Maqloubeh Bantinan, or Zahra

An iconic "upside-down" rice dish layered with tender meat and fried eggplant, with cauliflower as a popular alternative. Flipped before serving and garnished with toasted nuts.

🥄 Ingredients

• 1 kg basmati rice or Egyptian rice, as desired
• 2 kg large sweet eggplants or small black local eggplants
• 2 kg lamb shoulder, or minced lamb, or 2 kg chicken breasts and thighs, as available
• 2 medium tomatoes
• 2 medium potatoes (optional)
• 1 small cauliflower head, about 1/2 kg (optional)
• Oil for frying
• Toasted almonds for garnish
• For boiling the meat or chicken:
• 5 bay leaves
• 10 cardamom pods
• 10 cloves
• 4 medium cinnamon sticks
• 1 tablespoon salt

👩‍🍳 Instructions

1. Soak the rice and set it aside.
2. Peel the eggplant and fry it along with the cauliflower and potatoes. Set them aside.
3. Peel and slice the onion. In a pot, heat a little oil and add the seven-spice blend for chard. Sauté the onion until fragrant, then add it and cook until golden. Add the meat or chicken and cook for 5 minutes. Cover the pot and let the meat simmer for about 15 minutes. Then, cover the meat or chicken with boiling water and bring it back to the boil. Reduce the heat to a quarter of the normal level and ensure it continues to boil. Let it simmer until cooked through.
4. If using ground meat, finely chop two medium onions and follow the same method described earlier. Sauté the onions in a little oil until golden, then add the meat and stir. Cook for 1.5 hour until the meat is well cooked and the water has evaporated. Set aside.
5. Remove the meat or chicken from the broth and keep it covered to prevent it from cooling down.
6. Strain the broth to remove the seven-spice blend, adjust the salt, and ensure the broth volume is double that of the rice. Boil the rice until almost cooked, then drain off any excess water. In a new pot, arrange chopped tomatoes on the bottom, followed by a few slices of eggplant and potato. Sprinkle with a little rice and half a cup of meat broth to prevent burning. Add the meat or chicken, another layer of eggplant, and half of the drained rice. Top with the remaining eggplant or any leftover fried ingredients, then add the rest of the rice. Cover the pot and cook over high heat for 3 minutes, then reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat.
7. To turn the Maqluba out into a firm, unified dish, let it rest on the oven rack for 10 minutes. Then, invert it onto a tray. Don't remove the pot immediately; leave it upside down for another 5 minutes to allow any remaining eggplant juices to drip onto the rice, infusing the dish with steam and flavor. Then, remove the pot.

🌹 Decoration

Garnish the Maqluba with chopped parsley on top and slices of green and red pepper around the edges.