Maklouba (Vegetable Upside-Down Dish)
Maklouba is a traditional Arabic rice which is flipped and served upside down . The rice is layered with meat and vegetables , though this is a vegetarian version .
Ingredients
Rice
- 2 cups rice
- 1/2 cup cooked rice optional
- 2 tomatoes sliced
- 2-3 potatoes sliced
- 2 onions cut into rings
- 1 capsicum cut rounds
- 200 gms paneer cut into rectangles
- 3 tbsp tomato purée
Stock
- 4 1/2 cups water
- 1/2 carrot
- 2-3 flowrets cauliflower
- 2 tbsp onion fried
- 1/2 tsp all spice
Instructions
Stock
- In a pot add carrots , cauliflower and fried onion with 41/2 cups of water .
- Let the water boil , add all spice .
- Let the water boil till about half cup has reduced .
- Strain the water in a big sieve and keep aside .
Rice
- Wash and soak rice for 30 minutes .
- Place about 31/2 cups stock to boil .
- Add salt and rice to the stock and let the rice cook for about 12 minutes .
- The stock should have absorbed by now .
- Remove the rice and divide in two parts .
- Add tomato purée to one part .
Other preparations
- Peel the onions and cut into rings . Deep fry and keep aside .
- Peel potatoes cut into roundels. Sprinkle salt and deep fry . Keep aside .
- Cut tomatoes into thick slices .
- Cut paneer into rectangular pieces .
Assembling the Rice
- For this you need to use a heavy bottomed pot .
- Drizzle oil and coat the bottom of the pan .
- Arrange a layer of tomatoes , potatoes , onions , capsicum and paneer .
- ( it is totally up to you how you want to arrange , remember this will be the face of your dish , so arrange artistically . )
- Sprinkle salt and pepper over the veggies .
- Now spread a layer of the prepared rice .
- Next arrange a vegetable layer , finishing all the chopped veggies .
- Spread a layer of the tomato rice and using a flat bowl press the rice . This is done to compress the rice .
- Place a saucer upside down over the rice and poke random holes with a wooden skewer . Now gently pour about 1/2 cup of the stock over it .
- Carefully remove the saucer .
- This is done so that rice does not rise up as we add the stock .
- Cover and cook the rice on very slow fire for 20 minutes .
- Spread the cooked rice over this and again press , cover and simmer for another 5-7 minutes .
To serve
- Remove the pot from the heat and let rest for about 10 minutes.
- Place a large serving plate on top of the pot and flip it over.
- Very carefully, lift the pot off the plate to reveal the layered dish.
- Garnish with roasted pine nuts , almonds , mint and pomegranate pearls .
- Serve with fresh yogurt and salad .
Notes
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#99
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