maqluba

Chicken

Maqluba

Maqluba is a traditional Arabic dish with layers of meat or chicken, rice, and vegetables seasoned with spices. It's flipped upside down and served with plain yogurt and a chopped salad to mix with the rice dish. This is a very easy and crowd-pleasing recipe.

Ingredients

1 (4 pound) whole chicken, cut into pieces
6 cups water
1 medium onion, quartered
2 tablespoons ground allspice
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
3 whole cardamom seeds
4 whole cloves
3 bay leaves
2 ½ cups uncooked basmati rice, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons ground allspice
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large potato, sliced into rounds
1 large head cauliflower, separated into florets
2 medium tomatoes, diced

Directions

Place chicken in a large pot with 6 cups water, onion, 2 tablespoons allspice, ground cardamom, cardamom seeds, whole cloves and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, and cook until chicken is tender, about 40 minutes. Remove chicken, strain and reserve broth.
Soak rice in water while waiting for chicken to cook. When chicken is almost done, drain water off, and stir in 1 ½ tablespoons of allspice.
Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Fry potatoes and cauliflower in hot oil until browned. They do not need to fully cook.
Layer fried potatoes on the bottom of a separate pot. This is done so that the rice will not stick to the bottom of the pan. Add cauliflower and tomatoes, and sprinkle a handful of rice over the vegetables. Remove the bones from the chicken and place the chicken in the pot. Cover with remaining rice. Pour in reserved broth until it reaches a level about 1/2 inch above the level of the rice. Cover the pot, and cook over medium-low heat until rice is tender, about 1 hour.
Uncover the pot, and place a large round tray over the top. Invert so that the pan is upside down on top of the tray. Let stand for 5 minutes like this, then slowly remove the pot to let the food fall onto the tray.