Like many neighbouring countries in the Levant, Jordan is known for its dips and tiny, tasty dishes called mezze. Scattered on the table in bowls and mopped up with fresh pita or saj breads, meals begin with an overwhelming array of options. Mouttabalto tabouli, hummus, labne yoghurt, and a variety of other rich and creamy appetizers, each with its own distinct taste but fitting seamlessly, one after the other, into acrescendoof flavours.
To start each meal with such a wonderful swirl of tastes felt decadent at first. I am not used to the dance of flavours that mezze brings, and I loved every bite. And then, I got to main dishes like maklouba.
Maglouba can also be spelled magloubeh, maglouba, maqluba, makloubeh and sometimes ma’aloubeh, and has its origins in the Middle East generally, not only Jordan. I learned this recipe in Jordan, from a Jordanian chef – but there are versions from Syria, Lebanon, and beyond.
Origins of Maklouba / Makloubeh
The origin of maklouba appears to be a medieval Arabic cookery book, but the dish is found throughout the Middle East today.
In Olives, Lemons & Za’atar: The Best Middle Eastern Home Cooking, chef and author Rawia Bishara refers to the dish – spelled makloobeh there – as “the impressive Palestinian lamb dish meant to serve a crowd.”
Guidebooks to Jordan, Syria, and the Levant all refer to makloubeh as common dishes in the region, with no treatise on origin.
In his May 2019 cookbook Saffron in the Souks: Vibrant recipes from the heart of Lebanon, John Gregory-Smith writes, “makloubeh is a delicious rice dish found throughout the Middle East.”
Even Wikipedia notes that the dish’s origin is simply, “Middle East,” adding that it dish goes back centuries and is found in the Kitab al-Tabikh, a collection of 13th century recipes.
One thing is certain: the dish – perhaps from Baghdad, perhaps not – is a popular feast in the Middle East today.
The name maklouba – meaning “upside down” in Arabic – speaks to the dish’s main features: with roasted vegetables, spiced rice, and a meat of choice, it is presented by carefully flipping the pot over and serving it upside down.
As per the recipe for Maklouba below, it is pre-cooked in segments. Vegetables first and rice second, folded with a mix of traditionally Middle Eastern flavours. Piled artfully into a pot and cooked over the stove, the whole lot of it is tipped upside down on the plate once complete, revealing the patterns of meat and vegetables below. The rice (used to getting its own plate) is relegated to second billing. Sorry, rice! The chicken-eggplant-cauliflower combo is just too good to ignore.
It’s not a difficult dish to make, though it does takea few hours. Presentation, however, is key: when you up-end the pot as you serve the dish, you want a neat pile of vegetables and meat to stare at.
Not spilling everything out as you flip over the pot is also key; let’s just say when I tried this at home, the first iteration ended up on the floor.
*cough*
It’s been fun to experiment with different versions of maklouba, building a tapestry of colours and textures that is only visible when I flip over the dish. I’ve tried it frying up the onions with turmeric first, rendering them yellow, and leaving the rice white.
Another version included curls of eggplant skin to add some purple to the end result. Lots of room for creativity here!
An Easy Maklouba Recipe
(Adapted from Beit Sitti Cooking School, with some changes)
Ingredients
- 1 onion
- 2 medium sized eggplants
- 1 cauliflower, cut into small florets
- 1kg of meat (chicken, lamb or beef works) diced or cut into pieces
- 2 cups of plain rice
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp Baharat (“7 spices”). Note: this can be obtained at most Middle Eastern grocers, but if not, you can make your own. The 7 spice blend is a mix of ground spices:black pepper, paprika, cumin, coriander, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom. Go easy on the cardamom if making your own – it’s quite strong!
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup freshparsley, chopped
- 200ml vegetable oil
- salt & pepper to taste
- Optional: sliced almonds and pine nuts.
Instructions for Maklouba
PART 1: Preliminary steps:
- Peel and cut up the eggplant into thick horizontal slices and marinate them in salt for 2 minutes. Wash the eggplant in water to get rid of the salt, and then drain the slices over paper towels.
- Soak 2 cups of rice in warm water with two pinches of salt and 2 teaspoons turmeric powder and leave for 30 minutes. (Note: After the 30 minutes, you will strain the rice to use for Part 2 below. If timing does not match up, please make sure you strain after 30 minutes).
- In a large saucepan, fry the cauliflower florets and eggplant slices in the vegetable oil until brown. Place the fried vegetables in a strainer lined with paper towels to drain off any excess oil. Note:If you prefer a healthier alternative, brush the florets and eggplant slices with olive oil and roast at 400F/200C until golden brown.
- In the same pan, heat the almond pieces and pine nuts until they are fried. Set aside for later.
- Place meat into a large pot and cover with water. Add in an onion chopped into quarters, the bay leaves the 7 spices mix and cook until meat is done, approximately 30 minutes.
- Remove the meat and season with salt, saving the broth for later in a bowl.
PART 2: Time to build your maklouba:
- In your large pot (the one you used to cook the chicken), layer the cauliflower florets and eggplant at the bottom in a desired pattern, then add the chicken pieces as a third layer.
- Spread the garlic cloves over the chicken, and then arrange the strained, uncooked rice over it all.
- Add some salt and additional turmeric powder and cumin powder to the chicken stock, and then pour it on top of the chicken-veggie pile you have just built. Make sure the sauce justcovers the rice (2cm over the rice is ideal).
- Cook the saucepan on high heat for 7 minutes, and then cover and simmer for 40-45 minutes.
- When the water has fully evaporated (and the rice is fully cooked) take the pot off the heat and leave to cool for approximately 5-10 minutes.
- Flip the pot onto a serving plate and slowly and carefully remove the pot leaving a your masterpiece in its wake.
- Garnish with fresh parsley and the fried nuts.
If you prefer a video recipe…
For those who prefer getting their recipes in video format, I’m sharing a video by The Cookbook on YouTube, who make their own version of maklouba / makloubeh on their channel. I am not affiliated with them, but over the years people have asked me to do videos for my recipes, and I am unfortunately too unwell to do so now. So I’m linking to someone else, who does it well.
Want more great recipes from the Middle East?
I recommend these cookbooks:
- The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, by Claudia Roden
- Jerusalem: A Cookbook, by powerhouse duoYotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi
- Olives, Lemons & Za’atar: The Best Middle Eastern Home Cooking, by Rawia Bishara
- Eating Out Loud: Bold Middle Eastern Flavors for All Day, Every Dayby Eden Grinshpan
- Zaitoun: Recipes from the Palestinian Kitchen, by Yasmin Khan
- Sababa: Fresh, Sunny Flavors From My Israeli Kitchen, by Adeena Sussman
- Bavel: Modern Recipes Inspired by the Middle East, by Ori Menashe, Genevieve Gergis, & Lesley Suter
- Falastin: A Cookbook, by Sami Tamimi & Tara Wigley
If anyone tries this at home, please send me your photos to jodi-at-legalnomads.com – I’d love to see what fun upside-down deliciousness you come up with!
-Jodi
