Maqloubeh

Maqloubeh is an Arabic biryani that even most kids and spice-aphobes will like. It is flavorful and meltingly tender, and clearly an expression of love, because why else would you go to that much effort? The original recipe I used is from the article on Palestinian food in the December 2013 issue of Saveur magazine. I serve it with Israeli chopped salad not in an attempt to be political but because they taste great together. This makes enough to either serve a crowd or have dinner with a week's worth of leftovers. Don't be intimidated by the list of ingredients. Really it's just spices, meat, rice, cauliflower, and eggplant. Not too bad. Next time I make this I'm going to double or triple the spices so I have extra for next time. I can be made with chicken as well and garnished with cilantro or fried pine nuts.

"Maqloubeh" is also the name of a short film in which five men in Ramallah are confined to the house and make, you guessed it, maqloubeh. In the movie it is described not as a labor of love, but as the simplest meal you could throw together. I guess my standard of simple is different from theirs. I can't wait to try making this the way they did in the movie. 

Ingredients:
3/4 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon green cardamom pods
1 tablespoon whole allspice
1 stick cinnamon
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
3 pounds boneless lamb, cut into 1 inch pieces
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup of olive oil
1 large eggplant, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
2 cups of basmati rice
2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 large white onion, minced
2 medium-ripe tomatoes, cored and sliced into 1/4 inch circles
Greek yogurt for serving on the side

Instructions:

Toast the spices over medium heat until they become fully fragrant but before they smell burnt. Don't walk away! Spices burn almost instantaneously. Transfer them to a clean coffee grinder, add the curry powder and nutmeg, and pulverize them. If your coffee grinder is dirty, grind up a slice of bread in it first and then throw the bread out. I keep a coffee grinder which I reserve just for spices. 

Into a dutch oven or a really big saucepan,  put 3 tablespoons of the spice mixture, the meat, some salt and pepper, and 9 cups of water. Bring it to a boil and then simmer for about one hour until the meat is tender. Take the meat out with a strainer or a slotted spoon and set it aside, and then simmer the stock until there are only 4 cups left. Reserve the stock. This takes quite a while, so while you're simmering the stock it makes sense to keep going. 

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. While the stock is simmering away, put the eggplant cubes in a colander set over a bowl and sprinkle with a lot of salt. After 30 minutes, rinse the eggplant really well and dry it with paper towels. Put the eggplant in a bowl and toss it with 1/2 cup of oil before turning it out onto a baking sheet. Bake it in the oven for about 30 minutes, until it is cooked through and tender.

Toss the cauliflower with 1/4 cup of olive oil and salt in the same bowl and then spread it in an even layer on another baking sheet. Bake it with the eggplant for about half an hour, checking for it to look tender and golden. 

Now toss the 2 cups of basmati rice with the melted butter and set it aside. If you are using the same pot that you used to make stock, wipe it out now. It should be an 8 quart saucepan or dutch oven. Once the vegetables are all done you are ready for the next step. 

Heat 1/4 cup of oil in your saucepan over medium high heat. Cook the garlic and onions until they look golden. Add the rest of the spice mixture, the meat you set aside, the eggplant, the cauliflower, and salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes until it all becomes fragrant. Taste it for salt. There is no salt in the rice, so this should be on the salty side. This will also depend on how salty your broth is from the beginning. Put it all in a bowl and wipe your pot out one more time. 

Rub a little more oil over the bottom and sides of the pan so nothing sticks. Arrange the tomato slices over the bottom of the pan in an even layer. Put the lamb mixture on top of the tomatoes in an even layer. 

Now spread the rice over the top. Press it all down to make it as flat and compact as possible. Now pour the broth over the top.

Bring the pot to a boil, then place a clean dish towel over the pot and put the lid on. This helps to keep all the moisture in so that the rice on top doesn't stay crunchy. Half the time I forget this step, so I take the lid off halfway and stir the rice a little bit so the crunchy part is underneath. Cook on medium-low, covered, for a little over half an hour or until the rice is tender. Leave it for 10 minutes to cool. 

Take the lid off and invert it onto a platter. Tap the bottom of the pot to help release the tomatoes, and set the pot aside. Serve it with thick yogurt and a chopped salad.