Maqluba is also called upside down rice dish.
Ingredients for 4 people
200 g rice (jasmine or long grain rice)
Cut 500 g boneless leg of lamb into pieces
500 g minced beef or lamb
1 KG eggplant
2 – 3 tomatoes, cut into slices
1 onion, quartered
1 – 2 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
A few allspice seeds
70 g pine nuts (optional)
70 g chopped almonds (optional)
1 teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Freshly ground black pepper (my recommendation: Sri Lanka Noir )
Salt
olive oil and vegetable oil for frying
Preparation of Maqluba
For the stock, fry the lamb pieces in olive oil in a large saucepan until brown. Then pour in water until the meat is covered and bring to the boil. Skim off the foam. Now add the onion, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, allspice berries and salt.
Reduce the heat, cover and cook on low heat for an hour or an hour and a half, until the meat is very tender and perhaps already falling apart. Then strain the broth through a sieve and set the broth and meat aside.
In a non-stick pan, fry the pine nuts and almonds with a little olive oil until they are golden brown. You can add a little salt and freshly ground pepper to the roasting nuts. Then let the nuts cool and drain on a plate lined with kitchen paper.
Now fry the minced meat in the same pan for about 10 minutes. Add salt and ground allspice and fry the meat until it is brown. Then add about half of the seeds/nuts and mix everything well.
Now work on the eggplants. Cut off the stem. Peel the skin in alternating thin strips to create a zebra pattern. Then cut into lengthwise slices. Now sprinkle both sides with salt and leave to rest in a flat dish for a good 30 minutes. Then pour off the resulting liquid. Rinse the eggplant halves and dry with kitchen paper.
In the next step, pour vegetable oil into a large pot or deep fryer. The bottom should be covered with oil by about 5 cm. Heat to about 180 degrees or, if you cannot measure the temperature, put a small piece of bread in the oil and watch when small bubbles start to rise from the bread. Now fry or deep-fry the eggplants one by one for about 3-4 minutes until they are golden brown. Remove the eggplants from the oil with a slotted spoon and let the excess oil drip off in a sieve.
For the Maqluba, use a casserole dish or a large pot that has non-stick properties. Spread the tomato slices on the bottom of the pot. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Then add half of the minced meat. Add half of the eggplant slices on top so that they cover the meat well. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Now half of the lamb pieces and the uncooked rice are layered on top. Then another layer is added with the remaining minced meat, eggplant and the second half of the lamb.
Now pour two cups (about 500 ml) of the broth over everything. Now heat the pot and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat. Simmer for 25 to 30 minutes until the rice is tender.
In the last step, let the pot cool down for about 10 minutes. This improves the chance that the Maqluba will have a good shape.
To serve, place a large plate or something else flat on top of the pot so that the entire pot and a little bit beyond it is covered. Now turn the pot, holding it firmly. Then carefully lift the pot.
