Ingredients:
- 1 whole chicken
- 2 medium-sized eggplants
- 2 yellow potatoes
- 2 tomatoes
- 3 cups of rice
- 10 cloves of garlic– or adjust to taste
- 1 medium sized onion
- Green chili pepper (optional)
- Vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons 7 spices, 1 teaspoon black pepper, and salt to taste
- Bay leaves, cardamom, whole black pepper for boiling the chicken
Instructions:
- Cut chicken into four pieces and boil with the onion, cardamom, bay leaves, and black pepper. Leave it for half an hour over medium heat until it’s partially cooked.
- Peel the eggplants and slice them into rounds, sprinkle with salt, place them in a strainer, and let them sit for an hour to drain excess water, preventing them from absorbing oil while frying.
- Peel the potatoes and slice them into rounds.
- Dry the eggplants and start frying them. Use the same method to fry the potatoes, ensuring they are not fully cooked.
- Place the fried eggplants and potatoes on paper towels to absorb excess oil.
- Remove the chicken from the broth.
- Wash the rice well and let it soak in water for ten minutes. Drain it and add the mixed spices, salt, black pepper, and a little vegetable oil, mixing thoroughly.
- Prepare a pot that preferably does not stick. Slice the tomatoes into rounds and arrange them at the bottom of the pot.
- Layer the fried eggplants and potatoes on top of the tomatoes.
- Wash the garlic and add it with its skin. Place a green pepper in the center of the pot.
- Distribute the chicken pieces over the vegetables.
- Add the rice over all the ingredients.
- Strain the broth and pour it over the rice until it covers it but does not rise above it.
- Place the pot over high heat initially until the broth boils.
- Reduce the heat and leave the dish on the stove for half an hour until the rice absorbs the broth.
- Turn off the heat and let the pot sit for ten minutes to allow the rice to set.
- Prepare a large tray to flip the pot onto.
Serve the Maqluba with yogurt and green salad. Enjoy!
Tahani Ali is a Palestinian mother from Gaza, Palestine. She grew up in Rafah refugee camp and has used cooking traditional food as a form of celebration and preservation of her heritage and culture. Maqluba is one of the most authentic and indigenous recipes to Palestine and each household can have its own spin on it. This specific recipe has been passed down in her family for a couple of generations and is a family gem.
