This recipe was requested by Nansi … it is commonly pronounced as “Maloubeh” which literally means upside-down .. its called that as the pot of rice is inverted after its cooked and is served “upside-down” … its originally a Palestinian dish but its common all around the Levant … there are two types of Maloubeh one is Chicken Maloubeh in which we use cauliflower and the other which I’m going to show today and its the most popular is Maloubeh bi Batinjan ( Eggplant Maloubeh) in which we use fried eggplant,tomato, potato, lamb, and of course rice …. Each family has its own recipe for it.. some dont use tomatoes or potatoes … and this is my family’s recipe for it … so to make it you will need:
Serves: 4 – 5
- 1/2 kg lamb meat .. cut into 2 – inch pieces
- 1 tb ghee
- 1 medium onion .. finely chopped
- 4 cups short grain rice … around here we call it Egyptian rice …
- 4 medium potato … sliced into 1/2 inch slices
- 4 medium tomato … sliced into 1 inch slices
- 1 big eggplant … sliced into 1/2 inch slices .. then deep fried until brown
- 1/8 ts of all the following spices ( black pepper, ground coriander, ground cloves, nutmeg, ground fennel seeds, ginger powder, ground cardamom)
- 1/4 ts turmeric and safflower ( not saffron .. safflower)
- 4 ts salt
- 2 tb ghee
In a Pressure cooker … melt the ghee or butter .. then add the chopped onion …
Add the meat… then season with 1/4 ts of black pepper and all-spice … and cook until the meat changes color and all its liquids is released and starting to dry out …
Then add enough water to cover around 2 inches above the meat …
Cover the pressure cooker and cook for half an hour … until the meat is well done and tender …
ps. make sure you add enough water as you need the stock to cook the rice
Once the meat is done .. add all the spice mix and salt …. and let it boil for 5 mins
Then add around 2 to 4 pieces of the fried eggplant … this step is to flavor the stock … and let it boil for another 5 mins …
Now in a pot … cover the entire bottom with potatoes … this will prevent the rice from burning as the potatoes will catch the heat …
Then add a little of rice .. around 1 cup …
Then add the fried eggplants … you can either place it on a whole layer or do like I did …
ps. to fry the eggplant … after slicing it … place it on a sieve and sprinkle a little salt on each … then heat the oil and deep fry it until brown …
Then add the meat …
And the sliced tomatoes … if you have extra potatoes you can add it here too ..
Finally add all the rice …
Now place a sieve on top of the pot … and add 6 cups of stock …
Place the pot over very low heat for 1 hour .. until the rice is cooked …
Now in a frying pan … melt the remaining ghee or butter … and add it to the top of the rice … try to distribute it equally …
Place a big tray on top of the pot … and invert it …. so its upside-down … now you got your Maloubeh …
If you are lucky it will hold its shape … for me the potatoes stuck a little but to be honest i like the potatoes to be nicely golden 
…
And thats it … serve it with a side of plain yogurt ….
Enjoy 
…
Hi Laila,
yum yum.. that looks delicious..it’s totally different than my recipe,but i really love yours..and I’m going to try it for sure.
Thanks for sharing.
Marwa ´s last blog ..sweet potato with the sweet bechemel sauce ??????? ?????????? ?????
Hi Laila,
I just discovered your blog and really like it. You put so much work in each recipe, amazing!
Thanx alot Marwa … let me know how it turns out .. and stay in touch
Thanx Yasmine … glad you like my site … do let me know if you try any recipe out … and stay in touch
Marhaba Leila,
this is very interesting Makloubeh dish , we usually cook it with meat, eggplants and the rice , never heard of potatoes and tomatoes before… but
the extra edition gives the dish extra flavours… since the eggplants loose its shape after cooking, I have to try your version
thanks for sharing
Ahlan Arlette … each family has there own version of Maloubeh … and this is the way my Mom and my Grandma always made it … the potatoes tastes really good with it and the tomatoes gives it a nice slightly sour taste … do let me know how it turns out … and stay in touch
Thank you SO much for posting it! I can’t wait to try to make your version. How long does it take to fry eggplant? Do you deep fry them? Do you have to let the oil drain of them before you add them to the rice? What oil do you use to fry them?
Anytime Nansi … the eggplants are deep fried .. then you let it set aside on some kitchen tissues to absorb the oil … for deep frying you can use any vegetable oil .. i usually use sunflower oil … its fried until golden on both side ..i cant say really how long it take but its around 5 mins per-side … let me know if you have any other questions … will be waiting for your feedback … stay in touch
This is a little different than the maqluba I make, this is one I will definitely try probably tonight! thanks Laila!
Will be waiting for your feedback Aimee … stay in touch
Laila
I love the maklouba too! I like your version, it reminds me of a Persian dish I had once. I love it when the potatoes get all crispy at the bottom! Yum.
Hay Joumana … give it a try and let me know how it turns out … and stay in touch
I am so excited to try this recipe…but I can’t seem to find safflower anywhere!!
I have saffron, but am afraid to use that since I don’t know how much would be equivalent to the safflower you used here and if it will even taste the same. Suggestions?
Hi Heather … about safflower .. it mainly gives a yellow color to the rice and doesn’t have that much of a taste .. so if you cant find it you can skip it but the rice wont be yellow like in the recipe .. and don’t worry … the taste wouldn’t be effected … don’t substitute it for saffron as that is a completely different flavor … so the solution is simple .. just skip it
… hope this helps .. do let me know how it turns out … and stay in touch 
Bravo Laila!You did good job!It’s my & my brother’s favorite dish!Bu?as you sait every family has a diffrenet way of cooking ma’loubeh.
Thanx Oxana … well i think that even applies to any dish made
… but i would like to know how you make it 
.. and whats the difference between it and mine?
This is my favorite dish!
Cherine´s last blog ..Chicken Provencal
Mine too
Sorry it took so long to respond. I’m browsing through your recipes to find a new adventure! This recipe was fantastic! I did have a bit of an issue deep frying the eggplants. Maybe next time I’ll either get an actual deep fryer or just bake or pan fry them. Thank you so much for the recipe. I love your website too…it’s so easy to follow the steps which is very helpful when trying to cook a new dish! Thanks again!
Thanx a lot for your for your feedback Heather … im glad you like it … i just try to make it looks as easy as possible
… do stay in touch 