# Palestinian Maqluba with Chicken and Aubergine

> Maqluba is built in layers in one pot: chicken at the base, fried aubergine and cauliflower above it, then rice seasoned with maqluba spices. It cooks over low heat for forty minutes and is then turned out upside down onto a platter. The key is resting it for ten minutes before you flip it.

**Palestinian Cuisine · 105 min · 6 servings · 560 kcal per serving**

Maqluba is a Palestinian celebration dish, named for how it is served: the pot is turned over so the layers arrive upside down. The frightening part is the flip — and it is far easier than it looks if the pot is right.

## Ingredients

- 1 kg — chicken, jointed
- 3 cups — basmati rice, soaked 30 minutes
- 2 medium — aubergines, sliced
- 1 head — cauliflower, in florets
- 1 medium — onion
- 1 tbsp — maqluba spice (cinnamon + allspice + turmeric + cumin)
- 4 pods — cardamom + bay leaves
- ½ cup — oil
- ¼ cup — toasted almonds and pine nuts, to garnish

## Method

1. **Cook the chicken** — Simmer the chicken with the onion, cardamom, bay leaves and half the spice mix until cooked through. Lift it out and keep the stock — you'll need four cups.
2. **Fry the vegetables** — Fry the aubergine slices and cauliflower florets in oil, or roast them at 200°C, until deep golden. Drain them on kitchen paper.
3. **Build the layers** — In a heavy-based pot: lay in the chicken pieces, then a layer of aubergine and cauliflower, then the drained rice tossed with the remaining spice. Press down gently.
4. **Cook** — Pour in hot stock at one and a half cups per cup of rice, bring to a boil over high heat for five minutes, then cover and cook on the lowest heat for thirty-five minutes.
5. **Rest and flip** — Take it off the heat and leave it covered for ten minutes. Set a wide platter over the pot and invert it in one decisive movement, then scatter over the almonds and pine nuts.

## Tips

- The ten-minute rest before flipping is what lets the layers set.
- Use a pot with a heavy, flat base — a thin one will catch and stick.
- Flip in one fast movement, not gradually.

## FAQ

### My maqluba collapsed when I flipped it. Why?
Usually it was flipped while still too hot, or there was liquid left in the rice. Rest it ten to fifteen minutes and make sure the rice has fully dried out.

### Can I make it with lamb?
Yes. Simmer the meat until tender and use its stock. Allow about an hour and a half for the simmering.

### Which rice is best?
Long-grain basmati, so the grains stay separate. Soak it for thirty minutes and drain it well.

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Source: https://hanakoleah.com/en/palestinian-cuisine/palestinian-maqluba-recipe
Edited by: Marwa Mohamed
Last updated: 2026-09-14