This is a traditional Middle Eastern dish that I read about and had to try. It works great for Friday night and even for leftovers. It does take a bit of work, but is easier than it sounds. I made it with chicken, but it can be made with meat or lamb and would be amazing.
Related: 40 Ways to Cook Chicken
Maqluba – Up Side Down (Chicken & Rice)
Servings
6 Servings
Ingredients
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1 whole chicken cut in ⅛ths
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon Jamie Geller Baharat
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 small eggplant sliced (salted and rinsed)
- 1 small head cauliflower cut into florets
- 1½ cups raw rice
- 3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts toasted
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- Lemon wedges
Instructions
- Season chicken with salt and pepper. In a large Dutch oven lightly coated with evoo and over medium-high heat, brown chicken, skin side down until caramelized and crispy. Transfer chicken to a platter.
- Add onion, spices, eggplant and cauliflower to the pan. Be sure to season vegetables with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until vegetables are lightly browned and caramelized.
- Add chicken back to the pan, trying to push chicken down to the bottom of the pan with vegetables on top.
- Place rice over the vegetables, then cover with broth. Cover the pot and cook on low for about 40 minutes.
- Allow to cool for about 10 minutes.
- Place a large plate on top of the pot and turn it upside down. Remove pot and sprinkle with toasted pine nuts and cilantro. Serve with lemon wedges.
Israelis say that falafel is theirs, even though it’s renowned as middle eastern. What are Israelis anyway?
Israelis are a Middle Eastern people with ancient roots in the Middle East, half of Israel’s Jewish population comes from families that always lived in the region (Mizrahi Jews), Isreaelis eat it all the time, and Israelis have a right to claim falafel as theirs–it doesn’t take away any other groups’s right to also claim it as theirs.
It is common knowledge that maqluba heralds from Palestine, even though it’s now eaten in many countries
And also Syria and Lebanon and parts of Jordan. It was never commonly eaten in the south, near Gaza, though.
Most of the foods that Arabic-speaking non-Jews who call themselves “Palestinians” were eaten by various other peoples in the Levant (Shams) region, Falafel/hummus/ etc wasn’t exclusive to Arabic-speaking non-Jews who call themselves Palestinians but was eaten by Syrians, Lebanese, Egyptians, etc. and that never bothered Arabic-speaking non-Jews who call themselves Palestinians when Syrians, Lebanese, Egyptians, etc. called falafel, hummus, kubbeh, tabouhleh, kanafe, etc. “Syrian food” etc.Only when Israelis call it Israeli food, which it also is.
Maqlubeh, however, was never commonly eaten by Jews from the region (even Shami Jews) probably because the traditional way of making it is with butter and Jews don’t mix dairy with meat.
They’re in the Eurovision song contest, so I guess they’re nog middle eastern, weird that, I wonder if Eurovision would have s singer from gaza to enter? I
The countries that enter Eurovision were part of the European Broadcasting Union. If Gaza enters the union, it can participate in Eurovision. Morocco, an Arab country that is not in Europe and which was part of the EBU, has participated in Eurovision,
First of all, Maqlooba is not “Palestinian” it is of Syrian origin. Nothing is “Palestinian” as all those calling themselves “Palestinian” came from Arab lands like Syria, Egypt, Iraq, etc. That being said We took nothing from anyone, just like all other people in the world we enjoy the foods of other cultures. Most importantly, Jews lived in Arab lands for hundreds of years making what you call Arab food their food as well. So you can stop your antisemitic racist vitriol and try to learn some true history instead of the fiction made up by the “Palestinians”
Jews were around for thousands before the pagan religion of Islam. Suck it up buttercup.
Canaanites, ancestors of the Palestinians, were around for thousands before jews. Suck it up buttercup
In all likelihood both Israeli Jews (despite the prohibitions in the Torah forbidding mixing with the Canaanites) and the Arabic-speaking non-Jews who call themselves Palestinians today are descended from Canaanite peoples (in part). Hebrew, the language of the Jews, is in fact more closely related to the ancient extinct Canaanite languages than its sister Semitic language, Arabic.
You’re kidding me. Classic Jewish Israeli policy of taking something Arab (Palestinian) and trying to make it their own.
Wow, thank you so much! It does read a lot more clearly now.
Sorry about that, I updated it and hope it is clear now, the whole dish should be quite flavorful.