Maqluba (or Makloubeh, Palestinian Upside Down Rice)

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F, for the cauliflower.

Step 2

Rinse and drain the rice and set aside.

Step 3

Dice the onion (chop up fairly finely).

Step 4

Chop up the eggplant, courgette and capsicum into rough cube shapes. Basically, quarter the eggplant and courgette lengthwise, then slice.

Step 5

Slice the tomatoes into rounds and set aside.

Step 6

Cut the cauliflower into bite-sized pieces.

Step 7

Arrange the cauliflower pieces on a baking sheet and drizzle 1 Tbsp of EV olive oil all over. Sprinkle a ¼ tsp of salt and some freshly ground black pepper and roast for about 20 at 180˚C/350˚F. Flip halfway through the cooking time.

Step 8

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.

Step 9

Sauté the onions for about 3-4 minutes.

Step 10

Add meat, allspice, salt and some pepper, stir and brown the meat all over and cook for 10 minutes on medium heat. You want the final result to be a little on the dry side, but not too dry. A little moisture is good.

Step 11

Grease your saucepan all over. Then start with layering the bottom with the sliced tomatoes. You'll get 2 layers. Season with salt and pepper, a small sprinkle will do.

Step 12

Add half the meat, season with a pinch of salt and some freshly ground black pepper. Then pack down with a potato masher.In my original recipe and video, I place all the meat first. But in these new pictures, you can see that I'm layering the meat along with the rice.So half the meat now, and half later.

Step 13

Add all the vegetables, season with salt and pepper and pack down.

Step 14

Then top with half the rice, season with salt and pepper and flatten.

Step 15

Now we add the second half of the meat, season, and pack down.

Step 16

And finally, the second half of the rice. Season with salt and pepper, and pack down.

Step 17

Take a small saucer, place it face down on the rice (or use the back of a large spoon), and slowly pour all the stock in. This stops a gap/hole appearing in the rice as you're pouring the stock in. You also don't want to mess with the packed rice and stuff.

Step 18

Place the pot on the stovetop, turn the heat on high for 3 minutes to bring everything up to simmering point although you'll probably only see the edges bubbling. When you see the bubbles at the edges, move on to the next step.

Step 19

Put the lid on, turn the heat right down and cook for 45 minutes. After that time, if you think the rice isn't done, another 5-10 minutes should suffice.Take the saucepan off the hot hob and leave the rice to rest for 10 minutes before unveiling.

Step 20

Take a large plate or serving platter, place it over the pot. Holding the plate tightly against the saucepan, give it a gentle shake. Then slowly, ease the saucepan off the plate. In the video, this happens at around 12:15 minutes.Top with the nuts and parsley.

Step 21

If you packed the saucepan as mentioned, it shouldn't collapse. But if it does, no big deal, scatter with pine nuts and parsley and serve.

Step 22

Click here for my new recipe - Vegetable Maqluba.