Upside Down (Maqloobeh)

This was one of the first things I learned to make after meeting my husband. I think one of his friends taught me how to make it, because I loved it so much. I too use cauliflower and not eggplant, but eggplant is very common in this dish. This is one of may alltime favorite dishes ... american or arabic. I add fried sliced potatoes to the bottom to prevent sticking but most people do use tomatoes. I also add a pinch of clove to the broth. I always remember the spices as the 4 C's: curry, cardamom, cinnamon and clove. The combination is mild but delicious, I serve it with plain yogurt and chopped tomato salad. Thanks for posting.

My Palestinian husband often makes this dish. It is also common to make it with lamb and eggplants, but I prefer the chicken and cauliflower version. We always garnish with plenty of fried almond or for the lamb version, pine nuts. Also, we usually add more spices such as cardimon and always tumeric to color the rice yellow. I would stronly recommend using the bahrat instead of the curry for a more authentic flavor, or you can buy what's called 7 spice in any Middle Eastern grocery. This recipe can also be experimented with depending on what's in your home. We often add carrots, potatoes, or even frozen corn. Anyway this is a great dish . Oh yeah, be sure to completly brown the cauliflower as this makes all the difference and if you don't have a big serving pan or a need for the fancy presentation, we often just dish the rice onto a plate and top with the chicken and almonds. This is a must try and enjoy

4 and a half good stars after revising. Firstly I read over the reviews and used the amount of liquid that is generally needed for cooking Basmati rice which I used. From there I put as much of each spice as I though would be to our tastes I think it was about the same amount as the recipe calls for. I did use my own Recipe #79179 . I used olive oil in replacement of the vegetable oil. I used 2 garlic cloves chopped and fried with the onion. And I didn't have any chickpeas ready cooked so I decided to add some chopped carrots as Chef #172302 does which I added when frying the cauliflower. I'm thinking another good addition would be fresh mushrooms sliced and fried after the onion another time. I used 2 whole cloves and 4 cardamom pods in the water while simmering like Chef #160577 uses and I also added 4 peppercorns too. Like Chef #182386 suggested I didn't think the chicken needed to go under the grill so I broke it up into big chunks removing the skin, and pan fried it with 2 dashes of turmeric for colour and 1/2 cup pine nuts also as Chef #172302 does. I used 1/2 tsp cinnamon to 1 3/4 cups rice. I then found Recipe #318010 which uses some cumin so I added a couple pinches when all the rice was in the pot ready to cook. I found the instructions confusing for this but this recipe is what I used as a base although it didnt turn out with much of a crust, it was very delicious. I served it with tomato sauce on the side because of a dairy allergy. I will make this recipe again with my revisions. And next time I may include chickpeas.

I make my maklouba differently but just to let others know that when layering your vegetables and chicken and rice in the pot, first put slices of tomatoes on the bottom to prevent sticking.

This is one of our families favorite dishes. Its much easier than it sounds. We serve it with a little plain yogurt and it is so delicious.