Some of you may recall that I was in the Hyatt Hotel in Amman, Jordan in the fall when it was bombed by al Qaeda. After this horrendous experience, I was taken in by a co-worker Shukri Atari whose family owns a villa in Amman. The next day the Ataris had a feast at their villa for me and Shukri's brother Ahmad who was injured during the attack. [1]
The main dish for the dinner was Maqloobeh which is Arabic for 'Upside-down'. Legend has it that it was so named by Saladin after "liberating" Jerusalem from the Crusaders. An Atari family relative gave me the recipe and last night I tried it for the first time to reasonably good effect. It's simple, fast and healthy!
Upside-down
Serves 4
Ingredients:
2 lbs (1 kg) pieces of chicken or lamb
4 cups of rice, white or brown but uncooked
2 medium eggplants (aubergine), peeled and sliced large on the angle
2 medium white potatoes, peeled and sliced large on the angle
1 can of chickpeas
sliced garlic to taste, it's good for your heart...
...salt to taste, it's not good for your heart!
black pepper to taste, freshly ground
a pinch of cinnamon or nutmeg
Optional: Korean Kimchi (of course!)
Boil the chicken (or lamb) for around 30 minutes on medium heat. Make sure you keep all of the stock. Also, wash the rice (at least 2-3 times) and cover with boiling water for 15 minutes (no heat). Afterwards, rinse the rice with cold water, drain and set aside. Meanwhile fry the sliced aubergines and potatoes in a skillet.
Spread the chickpeas over the bottom of a very deep (at least 4'') casserole pan. Place the garlic slices on the chickpeas. Place the chicken (or lamb) in the pan next. Then put the fried potato and aubergines on top of the meat. Next cover the other ingredients with the rice and add the spices. Finally, fill the pan with the reserved stock to cover the rice. If you don't have enough stock then just add some more water. Cover the casserole and cook on low heat (325F) for 30-45 minutes or until the stock has evaporated and the rice has cooked completely.
Remove the casserole from the oven and flip it upside-down on aluminum foil! You're done. We served this with Korean kimchi, beer and Nina Simone. (Also try a hearty red.) Let me know how you do.
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