A concise Maqluba recipe adapted from The Hint of Rosemary.
Serves: 12 · Total: approximately 3 hours 15 minutes
Ingredients
- Vegetables: 1 large eggplant, 1 cauliflower; frying oil.
- Rice: 2 cups basmati, 1½ cups Egyptian rice, 2 cups vermicelli; ½ teaspoon each seven-spice and cardamom, ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg.
- Broth: 2 chickens (jointed), 2 tablespoons ghee, 1 diced onion, 1 teaspoon adobo for onions, 4 teaspoons adobo, 3 teaspoons seven-spice, 2 sazón packets, 4 vegetable stock cubes, 2 cinnamon sticks, 6 cloves, 5 crushed cardamom pods, 3 bay leaves, 8–9 cups water; salt/pepper.
Method
- Brown sliced vegetables by frying or baking.
- Soften onion in ghee; simmer chicken with broth ingredients until cooked. Remove chicken; strain broth.
- Rinse and soak rice; drain. Toast vermicelli and combine with rice seasonings.
- Layer chicken, vegetables and rice. Add broth to roughly ½ inch above rice.
- Boil; cover, reduce heat and cook approximately 2 hours, checking rice.
- Rest 10 minutes, then invert onto a platter. Serve with toasted nuts, yogurt and salad.
Photo gallery
These supplied photos illustrate different presentations; toppings vary from the recipe above.
For the full cooking instructions and lamb variation, visit the original recipe.