Maqlooba

Maqlooba is traditional Arabic rice dish with exotic and subtle flavors of spices. It’s prepared with meat and vegetables of choice with soft Arabic spices. My dish is with additional flavor and slight peppery with red and green chili. Further here I have enhanced the flavor using butter and saffron. I have used chicken meat and vegetables of my choice. The combination gives a very unique taste and an unforgettable experience. I hope you enjoy this dish.

To make it easier I have even added link of my YouTube video of this recipe.

Happy cooking!

INGREDIENTS-

Eggplant – 1 Medium

Onion – 1 large

Tomato – 1 large

Color Bell Peppers – 2 No.

Potato – 1 Large

Chicken – 700 Grams

Rice – 500 Grams.

Oil – 1.5 cup for Frying.

Chicken Stock – 2 Cups.

Ginger Garlic Paste – 2 Tbsp

Butter – 60 Grams or 4 Tbsp.

Green Chili Paste – 1 Tsp.

Red Chili Pwd – 2 Tsp

Cumin Pwd – 1Tsp

Coriander Pwd – 1 Tbsp

Saffron – 2 Pinches

Lemon -2 No

Cardamom – 4 No

Nutmeg Pwd – ¼ Tsp

Cinnamon – 2 Inch

Cloves – 6 No

Black Pepper – 6 No

Salt – to taste

METHOD-

Step 1. Make deep slits in chicken pieces. Marinate for 30 minutes with mixture of juice of 1 lemon, 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste, 1 tsp red chilli pwd and salt to taste.

Step 2. Cut vegetables into 1 cm thick slices.

Step 3. Fry all vegetables except tomato in oil on high heat till both sides are browned.

Step 4. Fry chicken pieces on high heat for 5 to 6 minutes on both sides on high heat till they brown evenly and are almost cooked.

Step 5. Add enough water in chicken stock to make it 800 ml.. Add cinnamon stick, green cardamom, cloves, black peppercorns, nutmeg pwd, ginger-garlic paste, green chilli paste, cumin pwd and coriander pwd and bring to boil.

Step 6. Add soaked rice (soak rice for 30 minutes) and salt to taste and cook till rice is almost cooked but slightly undone.

Step 7. Add 4 tbsp butter to the rice. Mix gently and keep aside.

Step 8. Mix together juice of 1 lemon, 1 tsp red chilli pwd and salt to taste and mix this in the fried vegetables.

Step 9. Soak 2 to 3 pinches in 3 tbsp warm milk and keep aside.

Step 10. Layer a deep dish with fried vegetables starting with tomatoes and potatoes at the bottom of the pan.

Step 11. Cover with a layer of rice.

Step 12. Place chicken pieces on top and add 1/3rd of the balance rice on top.

Step 13. Mix saffron milk with 1/3rd rice and add this layer of rice.

Step 14. Spread balance rice on top evenly.

Step 15. Cover and cook on low heat for 30 minutes till rice is completely cooked.

Step 16. Once cooked flip the vessel upside down on a flat serving dish and serve hot.