Maqluba (also spelled Makloubeh) is a tasty Middle Eastern rice dish layered with eggplant, potatoes, onions, and peppers. My Maqluba recipe is prepared with lamb, but beef or chicken can be substituted. Serve with homemade yogurt or a green salad.
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Maqluba is one of those dishes everyone should taste at least once! It's popular in Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, and many other Middle Eastern countries.
This is not necessarily hard to make, but it does require a lot of steps, some of which can be done ahead of time. The most challenging part, however, is the last step: flipping the rice over onto a serving dish without scattering the rice. Take heart, it just takes a little practice!
"Makloubeh" is an Arabic word meaning "upside-down." The fact that it's flipped to reveal the delicious ingredients on the bottom makes this recipe quite the show-stopper. Especially if you make flipping the pot a dramatic presentation to entertain your guests.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Maqluba is absolutely delicious and not too difficult to prepare, as long as you break it down into easy, manageable steps.
- This Maqluba recipe makes enough rice to feed up to six guests.
- Some of the prep work, like cooking the meat and sautéing the veggies, can be done ahead of time to make the task more manageable.
- Leftovers taste just as great the next day, if not even better!
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Meat: Although this recipe calls for lamb, Maqluba can also be prepared with cubed beef or chicken thighs.
- Rice: I like to use jasmine rice, but long-grain basmati rice would be another excellent choice, and is often used in Middle Eastern cooking.
- Veggies: This dish almost always has onions, eggplant, potatoes, and bell peppers. You can also add sliced tomatoes.
- Spices: Maqluba is commonly seasoned with bay leaves, cardamom pods, and cinnamon sticks. The flavors are actually reminiscent of the spices in this easy chicken biryani recipe. If you'd like to add seasoning, add one tablespoon of biryani spices in step 6.
- Optional: You can garnish the Maqluba with toasted pine nuts, toasted slivered almonds, or chopped parsley.
*A full list of ingredients can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
How to Make Maqluba
Step 1: Add 1 tablespoon of oil to a large skillet, then sear cubed lamb in batches. Once browned, add to a six-quart Dutch oven and top with 6 cups of water. Simmer, covered, for 45 minutes to an hour or until tender.
Pro Tip: If you don't have biryani seasoning but still want to add more spices than this recipe calls for, you can add a cinnamon stick, a teaspoon of coriander seeds, 5 cardamom pods, and a bay leaf to the liquid now.
Step 2: Slice eggplant into ¼" slices and sprinkle with salt on both sides. Place on paper towel-lined tray and allow to sweat for 15 minutes.
Pro Tip: This step is necessary to remove the bitterness from the eggplant.
Step 3: Spray a foil-lined baking sheet with cooking spray, then add sliced eggplant in a single layer. Spray the tops generously with cooking spray, then bake for 30 minutes in a 375℉ oven. Flip halfway through.
Pro Tip: Keep an eye on the eggplant slices to avoid burning them. It may take less time for them to be ready.
Step 4: While the meat and eggplant are cooking, slice potatoes into ¼" slices and sprinkle with salt on both sides. Fry in the same pan used to sear the meat. If necessary, add 1 tablespoon of oil, or more as needed. Once potatoes are golden brown, remove from the pan and set aside until needed.
Step 5: Finally, slice onion in half, then into sections, and slice peppers into rings. Sauté both in the same skillet, over low heat, for approximately 10 minutes until the onion is caramelized.
Step 6: Once the meat is done cooking, strain the broth into a bowl and clean the pot. Pour 4 cups of broth into a large measuring cup and stir in 2 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon salt, and ½ can (3 ounces) of tomato paste. If you want to add biryani seasoning, do so now. Whisk until the tomato paste is completely dissolved.
Step 7: Wash rice thoroughly to remove starch, then strain and add to the cleaned pot. Pour broth-tomato sauce mixture over it and stir. Bring to a boil, then cover and cook over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes. Stir once or twice to cook evenly.
Step 8: Spray the bottom and sides of an 8-quart Dutch oven with nonstick cooking spray. Place a tortilla on the bottom, then arrange eggplant, potatoes, onions, peppers, and meat in layers over the tortilla.
Step 9: Spoon cooked rice into the pot and add ½-1 cup of broth. Press down on the rice to compress it as tightly as possible. Cover and cook over very low heat for an additional 15 minutes.
Step 10: Rest Makqluba for 15 minutes, then remove the lid and cover the pot with a rimmed flat platter or tray, larger than the pot itself. While pressing the tray tightly onto the pot, flip the pot quickly to unmold. Carefully peel away the tortilla before serving.
Pro Tip: If some of the rice or ingredients scatter, no problem. Just tuck them back into place.
Serving Suggestions
This Maqluba recipe is filling on its own; however, it's often served with yogurt on the side. An Assyrian salad (Zalata) and pickled vegetables (Torshi), or a bowl of fresh herbs and scallions, are also wonderful side options.
Recipe FAQs
Maqluba means "upside down" or "flipped" in Arabic.
