Maqloobeh - Upside Down Rice

Maqloobeh is a Palestinian Traditional Rice with layers for rice, chicken and veggies. The fried veggies kept as the base, then the cooked chicken, and over the chicken comes the rice. And then cooked in the chicken stock and all together is a flavorful feast. 

I came to know about this dish from one of my dearest Palestinian friend Ms. Rana. I have tried and tested this rice a number of times and every time i makes i keep on asking her the procedures and finally this time i got the perfect result. The rice cooked in chicken stock has all the flavors in it and together with veggies gives a beautiful tune for your taste buds.

Every time i cook any rice other than malabar biriyani, my mom says, ooohoo! our biriyani is better than this. But this time she was much impresses and loved it to the core, and i can say she loved it more or like biriyani (as all of us are biriyani devours). But any how this should not be be compared with biriyani, as it has very mild flavors. 

Coming to the method, the time consuming part of this delicacy is the frying of veggies one by one. So if you are frying them a day before, you can prepare the rice in no times. And if you need a much  more healthier version, go for shallow frying the veggies rather than deep frying them. And for spices i used store bought Arabic spice powder. 

But you can make it at home by using below recipe (adapted from Najatskitchen).

Ground coriander seeds- 2 tbsp
Cinnamon powder- 1½ tsp
Ground black pepper- 1½ tsp
Ground cardamom- 1½ tsp
Ground all spice- 1½ tsp
Ground dried ginger- 1½ tsp
Turmeric powder- 1½ tsp
Ground cloves- 1 tsp
Ground nutmeg- ¾ tsp
Ground dried lime- ¾ tsp

Mix all the above spices and store in a small jar and use as needed.

Maqloobeh - Upside Down Rice

Preparation Time : 40 minutes

Cooking Time : 1 hours

Preparation Pictures

Fried Veggies

                                

Browning the chicken

Add onion whole spices and water

Rice mixed with Arabic spice powder and turmeric

After Layering and adding chicken stock over the rice.

Ingredients:-

Basmati Rice - 2 cups

Arabic Spice Powder - 1 tbsp

Turmeric Powder - a pinch (optional)

Water - 4 cups

Onion - 1 Medium

Cardamom - 5

Cloves - 4

Cinnamon - 2 inches

Bay leaf - 1

Lemon juice - 1 tbsp

Oil - 3 tbsp

Salt to taste

For Marinating chicken

Chicken - 1 kg

Arabic Spice Powder - 2 tbsp

Pepper Powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt 

For Frying veggies:-

Eggplant / Brinjal - 1 medium or 4 /5 small

Potato - 1 big

Cauliflower - 1 small

Carrot - 1 big

Chick peas - 1 can

Oil for deep frying

Salt

Method:-

1.Marinate the chicken under the spices for marinate and keep for 30 minutes.
2. Wash and soak the rice for 20-30 minutes and then drain the rice. Mix together the rice, 1 tbsp Arabic spice and pinch of turmeric powder. Keep aside.
3. Meantime fry the veggies
   a.  Cut the eggplant into round circles which is usually done. Here i cut the edges to long stripes and the  remaining inside part to squares
   b.  Cut the potatoes and carrots to round circles.
   c.  Separate the florets of cauliflower.
   d.  In a deep pan, add oil for deep frying and and fry the veggies one by one, till golden and done.       e.  Sprinkle some salt and keep them aside.
4. In a large pan, add oil, place the marinated chicken, and let both sides of the chicken becomes brown. No need to cook the chicken completely.
5. Add Onions and whole spices(cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf), lemon juice and 2 cups of water and adjust salt.
6. Cook in medium heat, cover the pan and cook till chicken is almost cooked.
7. Once chicken is cooked, remove the cooked chicken pieces. and keep aside.
8. Sieve the chicken stock in the pan and discard the whole spices and and onions. Measure the chicken stock, there should be 4 cups. If not add water to make it to 4 cups. Keep aside.
9.For Layering:- In the same non-stick pan used for cooking chicken, arrange the fried veggies as base, towards the edges keep eggplant stripes and then the potatoes, carrots, cauliflower and drained chickpeas.

10. Over the veggies arrange the cooked chicken and over the chicken the rice mixed in spices. 

11. Slowly pour the hot chicken stock over the rice.
12. 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, and the liquid should be absorbed.

13. After the rice has cooked, remove the pan from the heat, let it stand covered and undisturbed for 30 minutes.

14. Place a very large serving dish on top of the pan, then, invert the pan to the serving dish. Tap on top of the pan and let the maqloobeh fall on the dish.

15. Tada ! Maqloobeh is ready. Server hot with yogurt and salad.

Notes:-

1. If the chicken stock is not hot while pouring over the rice, make sure to make it hot. Also adjust the salt, keeping in mind the rice should be cooked in this stock.

2. Use a non-stick pan for perfect upside down cake texture.