Makloubeh 'Upside down' spiced rice with lamb & aubergines recipe
Makloubeh is a traditional Palestinian dish that consists of meat, rice and fried vegetables placed in a pot, which is then flipped upside down when served – hence the name makloubeh, which translates literally as ‘upside down’.
Recipe and images extracted from Palestine on a Plate: Memories from my mother’s kitchen by Joudie Kalla, photography by Ria Osbourne, published by Jacqui Small (£25).
Joudie said: "We often make this dish for important events, such as Eid, Ramadan and family birthdays as it is a labour of love. The cinnamon in the rice really makes this dish stand out. It’s absolutely worth the effort involved and a real showstopper dish. My whole family love this dish – we make it in many different ways, but this version is the one I like the most. I personally like adding potatoes to it but I have stuck to the way my mother makes it here. My niece Thalia absolutely adores it – she only eats it when my mother cooks it as she says it makes her tummy happy."
Ingredients
- 1 kg lamb shoulder, cubed
- 2 onions, quartered
- 450 ml vegetable oil
- 3 aubergines, peeled in stripes, leaving some skin intact, then sliced into 3cm rings
- 750 g Egyptian rice (or pudding or basmati rice)
- 3 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 3 tsp sea salt, plus extra for seasoning
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 large buffalo tomatoes, sliced
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley
- 150 g whole skinned, blanched and toasted almonds
- 150 g thick Greek yogurt, to serve
- 2.2 lbs lamb shoulder, cubed
- 2 onions, quartered
- 15.8 fl oz vegetable oil
- 3 aubergines, peeled in stripes, leaving some skin intact, then sliced into 3cm rings
- 26.5 oz Egyptian rice (or pudding or basmati rice)
- 3 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 3 tsp sea salt, plus extra for seasoning
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 large buffalo tomatoes, sliced
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley
- 5.3 oz whole skinned, blanched and toasted almonds
- 5.3 oz thick Greek yogurt, to serve
- 2.2 lbs lamb shoulder, cubed
- 2 onions, quartered
- 1.9 cups vegetable oil
- 3 aubergines, peeled in stripes, leaving some skin intact, then sliced into 3cm rings
- 26.5 oz Egyptian rice (or pudding or basmati rice)
- 3 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 3 tsp sea salt, plus extra for seasoning
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 large buffalo tomatoes, sliced
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley
- 5.3 oz whole skinned, blanched and toasted almonds
- 5.3 oz thick Greek yogurt, to serve
Details
- Cuisine: Palestinian
- Recipe Type: Main
- Difficulty: Medium
- Preparation Time: 10 mins
- Cooking Time: 43 mins
- Serves: 8
Step-by-step
- Put the lamb and onions in a saucepan, cover with water without stirring and then bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for one hour, covered with a lid. Remove any scum that appears on the surface and keep doing this until no more scum appears. Once the meat is cooked, remove it from the water but keep the water in the pan.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a separate pan and shallow fry the aubergine for three minutes on each side, then drain on kitchen paper and season with salt. Tip the rice into a bowl, adding the cinnamon, pepper, salt and olive oil and mix well.
- Arrange the tomatoes in the base of a deep pan. Scatter a handful of rice over the tomatoes, layer half the lamb on top, followed by half the aubergine and then top with rice. Repeat this layering again, finishing with a layer of rice.
- Cover with the reserved lamb cooking water to about 3cm (1¼ inch) over the top and cover with a lid. Add a litt le more water if you don't have enough cooking water. Simmer over a medium-low heat for 30-40 minutes without stirring at all as you want the rice to be tipped out in one piece once cooked, like a cake.
- Leave to cool slightly, then place a plate bigger than the pan on top and carefully turn it over to turn out the makloubeh. Sprinkle with the parsley, toasted nuts and serve with yogurt.
Some more recipes you might like:
Aubergine salad with soft boiled egg recipe
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