. Add these to the boiling water.
• Add 1 tablespoon of salt to the boiling water, and taste. Depending on which kind of boiling cube you use, you might need to add another tablespoon or so. The water should not be salty, but have some flavor to it. Be careful because the boiling cube is salty on its own.
• While the chicken is boiling. peel the potatoes, and cut into slices, medium in size. Also peel the eggplant, and cut it into decent sized pieces as well. These vegetables are going to be boiled later on, so we don't want the pieces to be too small.
• Heat up vegetable oil in a frying pan, and fry the potatoes, cauliflower, and eggplant. Keep the fire under them pretty high, because you don't want them to be cooked all the way through, you just want them to be browned. Turn and brown them on both sides, then place in a plate on the side.
• Rinse the rice off, and place in a separate bowl. Add a dash of cumin, and a dash of turmeric. The more rice you use, the more cumin and turmeric you should add. Add the drained can of corn to the rice, as well as the drained can of chick peas. Mix them together in the bowl.
• Once the chicken is cooked, take it out of the water, and brown it on both sides. You can either do this by frying it just for a couple minutes to give it a brown color, or you can place it in the oven on broil. Take the carrots out of the water and place in the plate with the potatoes and cauliflower. We are going to use this stock, so don't dump it! Place it in another bowl.
• In the bottom of the empty pot, cut up the tomato in thick slices and line the bottom of the pot with them. Then place the chicken on top of the tomatoes, with the top part of the chicken facing down.
• Then add the cauliflower on top of the chicken, then the carrots, then the eggplant, then the potatoes. It doesn't have to be perfect, just make sure the bottom of the pot is completely covered.
• Add the rice mixture on top of the potatoes.
• Take the stock that we placed on the side, and slowly pour it on top of the rice. Make it so the stock is about 1 inch above the rice.
• Turn on high, wait until it boils, then turn it halfway down and cover it. When all the water is gone, turn it off.
• Take a large pan, one that has at least a 1 inch edge to it, and put it on top of the pot. Carefully, put one hand on top and one hand on the bottom of the pot and flip it upside down.
• Before removing the pot, tap on the bottom of it so everything settles. Slowly remove the pot, and what you should have is the chicken and vegetables on top of the rice, sort of like an upside down cake. Enjoy!
• I normally just make this for my husband and I, but if you plan on making it for a larger family, just add more potatoes, cauliflower, eggplant, and carrots, as well as more chicken. Also use more rice, depending on how many people you want to serve.
• Some people also put green and red peppers sliced on the bottom of the pot with the tomatoes, before you put the chicken (I don't because my husband doesn't like peppers). Also, sweet potatoes can also be added, prepared just like the regular potatoes.
• This is normally served either with plain yogurt, salad, or Salad with tahina.