Name: Maqluba (Upside Down Chicken & Rice)
Cook time: 7200 s
Total time: 7200 s
Yield: 1 pot, serves 6-10 ppl
Ingredients: 3 cups of rice; 1 whole pasture raised chicken; 3 potatoes; 3 zucchinis; 3 carrots; 2 tomatoes; 2 onions; 1 head of garlic; 1 eggplant; 1 cauliflower; Stuffed grape leaves (optional); 1 tbsp turmeric; 1 tbsp cardamom powder; 1 tbsp Baharat spice; Salt; 3 1/2 tbsp olive oil; Neutral oil (for frying)

BENGINGI

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Maqluba (Upside Down Chicken & Rice)

cook:

2 h 0 min

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Maqluba symbolizes this idea of oneness, as it’s a traditional dish served throughout the Levant, enjoyed by the people of the Lebanese, Iraqi, Jordanian, Syrian, Palestinian and Israeli cultures. As a Jew, I’m well too familiar on the strained relationships between us and others in the middle East. To my Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian brothers and sisters, I want nothing other than to make peace with you and I know there are so many others that feel this way on both sides but sadly this isn’t the part of the story that is often portrayed. All of us on both sides are hurting, and the way we’ve been treating each other is a losing battle for everybody. How do we create peace with one another is not an easy question to answer but at the end of the day we the people have so much more power than we believe. I think it starts with healing our relationships on a personal level with one another and see each other as fellow human being first before anything. See you and I are not so different–our cultures and values originate from the same land. I don’t see you as the enemy but as the biggest lesson there is to learn compassion and love. Healing together is going to be a lot easier said than done but to me it’s worth putting the energy into. I hope that one day we can create peace, share big feasts, and dance in the streets, together.

Picture for Maqluba (Upside Down Chicken & Rice)

1 pots, serves 6-10 ppls

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Ingredients

3 cups of rice

1 whole pasture raised chicken

3 potatoes

3 zucchinis

3 carrots

2 tomatoes

2 onions

1 head of garlic

1 eggplant

1 cauliflower

Stuffed grape leaves (optional)

1 tbsp turmeric

1 tbsp cardamom powder

1 tbsp Baharat spice

Salt

3 ½ tbsp olive oil

Neutral oil (for frying)

Directions

Step 1

Start by cutting the whole chicken into pieces. You can buthcer it or simply cut into 4 pieces (I like using a whole chicken as part of respecting the animal, but you can defiantly buy 4-6 chicken thighs instead).

1 whole pasture raised chicken

Step 2

Soak the rice in water for an hour. Drain and keep aside.

3 cups of rice

Step 3

Slice the onions and the garlic as thin as you can.

2 onions

1 head of garlic

Step 4

In a heavy pot on medium heat, add olive oil. Add the onions and the garlic and cook for 4-5 min, stirring constantly.

3 ½ tbsp olive oil

2 onions

1 head of garlic

Step 5

Add the chicken, spices and salt. Cook for 8-10 min, stirring constantly.

1 whole pasture raised chicken

1 tbsp turmeric

1 tbsp cardamom powder

1 tbsp Baharat spice

Salt

Step 6

Cover the chicken with water and cook on low heat for about 45 min. After 45 min cooking, remove the chicken from the pot and keep the water (broth). We will use it later as the water to cook the Maqluba.

Step 7

Slice the carrots, zucchini, potatoes and eggplant into 1 inch thickness pieces.

3 carrots

3 zucchinis

3 potatoes

1 eggplant

Step 8

Separate the cauliflower into small-medium size pieces.

1 cauliflower

Step 9

In a deep pan, heat up the neutral oil.

Neutral oil (for frying)

Step 10

Fry each veggie separately until lightly golden. Set aside on a paper towel in between batches to get rid of excess of oil.

Step 11

Slice the tomatoes into 1/2 inch thickness slices.

2 tomatoes

Step 12

In a pot arrange the ingredients in the following order, creating layer after layer: start by placing tomato slice in the bottom of the pot, cover the whole bottom. Add a layer of stuffed grape leaves. Add a layer of each veggie separately. Add a layer of chicken. Add a layer of rice.