Palestinian Upside-Down Spiced Rice — Chicken Maqluba
Palestinian upside-down rice cooked with bone-in chicken, fried eggplant, cauliflower, and warm seven-spice, inverted onto the plate and served with tangy yogurt and parsley.
Categories
Nutrition per Serving
Ingredients
For 2 servings
Instructions
Prep
Salt eggplant rounds with 1 tsp salt, rest on paper towel 10 minutes, pat dry. Rinse basmati rice until water runs clear, soak 10 minutes, drain. Slice onion thinly, grate 5 garlic cloves and reserve 1 whole clove for yogurt. Whisk yogurt with grated garlic, lemon juice, pinch of salt. Chop parsley. Have hot chicken stock ready.
Sear
Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a 24cm heavy saucepan over medium-high 2 minutes. Sear chicken skin-side down 6 minutes until deeply golden, flip, sear 3 minutes. Lift to a plate.
Bloom
Add sliced onion to pan, cook 4 minutes until softened. Stir in grated garlic, seven-spice, cinnamon, allspice, bay leaves, 1 tsp salt, toast 30 seconds until fragrant.
Simmer
Return chicken to pan, pour 400ml hot stock, bring to gentle simmer, cover, cook on low 20 minutes until juices run clear when pierced. Lift chicken, reserve spiced stock.
Fry
Heat 1/4 cup neutral oil in a medium pan over medium-high 1 minute. Fry eggplant 2–3 minutes per side until deep golden, lift to paper towel. Fry cauliflower 3–4 minutes until golden at edges, lift to paper towel.
Build
Layer saucepan over spiced stock: chicken skin-side down, eggplant, cauliflower. Spread drained rice on top, press gently. Pour hot stock until 1cm above rice, bring to simmer uncovered, lower to lowest heat, cover tightly, cook 18–20 minutes until liquid absorbs and steam holes appear.
Rest and plate
Off heat, rest covered 5 minutes. Run a knife around pan edge, invert onto a serving plate in one confident motion. Lift pan straight up, scatter parsley, serve yogurt sauce and lemon wedges alongside.
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