Makloubeh or Malglube

Hello dear friends! Sharing with you a flavorful dish I learned by watching a show in Netflix. The name of the show is called, “Ainsley Eats The Street,” a professional chef from the UK. He loves and enjoys traveling to other parts of the world merely to explore the country’s traditional food. Then learning from that he tries to come up and cooked his own version of the food recipe.

The name of this dish by the way is “Makloube or Malglube.” It is a Jordanian food, but I think this dish also comes from other parts of the Middle East. I learned from the show that this dish is actually a celebration dish. Preparing and serving this dish requires art in flipping it onto a plate.

First when you flip the pot onto a plate you need to tap the bottom of the pot three times with the palm of your hand and make a wish. Then very slowly lift up the pot so as to showcase the lovely presentation of the dish without dismantling it before eating.

When you’re ready to eat it only then you can dismantle it with your fork. Happy cooking! Eat away and enjoy this aromatic and delicious food.

Ingredients:

4-6 Chicken thighs, legs, and/or breasts, cut up
2 c. jasmine rice, washed 2-3 times
1 onion, sliced
1 large tomatoes, sliced round
1 large aubergine, sliced round
1 cup cauliflower cut in florets
1 cup broccoli cut in florets
2 tbl olive oil
Vegetable oil for deep frying: eggplant, cauliflower, and broccoli
3 c. chicken stock
6-8 saffron threads
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp cardamom
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
½ curry
½ black pepper

Steps and Procedures:

Heat oil in a Dutch pan over high heat and put chicken pieces to brown the chicken on both sides.

When chicken pieces are browned add and season with cinnamon stick, cardamom, turmeric, coriander, nutmeg, curry, salt, and black pepper.

Pour chicken stock and stir. Add the saffron threads. Cover the pot and let it simmer for 25-30 minutes. Remove the chicken and set aside. Reserve 2 cups of the liquid.

Heat vegetable oil in another pan and deep fry: aubergine, cauliflower, and broccoli. But not overcooked. Put each kind in a plate lined with paper towels and set aside.

In a Dutch pan heat olive oil at medium heat and sauté onion slices until soften and golden. Turn off heat.

On top of the onions arrange and layer: the tomatoes, braised chicken parts, aubergine, broccoli, and cauliflower. Dust with turmeric, cardamom, curry, and black pepper.

Put the uncooked rice on top of the chicken mixture. Ensure to swirl the pan from side to side, so rice gets in all the spaces in the pot. NOTE: You can also add and mix ½ tsp turmeric to the uncooked rice to obtain its color.

Pour the reserved liquid. Making sure rice is covered by liquid. You may add a little stock. Cover and let it cook for 30-35 minutes. Let it cool for 10-15 minutes.

Then invert or flip the pot with a plate and slowly lifting up the pot for a lovely presentation of the dish. Serve warm. And garnish with parsley or pine nuts, if you like.

Did you remember to make a wish?

Images: Taken from my iPhone6+

Note: While preparing the dish, I actually made two batches; one in a 2 qrt and the other in a bigger pan. The 2 qrt pan is much easier to flip.