Maqluba, sometimes spelled Makloubeh, and Biryani are two different rice dishes. Biryani is Indian in origin, while Maqluba is a Middle Eastern dish. Both dishes can be highly spiced, and beef, lamb, or chicken is usually added.
Maqluba is most often cooked with long-grain rice, especially basmati rice. However, some people prefer to use jasmine rice, so it comes down to a matter of preference.
Maqlouba is usually made with the following ingredients: rice, meat (lamb, beef, or chicken), and vegetables (eggplant, onions, peppers, potatoes, and tomatoes). Some recipes also include tomato paste. Spices like cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, cloves, and turmeric are often added.
Pro Tips
- This Maqluba recipe can easily be converted to a vegetarian recipe by leaving out the meat and adding extra veggies, for example, cauliflower florets and sliced carrots.
- If you don't want to use the broth from the lamb, you can substitute chicken broth. Vegetable broth can also be used, especially if you are making a vegetarian version.
- If you don't like lamb, you can substitute beef or chicken instead.
- Make sure the pot you use to cook the rice is nonstick so that the rice can easily be released from the pot when it's flipped over.
- Another thing to consider when choosing a pot for cooking Maqluba is the location of the pot's handles. If they extend above the rim, the platter won't be able to fit flatly onto the pot, which will cause the rice to scatter when you invert the pot.
More Middle Eastern Recipes
If you enjoy this Maqluba recipe, be sure to check out these other tasty rice dishes!
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Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Add 1 tablespoon of oil to a large skillet, then sear cubed lamb in batches. Once browned, add to a six-quart Dutch oven and top with 6 cups of water. Simmer, covered, for 45 minutes to an hour or until tender.
- Slice eggplant into ¼" slices and sprinkle with salt on both sides. Place on paper towel-lined tray and allow to sweat for 15 minutes.
- Spray a foil-lined baking sheet with cooking spray, then add sliced eggplant in a single layer. Spray the tops generously with cooking spray, then bake for 30 minutes in a 375℉ oven. Flip half-way through.
- While the meat and eggplant are cooking, slice potatoes into ¼" slices and sprinkle with salt on both sides. Fry in the same pan used to sear the meat. If necessary add 1 tablespoon of oil, or more as needed. Once potatoes are golden brown, remove from pan and set aside until needed.
- Finally, slice onion in half, then into sections and slice peppers into rings. Sauté both in the same skillet, over low heat, for approximately 10 minutes until the onion is caramelized.
- Once the meat is done cooking, strain the broth into a bowl and clean the pot. Pour 4 cups of broth into a large measuring cup and stir in 2 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon salt, and ½ can (3 ounces) of tomato paste. If you want to add biryani seasoning, do so now. Whisk until the tomato paste is completely dissolved.
- Wash rice thoroughly to remove starch, then strain and add to the cleaned pot. Pour broth-tomato sauce mixture over it and stir. Bring to a boil, then cover and cook over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes. Stir once or twice to cook evenly.
- Spray bottom and sides of an 8-quart Dutch oven with nonstick cooking spray. Place a tortilla on the bottom, then arrange eggplant, potatoes, onions, peppers, and meat in layers over the tortilla.
- Spoon cooked rice into the pot and add ½-1 cup of broth. Press down on the rice to compress it as tightly as possible. Cover and cook over very low heat for an additional 15 minutes.
- Rest Maqluba for 15 minutes, then remove the lid and cover the pot with a rimmed flat platter or tray, larger than the pot itself. While pressing the tray tightly onto the pot, flip the pot quickly to un-mold. Carefully peel away the tortilla before serving.
Nutrition
Notes
- If you don't have biryani seasoning, but still want to add more spices than this recipe calls for, you can add a cinnamon stick, a teaspoon of coriander seeds, 5 cardamom pods, and a bay leaf to the liquid now.
- This step is necessary to remove the bitterness from the eggplant.
- Keep an eye on the eggplant slices to avoid burning them. It may take less time for them to be ready.
- If some of the rice or ingredients scatter, no problem. Just tuck them back into place.
- This Maqluba recipe can easily be converted to a vegetarian recipe by leaving out the meat and adding extra veggies, for example, cauliflower florets and sliced carrots.
- If you don't want to use the broth from the lamb, you can substitute chicken broth. Vegetable broth can also be used, especially if you are making a vegetarian version.
- If you don't like lamb, you can substitute beef or chicken instead.
- Make sure the pot you use to cook the rice is nonstick so that the rice can easily be released from the pot when it's flipped over.
- Another thing to consider when choosing a pot for cooking Maqluba is the location of the pot's handles. If they extend above the rim, the platter won't be able to fit flatly onto the pot, which will cause the rice to scatter when you invert the pot.
Vivien Grammer says
This sounds delicious but it seems like a huge amount of salt to me ... I am not a fan of salt! Would it make a big difference if I, say, halved the given amount?
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Vivien, I think the salt amount is perfect, however, if you prefer less salty, then by all means, you can reduce it.
Josephine peers moreno says
I love this recipe just like my mom made it back home
Hilda Sterner says
Thanks, Josephine! So happy to hear that!