Passport & Plate - Maqluba
United Kingdom | Thursday, March 5, 2015 | 5 photos
Ingredients
1 cauliflower, chopped into florets
4-6 medium sized potatoes, sliced
Chicken breast, sliced
Rice, per person
Salt
Pepper
Cinamon
All Spice
1 stock cube
3-4 tomatoes, diced
1 cucumber, diced
Pita to serve
How to prepare this recipe1. Par boil potatoes and cauliflower
2. Fry chicken in some oil to brown
3. Add the potatoes and cauliflower and top up with water. Bring to the boil
4. Drain the liquid, keeping a little behind in a separate container. Add fresh water, the remaining liquid, stock cube and spices. Simmer until the liquid evaporates
5. Flip over onto large sharing platter to serve
For Salad:
Dice tomatoes and cucumber. Mix and serve in a bowl
The story behind this recipeMaqluba is a popular Arabic recipe – the national dish of Palestine - and literally translates as 'upside-down' due to its appearance when served. My recipe is a hand-me-down from my mother and differs only very slightly from the original. It first arrived in my family following my mother's trip to Palestine as a young woman, and has remained a firm favourite ever since.
The dish is so special to me as it was the first that really ignited my culinary imagination. Although the individual ingredients are not exactly exotic, maqluba was quite a departure from the typical meals I was used to growing up in the Welsh Valleys, and still creates a stir in its adopted home.
A distinct benefit of the dish stems from the 'not exactly exotic' ingredients: it is so simple! Most households will have many of the components readily-available, but the recipe can also be tinkered to suit individual resources and tastes. Indeed, my recipe replaces aubergine with potato, and it works perfectly for my family.
Although I have broadened my culinary horizons considerably since first sampling maqluba, it remains an important dish to myself, representing family, adventure and great cuisine. Thus far, the recipe has accompanied me and delighted friends during my time at university and whilst living in China, and I'm excited at the opportunity to share it with many others on my next journey.
