Did You Say, Upside - Down Rice? - Eats and Treats by Tania Rebello

TDT | Manama                                        

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com   

Rice is a staple food of over half of the world’s population. Can you imagine that there are over 120,000 varieties of rice in the world?

Due to its low cost, people of all economic backgrounds eat rice. Over time, this simple grain has been prepared into thousands of tasty creations. One such rice dish is Maqluba.

The word ‘Maqluba’ means ‘upside-down’ owing to how it is served. Maqluba is a typical Arab rice dish, especially in Palestinian and Jordanian households, prepared by layering rice, veggies, and meat into a pot. It is then slow-cooked.

The pot is carefully flipped onto the serving platter, revealing beautiful layers as a towering wonder. The medley of flavours is delightful.

This delicious and nutritious one-pot rice dish is becoming increasingly popular in the Middle East.

Would you challenge yourself to create it in your kitchen?

Ingredients:

Lamb Preparation

• 12 Bone-in Lamb Shoulder Pieces, medium cut

• 1 Onion, quartered

• 4 Cardamom Pods

• 4 Bay Leaves

• 1/2 tbsp Ground Allspice

• 1/2 tbsp Granulated sugar

• 1 tsp Salt

• 1/2 tsp Black Pepper

Vegetable Preparation

• 2 Eggplants, sliced into 1 inch discs

• 1 Cauliflower head, cut into florets

• 2 Potatoes, peeled, cut into 1 inch slices

• 2 Tomatoes, cut into slices

• 3 tbsp Olive oil

• Salt & Pepper to taste

Rice Preparation

• 2 cups Basmati Rice

• 5 cups Leftover Lamb Broth or enough to cover the top of the rice by 1 inch

• 1 tsp Salt • 1/2 tsp Black Pepper

• 1.5 tsp 7 spice • 1/4 tsp Cumin

• 1/4 tsp Turmeric

Garnish

• 1 /4 cup Parsley, chopped

• 1/3 cup Slivered Almonds, toasted in ghee or olive oil

Instructions:

• Wash the lamb pieces thoroughly. Add them to a pot and cover with water. Let this simmer on medium heat. You will notice a residue float to the top after a few minutes. Spoon off the residue into a bowl and discard.

• Once the water is clear of the residue, add the onion, cardamom, and bay leaves along with the allspice, sugar, salt, and pepper. Cover and let this boil on medium heat for about 2 hours until the meat is tender.

• While the meat is cooking, prepare the vegetables and rice for the dish. Preheat the oven to 200 C.

• Mix the sliced eggplant, cauliflower, and potato with the olive oil, salt, and pepper.

• Add the vegetables to a baking sheet baking sure they do not overlap and bake for approximately 30 minutes, flipping once.

• The vegetables should come out tender and lightly golden.

• Prepare the rice by stirring together the soaked rice with the spices listed.

• At this point, the meat should be cooked through. Drain the water and save the lamb broth to cook the rice.

Assembling the Pot:

• Lightly oil the bottom of the deep vessel.

• Add a scarce layer of rice at the bottom of your prepped pot. Then, add a layer of tomato slices.

• Top off the tomato slices with the baked eggplant slices, cauliflower florets, and potatoes.

• Then, add the lamb pieces followed by the rice.

• Pour the lamb broth on top of the rice. The broth should cover the rice entirely with an inch extra on top. Let this come to a boil then simmer for about 25-30 minutes on medium heat while covered.

• Once the rice is cooked through, take it off the heat and let it sit for 20 minutes in the pot before serving.

• When ready to serve, find a large platter with raised edges and swiftly flip the pot over the top of the platter. Tap at the bottom of the pot a few times and gently raise the pot to reveal the beautiful maqluba.

• Top with the garnishes and serve with yogurt and salad.