Chicken Maqluba (Traditional Middle Eastern dish) Mamas Secret Recipes (2024)

“Maqluba” is a traditional Iraqi, Palestinian, Syrian and Jordanian dish that dates back to the 13th century and has been found in the collection of recipes called Kitab-al-Tabikh since that time. Most people also think of it as the national dish of Palestine.

It is made with lamb or chicken with vegetables and rice. It is basically a comforting one pot dish of meat, vegetables and rice all layered and cooked together. Then the pot is flipped over on to the the serving platter upside down to display the Maqluba which looks like a layered cake! Therefore the name ‘Maqluba” which means “upside down”.

When I made it for the first time I followed a recipe from You tube which I just tweaked a bit by using Italian rice instead of Falak basmati Italian rice has that firm texture and ” nutty flavour which I thought would go well with the Maqluba and it did. Then the during my later trials, I tried to make it healthier by roasting all the vegetables in the oven instead of frying them. This way it not only saved my time but the vegetables looked evenly browned and looked more appealing in the Maqluba.
Another key feature was flavouring the chicken with garlic crushed with cardamoms, caramelizing the onions and also adding dried lemons to the broth. These are tips I followed after watching various authentic Saudi recipes on Maqluba. With all these slight changes to the recipe, it finally turned into a delicious dish full of flavour.

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken without the breast
2 fairly large potatoes
One medium size egg plant
2 cups cauliflower florets
2 fairly large onions
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
salt as required
1/4 cup olive oil
2 – 4 tbs for brushing the vegetables & roasting the chicken
2 cups Italian rice
1 tsp whole all spice
1 x 2″ stick cinnamon

Spices for the chicken:
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp seven spice

4-6 cloves garlic
6 green cardamoms

Spices for the rice:
1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
1/2 tsp seven spice
1tsp turmeric

Method:
1. De-skin the chicken and cut into pieces at the joints, clean, wash, drain and keep aside. It is better to use only the red meat with the bones such as the thighs, drumsticks and wings. The breast pieces turn a bit dry for the Maqluba so you can use them for some other dish.

2. Slice the egg plants and potatoes separately. Cut the cauliflower into medium size florets. Soak the potato slices and cauliflower florets in a bowl of cold salted water and leave for 15 minutes. Rub the egg plants with a little salt and keep them aside. The egg plants sweat a little on rubbing salt. Press them gently to drain the water and wipe with paper towels. This way they don’t absorb oil when roasting or frying.

3. Line two baking sheets (one for potato slices & cauliflower and the other for eggplant slices) with parchment paper or Silpad. Brush the drained and dried potato, egg plant and cauliflower pieces with olive oil and arrange them on the baking sheets separately.

4. Preheat oven to 375°F convection roast and roast them for 10 – 15 minutes. The potato & cauliflower take longer to roast than the egg plant.

5. Mix together all the chicken spices and use this dry rub to marinate the chicken. But first rub the chicken with salt and lemon juice.

6. Heat the olive oil in a big pot on medium flame. First add the whole all spice and cinnamon sticks to the pot then throw in the sliced onions. Fry them till lightly brown and caramelized. Meanwhile roast the marinated chicken pieces in a non stick pan in a tbs of olive oil by quickly turning them over so they get roasted well all over.

7. Crush the garlic with the green cardamoms in a mortar and pestle to a coarse paste and toss it in the pot and sauté with the caramelized onions. As you get the whiff of the aroma from the caramelized onions, garlic and cardamom, toss in the roasted chicken pieces. Turn over and sauté well.

8. Add 4-6 cups of water and let the chicken cook on low flame for 30 mins. Reserve the stock which should be reduced to at least 2 cups. Remove the chicken pieces, rub with olive oil and quickly brown them on convection roast at 400°F for 5 – 10 minutes. Set aside.

9. Soak 2 cups of Italian rice after rinsing it 3 or 4 times till the water runs clear. Drain the water from the soaked rice, then add the rice spices to it, mix gently till all the rice gets coloured. set aside

10. Boil at least 4 litres of water in a large pot. When it comes to a rolling boil add the soaked spiced rice and cook till 50% done. Switch off and drain.

7. Take a round bottomed cylindrical pot which is oven safe for layering. This is the most important step.

8. Spread a layer of the roasted chicken pieces along with the egg plant and potato slices at the bottom of the pot. Alternate some potato and egg plant slices around the sides of the pot by stacking them together side by side. Then arrange some cauliflower florets here and there to fill up gaps and use up all the chicken and vegetables by layering them around the sides of the pot and on top of each other.

9. Now top the chicken and vegetables with the cooked rice and pour the reserved 2 cups of stock on the sides of the pot and on top of the rice.

10. Close the pot with the lid and place it in an oven preheated at 350°F for 25 minutes.

11. When done remove the pot from the oven and let it rest on the counter for 5 minutes. Keep a round serving platter ready.

12. Put your oven gloves on (thick insulated ones).Open the pot lid slowly using oven gloves and keep aside. Close the pot with the serving platter, then lift the pot holding the pot handles and the platter with both the hands and then invert it upside down quickly on a table or counter top. Remember it is very hot so you have to do it very carefully and tactfully balancing it really well. Otherwise ask someone to help you.

13. Let this rest for 2 mins. Take a serving spoon and tap the roaster’s overturned bottom and all the sides slowly to release the Maqluba from sticking to it.

14. Lift the pot up slowly to display the Maqluba and its roasted chicken and vegetable layers now at the top. It is a dish beautiful to behold and delicious to eat. There is aroma in the air and many hungry stomachs to feed. Serve hot with yoghurt and salad on the side. Enjoy!

Recipe