Name: Makloubi (Upside-down Rice)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 90 min
Ingredients: 1 lb. lamb or beef ((cubed in 2" pieces)); 3 cups jasmine rice; 1 medium onion (sliced); 3 mini sweet peppers ((red, yellow, and orange) sliced); 1 large potato; 2 medium eggplant ((sliced)); 1-1/4 tsp. allspice ((divided)); 1/4 cup & 2 T. vegetable oil ((divided)); 1 T. & 1/4 tsp. salt ((divided)); 3 T. butter; 1/2 6 oz can tomato paste; nonstick cooking spray; 1 large tortilla

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This Makloubi recipe features spiced chunks of meat, sliced onions, peppers, and eggplant, are topped with perfectly seasoned red rice, then cooked. When the rice is ready, the pot is flipped over, revealing the tempting toppings. This upside-down cake is known by many names and spelled in a variety of ways including Maglooba, Makloubi, Maqluba, Makloubeh, and "Maklouba."

What is Maglooba/Maqluba?

Maqluba is definitely not a beginner recipe. It's not necessarily hard to make, it just requires a lot of steps. The hardest part of the recipe is the last step; flipping the rice over onto the serving dish without scattering the rice.

"Maglooba" or its variations, is an Arabic word meaning "upside-down." This dish is popular throughout the Middle East. The fact that it's flipped to reveal the delicious ingredients on the bottom makes this recipe quite the show-stopper.

Layers of vegetables and meat are placed inside a Dutch oven, followed by the red rice. This mixture is then compressed to take on the shape of a pot. The rice is then flipped over, to present a cake-like rice dish, covered in beautiful layers of vegetables and meat.

How to Make This Recipe

STEP 1: Wash the meat and add to a 5-qt. pot. Add 4 cups of water and boil, covered, until foam comes to the surface. Pour water out and rinse the meat and the pot. Return the meat to the pot, and add 4 cups of fresh water. Cover, and cook for 30 additional minutes.

STEP 2: After slicing the onion, peppers, and eggplant sprinkle with 1 teaspoon allspice, and 1 teaspoon salt.

STEP 3: Heat ¼ cup of oil in a medium-sized pan. Fry the onion and peppers until soft, set aside. Next, fry the eggplant, adding more oil if necessary. If you prefer, you can spray the eggplant with cooking spray and bake it in the oven instead.

STEP 4: Sprinkle potatoes with ¼ teaspoon allspice and ¼ teaspoon salt. Fry the potatoes and drain them on paper towels. When the meat is tender, remove it from the pot and add to the fried vegetables. Reserve the remaining broth.

STEP 5: Melt butter in the same pot. Add 2 tablespoons oil, 2 teaspoons salt, and 3 cups of reserved broth. If you don't have enough broth, add enough liquid to equal 3 cups. Add tomato paste and stir over medium flame until the tomato paste is dissolved.

STEP 6: Strain the rice and add to the pot with the tomato sauce. Stir to combine, then cover and cook on low for 25 minutes or until tender. Stir a few times during the cooking process.

STEP 7: Spray the bottom and sides of a 6-qt. Dutch oven with nonstick cooking spray. Place the tortilla on the bottom. The tortilla helps to keep the ingredients in place. Layer the meat, and vegetables over the tortilla. Add cooked rice and press down to compress it as tightly as possible. Reheat over low heat for an additional 10 to 15 minutes.

layers of meat, peppers, and sliced eggplant in a pot for Maglooba

STEP 8: Cover the Maqluba with a large platter. Quickly flip the pot over onto the platter to un-mold the Maqluba. Remove the tortilla, and serve the Maqluba with salad on the side.

Recipe Expert Tips

Makloubi is usually made with the following ingredients: rice, meat (lamb, beef, or chicken), vegetables (eggplant, onions, peppers, potatoes, and tomatoes), and spices.
This recipe can easily be converted to a vegetarian recipe by leaving out the meat and adding extra veggies. However, since meat is usually my favorite part of any recipe, I'm including lamb in this version.
Feel free to leave it out, or substitute it with beef or chicken.
The rice is usually either cooked in a tomato sauce, or in a broth and spice mixture. Makloubi is usually served with Middle Eastern salad or "zalata."

The Art of Flipping the Maglooba

As mentioned earlier, there are a lot of steps required for this recipe. You could say it's the Middle Eastern equivalent of lasagna.

First, you have to cook the meat. Next, you soak the rice, slice and fry the vegetables, and layer everything in the pot.

However, the biggest hurdle comes from the very last step, flipping the rice onto a flat plate or tray.

I'm including a video of my sister, Rosa, flipping the Makloubi that she prepared while visiting my mom in San Diego in 1992.

It's a bitter-sweet video because it captures both a fun day spent cooking with my sister and getting a glimpse of mom, sitting in her chair, smiling.

Unfortunately, I didn't get more of mom in the video. She passed away a month later.

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